Last month, one of many Super Bowl ads called on Americans to say "Thank You" to Canada for all it has contributed to our world.

Unfortunately, one of those contributions is a disturbing devotion to euthanasia.

Euthanasia is defined as the intentional killing of a patient suffering from an "incurable and painful disease" or in an irreversible coma.  The practice is still illegal in most countries; Canada is an exception.

Once termed "physician assisted suicide," our northern neighbors legalized this procedure in 2016 for informed and consenting adults who have a "grievous and irremediable condition."  There were safeguards that required that the request be made in writing before two witnesses, the ability to withdraw the request, and a ten-day reflection period before the procedure could take place.

According to the government's recent report, 31,666 people have been put to death since legalized physician-assisted suicide was passed.  It now makes up 3.3% of all the deaths in the country.  Of note in the report is that physician-assisted deaths in 2021 represented a "growth rate of 32.4% over 2020."

Everyone knows what happened in 2021: the COVID-19 lockdowns and shutdowns, the uncertainty, the loss of friends, of social activity, of daily routines, and ultimate control over one's own life.  No doubt the fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and disruption, combined with social isolation, have affected the mental health of millions. And not just for the elderly.

A just released report from the Centers for Disease Control indicates, according to The New York Times, that "[n]early three in five teenage girls felt persistent sadness in 2021, double the rate of boys, and one in three girls seriously considered attempting suicide."  In fact, more than one in five of these students reported attempting suicide.

Depression, sadness, suicidal thoughts, and so many other troubling psychological problems seem to be affecting more of society.

In Canada, young people aged 15 to 24 are more likely to experience mental illness and/or substance use disorders than any other age group according to The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Canada's largest mental health teaching hospital.  Their research indicates in any given year, 1 in 5 Canadians experiences a mental illness.  By the time Canadians reach 40 years of age, 1 in 2 have — or have had — a mental illness.

Amid this disturbing increase in mental illness, especially among young people, Canada expanded its physician-assisted suicide, now termed Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID).  In 2021, the height of the COVID social upheaval, the Legislature expanded the eligibility of MAID to the following ailments:

• have a serious and incurable illness, disease or disability (excluding a mental illness until March 17, 2023)
• be in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capability
• have enduring and intolerable physical or psychological suffering that cannot be alleviated under conditions the person considers acceptable

Physical or psychological suffering?  What is the difference between psychological suffering and mental illness?  This could describe millions, especially since COVID.

One of the most disturbing of all aspects of the MAID report is that in 2021, 2.2% of the total number receiving assistance in dying were individuals "whose natural deaths were not reasonably foreseeable."  In other words, their deaths were not imminent. 

The expansion to the mentally ill was to go into effect on March 17, 2023, but thankfully, Canadians received a reprieve from the government until next year.  The one-year extension, according to the government, would "provide additional time to prepare for the safe and consistent assessment and provision of MAID where the person's sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness."

Mental illness is not a comorbidity and should not be a death warrant.

In fact, the opposite should be true.  These are the most vulnerable in our society, the most susceptible to coercion.  And, according to these reports, the people suffering from these issues can be helped in any number of ways.

Ten states in the U.S., including Vermont, have implemented physician-assisted suicide, and some are considering the expansion of their programs to follow the way of our northern neighbors.  California governor Gavin Newsom revised his state's law in 2021 to limit the previous 15-day waiting period to just two days.  No doubt, he and others look to Canada to see how far they can push the envelope.

Who will speak for these vulnerable individuals who, in a state of depression, indecision, or desperation, will ask the state to help them end the pain?   Euthanasia is not the answer.

The chilling words of German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoller who criticized and shamed his fellow countryman for not speaking out against Adolf Hitler when he was murdering millions, should be remembered.  

In addition to the plan to rid the world of Jews, the Nazis had a euthanasia program that began much earlier and included killing people with mental and physical disabilities considered to be genetically defective and a financial burden on society.

How could we possibly consider allowing these policies to go unopposed?  No, thank you, Canada — we cherish the lives of all human beings and must preserve their dignity and right to life at all stages.

Lenore Broughton is the vice president of the Vermont Institute for Human Flourishing.

Image: Hernan Fednan via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.