If Canada truly wants to save lives, they’re going about it all wrong. instead of banning guns, they should take their assisted suicide program off life support.
Earlier this month Public Safety Canada announced that it was expanding its federal list of banned firearms by an additional 324 makes and models on its prohibited list of guns, effective immediately.
These are in addition to Canada’s previous list of more than 2,000 makes and models of prohibited weapons, in its effort to save Canadian lives.
But if Canada truly wants to protect the life of its citizens, they should ban MAID, which stands for "Medical Assistance in Dying" — its assisted suicide program.
Last year approximately 15,300 Canadians received state-assisted suicides through the MAID program.
This accounted for five percent of all deaths that occurred in our northern neighbor.
With a population a bit more than eight times that of Canada’s, that would equate to 122,400 U.S. deaths.
However, the United States reported nothing close to 122,400 deaths by guns. A total of 18,874 firearm deaths, excluding suicides, were reported in the United States last year — only about 15% of Canada’s assisted suicides, adjusted for population.
That should put to rest America’s reputation as a "wild west" country with its Second Amendment guarantees.
Also in 2023, the United States reported 49,300 suicide deaths, less than half of Canada’s medically assisted suicides, adjusted again for population.
To be eligible to participate in Canada’s Medical Assistance In Dying program, one must:
- Be at least 18 years of age and mentally competent;
- Have a grievous and irremediable medical condition; and,
- Make a voluntary request for medical assistance in dying.
But as the following case study illustrates, this is all subject to liberal interpretation.
Vancouver resident Kathrin Mentler was in the midst of a mental health crisis that included chronic depression and thoughts of suicide, so she tried to check herself into Vancouver General Hospital’s Access and Assessment Centre to receive help.
This took place in June of 2023, several months after she’d experienced a “traumatic event” and she lacked a support system at home.
Mentler recalled that initially everything seemed to go well, until the clinician noted there were no beds available for her.
"It was pretty disheartening and made me feel helpless," she said. “I’m coming here because I’m looking for help and you’re telling me there is no help."
That’s when she was offered an alternative — medically assisted suicide.
Mentler said she was both "shocked" and "sickened," because, after all, she went to the Access and Assessment Centre for help to specifically prevent herself from taking her own life, “not for recommendations on how to kill myself."
She concluded, "No matter how much you struggle with mental illness or disability or chronic illness, no one should make a judgment about the value of your life or if it’s worth living."
To make cases like Mentler’s easier, beginning March 17, 2027, Canadians suffering solely from a mental illness or disorder will be eligible for MAID.
Why treat the problem when they can quickly eliminate it altogether.
That’s not the answer.
If you call the Suicide Help line in the United States, you’ll receive counseling to help you through your crisis and prevent you from taking your own life.
But in Canada, apparently, if you call a suicide helpline, they’ll give you the means to do it and then congratulate themselves afterwards on a job well done — another problem solved.
If Canada truly wants to protect its population, it should get rid of medically assisted suicide, and support the right to keep and bear arms, not only for sport and recreation, but also for self-protection.
Or does that make too much sense?
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and a Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.