After facilitating euthanasia for the poorest, Canada now wants to extend assisted suicide to children. A parliamentary committee called to expand the Canadian assisted suicide program to allow those considered "mature minors" whose death is "reasonably foreseeable" to expedite the end of their lives without parental consent.
Canada legalized euthanasia in 2016, a year after the country's Supreme Court asked the government for a law to regulate it after determining that banning assisted suicide deprived citizens of their autonomy and dignity. Initially, it was approved for elderly people who were terminally ill, but now Trudeau’s government wants to extend assisted suicides to children, people who suffer from mental illnesses, and people with dementia.
The report, entitled Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada: Options for Canadians, which was tabled in parliament, includes a list of 23 recommendations for expanding assisted suicide services in the country. The report was prepared by the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, made up of 17 deputies and senators from all parties.
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IN DYING IN CANADA: CHOICES FOR CANADIANS by VozMedia on Scribd
Recommendations for extending assisted suicide to minors
The extension to add people with mental illnesses was going to take effect in March. However, pressure from pro-life groups bought time before the report's recommendations were implemented. The document mentions “mature minors,” which is their way of justifying giving young children the ability to determine their own suicide. These are the recommendations for extending euthanasia to children:
Recommendation 14 - That the Government of Canada undertake consultations with minors on the topic of MAID, including minors with terminal illnesses, minors with disabilities, minors in the child welfare system and Indigenous minors, within five years of the tabling of this report..
Recommendation 15 - That the Government of Canada provide funding through Health Canada and other relevant departments for research into the views and experiences of minors with respect to MAID, including minors with terminal illnesses, minors with disabilities, minors in the child welfare system and Indigenous minors, to be completed within five years of the tabling of this report.
Recommendation 17 - That the Government of Canada restrict MAID for mature minors to those whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable.
Recommendation 18 - That the Government of Canada work with provinces, territories and First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities and organizations to establish standards for assessing the capacity of mature minors seeking MAID..
Recommendation 19 - That the Government of Canada establish a requirement that, where appropriate, the parents or guardians of a mature minor be consulted in the course of the assessment process for MAID, but that the will of a minor who is found to have the requisite decision-making capacity ultimately take priority.
Recommendation 20 - That the Government of Canada appoint an independent expert panel to evaluate the Criminal Code provisions relating to MAID for mature minors within five years of the day on which those provisions receive Royal Assent, and that the panel report their findings to Parliament.
