By Michael Bielawski

Canada is experiencing a rapid shift in how folks’ lives are ending. Now one in 20 citizens die from choosing euthanasia. Meanwhile, a popular pro-life news site suggests that Vermont’s new legislature may now have fewer supporters for the cause.

Journalist and commentator Jon Rappoport wrote about the latest trends north of the border.

“And as far as the government is concerned, they’re always looking to transfer a private decision and control it. They’re not satisfied letting people commit suicide on their own. No. Make it medical, and invent an official department to handle it,” he wrote.

Vermont’s “End of Life Choices”

Vermont’s “End of Life Choices” law means that doctors may prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients if that’s what they choose. The law has been in effect since 2013.

Safeguards include that the patient must express this desire at least three times including once in writing. Also, a second doctor must confirm that the patient is terminally ill and of a rational mind.

In 2020, the Vermont Department of Health issued a report to the Legislature on how the law had been utilized from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2019. Findings include there were 34 total “events” of which 24 were due to cancer, four were due to ‘amyotrophic lateral sclerosis’ (a severe nervous system disorder), three were from Parkinson’s Disease, and Huntington’s Disease, and another three were from ‘other events’.

More stats include that 28 of those 34 cases took medication for assisted suicide whereas the remaining six perished due to an underlying health condition.

A headline by LifeSiteNews suggests that Vermont’s new “purple” state legislature is attributed at least in part due to backlash against movements to expand assisted suicide. The report titled “Vermont: Pro-euthanasia politicians lose big in midterm elections” offers some examples of vocally pro-euthanasia politicians who recently lost their seats. One such example was Rep. Linda Waite-Simpson, D-Essex.

“She repeatedly said she was ‘doing this for my Dad who was a member of the Hemlock Society,’ and made her support for the issue a major focus of her re-election campaign,” the report states.

She lost her re-election bid. The report continues, “Not only did Waite-Simpson lose her seat, she came in fourth place in a two-seat district. Similarly, Rep. Cindy Weed lost her seat after making her support for Act 39 a campaign issue.”

Canada’s system abused?

Catholic News Agency is reporting that an activist organization called the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) which was involved in efforts to legalize euthanasia is now warning that there may be abuse.

“The activist group that led the push to legalize Medical Aid In Dying (MAID) in Canada is now warning that additional government safeguards are needed to combat reports of abuse of the program,” they wrote.

A concerning report by LifeSiteNews notes that about half of Canadians utilizing the program are doing so for non-medical emergency-related reasons such as “loneliness”.

“Of the 662 people who were not in danger of death but succumbed to medical assistance in dying last year, 47.1 percent cited as reasons for wanting to die ‘isolation or loneliness,’” their report states.

It continues, “The report [a Canadian government report] stated that ‘social isolation and loneliness are shown to have a serious impact on physical and mental health, quality of life, and longevity.’”

In another concerning report by LifeSiteNews, a Canadian elderly man has reported that when faced with daunting medical expenses to remain in hospice a medical professional offered him euthanasia as a solution to his problems.

The report states, “71-year-old Fred Sandeski, who suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among other things, says he was offered euthanasia when facing increased care costs at a hospice center.”

No federal laws

According to the website Find Law, currently, in the U.S. there are no federal laws concerning euthanasia. Meaning it’s been left to the states to manage any policies.

They note in 1990 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that patients or their health care agents may refuse certain medical treatments such as feeding tubes. It states, “Health care agents typically follow a patient’s wishes laid out in a living will or ‘do not resuscitate’ form.”

The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle