In 2022, the number of people who ended their lives by euthanasia or assisted suicide increased by 31.2% compared to the previous year, amounting to 4.1% of all deaths in Canada.
According to the latest report on assisted suicide and euthanasia from Health Canada, 13,241 people ended their lives by euthanasia or assisted suicide in 2022. There were 3,149 more deaths than in 2021, which also saw a more than 30% increase from the previous year.
A total of 44,958 people have ended their lives through assisted suicide or euthanasia in Canada since the law legalizing it was passed in 2016.
Non-medical concerns
As of 2021, a large percentage of people who ended their lives in Canada by euthanasia or assisted suicide did so for non-medical reasons.
According to the report, 86.3% of individuals requesting assisted suicide or euthanasia mentioned “the loss of the ability to engage in meaningful activities” and 81.9% mentioned the “loss of ability to perform activities of daily living” among their reasons for wanting to die.
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17.1% cited loneliness as their reason for wanting to end their life, while 35.3% were worried about being a “burden to family, friends or carers”.
Death is not ‘reasonably foreseeable’
Compared to the previous year, the number of instances of euthanasia or assisted suicide in which the person died was not “reasonably predictable” more than doubled.
From March 2024, it will be euthanasia made legal for “people who suffer only from a mental illness”.
Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson, said “The state of euthanasia in Canada is truly alarming, not only in terms of rapid year-over-year increases but also in terms of reasons why people choose to end their own lives The frightening data and horror stories Canada’s exit should serve as a sad lesson for other jurisdictions considering legalizing assisted suicide and/or euthanasia”.
LifeNews Note: Republished with permission from Right to Life UK.
