MAiD in Canada is a stylish euphemism intended to make “Medical Assistance in Dying” more acceptable to the masses. A more honest slogan would read, “Medical Involvement in Killing.” It has nothing to do with a female domestic servant.
Anyone who lives in Canada knows that many of the things he purchases bear the label “Made in Canada.” MAiD in Canada, therefore, seems to be a very Canadian thing to do. The transition from economics to euthanasia, however, is not supported by anything that resembles logic. But logic has never been a part of advertising.
MAiD, therefore, is not only medically and governmentally approved, but has now reached a level of public acceptability so that it has become a form of commercial advertising, intended to sell something to people that they may not really want.
Simons is a Canadian design and fashion company. It has produced a three-minute video entitled “All is Beauty” in which they promote both their products as well as MAiD, a rather unlikely tandem. The video begins by stating that “dying in a hospital is not what’s natural, it is not soft, in these types of moments you need softness.” The following words then appear on the screen: “The most beautiful exit.”
Simons may be profiting from the groundwork established by Derek Humphrey’s 1991 bestseller, “Final Exit,” a manual instructing people in how to end their lives. Perhaps, and more significantly, Simons is taking advantage of a surge in the incidence of MAiD that is currently taking place in Canada.
When MAid was inaugurated in 2016, there were recorded 1,018 deaths. The number of deaths surged to 2,838 the following year. In two of the poorer provinces, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island, no deaths were recorded during these first two years. In 2018, 4,478 deaths were recorded, with Ontario and Quebec leading the way with 1,500 and 1,236, respectively. 5,660 MAiD deaths were recorded in 2019, 7,595 in the following year with the greatest number taking place in Ontario and Quebec. In 2021 the number leaped to 10,064.
All together, 31,653 MAiD deaths have occurred in Canada since it was legally inaugurated in 2016. Despite this dramatic increase from year to year, the Trudeau government is planning to make euthanasia via MAiD available to a larger segment of society. On March 17, 2023, MAiD will be available to those whose only medical condition is mental illness. The Quebec College of Physicians is urging the government to allow infant euthanasia.
In his encyclical, “The Gospel of Life,” Saint John Paul II spoke of a “Culture of Death.” Pro-abortionists did not take this view seriously since, as they argued, abortion allows a woman to enjoy a wider and less restricted life. However, the accelerating rise of euthanasia and suicide in North America make this rationalization increasingly difficult to maintain. The suicide rate in the United States has increased from 45,979 in 2020 to 47,646 in 2021.
Some observers contend that the current high rate of increase in MAiD deaths should not be a matter of concern since it will most likely level off. Nonetheless, even maintaining MAiD deaths at around 10,000 yearly should be a matter of grave concern. People are applying for MAiD for a number of dubious reasons that have nothing to do with health: poverty, homelessness, boredom, and a loss of a zest for life.
The reasons for the present Culture of Death need to be explored. Life is not only a great gift, it is a blessing. The discussion should Center around how to achieve ‘Life with Dignity’ rather than ‘Death with Dignity.’
Responding to the strong public support for a father who murdered his disabled daughter more than twenty years ago, as a presumed act of compassion, Andrew Coyne, writing for Canada’s “Globe and Mail” (November 21, 1994), had this to say: “A society that believes in nothing can offer no argument even against death. A culture that has lost it faith in life cannot comprehend why it should be endured”.
In retrospect, both Saint John Paul II and Andrew Coyne look like prophets. Not everything is beautiful, but life is still worth living.
