(LifeSiteNews) — A new petition to support MP Tamara Jansen’s bill banning euthanasia for mental illness has been launched, and Canadians are urged to sign it either online, or to print a paper version and mail it in.
Bill C-218 – the “Right to Recover Act” – was debated in Parliament on December 5, with Jansen making a passionate plea for her colleagues to support Canadians with mental illness rather than offering them suicide at their most vulnerable. MP Andrew Lawton shared both his own story of surviving suicide as well as the stories of Canadians who have reached out to him since the bill was launched.
Today marks 15 years since the suicide attempt that nearly ended my life. In just 15 months, someone going through the darkness I was back then will be eligible to end their life with MAID. I shared my story in support of Bill C-218, which will stop this and literally save lives. pic.twitter.com/jN2EJ2FO6h
— Andrew Lawton (@AndrewLawton) December 9, 2025
The “Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled” details why Bill C-218 is so crucial:
- According to Canadian Mental Health Association, in any given year, one in five people in Canada will personally experience a mental health problem or illness;
- Approximately 20 percent of Canadian youth are affected by a mental illness or disorder;
- Suicide is the second leading cause of death among age 15-34;
- Only one out of five children receive appropriate mental health services;
- Mental illness changes a person’s thinking and impairs sober decision making;
- Research has found that 46 percent of people who die by suicide had a known mental health condition;
- Mental illness can be treated and recovered from, leading to a meaningful and productive life; and,
- For recovery, mental health patients need a message of hope, not an option of death.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons in Parliament assembled to support Bill C-218 to exclude mental illness or disorder from MAiD and to invest resources to mental health services.
READ: Disabled Canadian man chooses euthanasia due to loneliness, ‘psychosocial suffering’
The petition opened for signing on February 4 and will close for signatures on March 6. The petition can be signed by following this link, and your signature will be need to be confirmed by a follow-up email that will be sent to you automatically after you fill out the petition.
Bill C-218 is one of those rare parliamentary bills that would actually save thousands of lives in the immediate term by halting the scheduled 2027 expansion of euthanasia to those suffering solely from mental illness. As the petition indicates, millions of Canadians suffer from mental illness. If those experiencing suicidal ideation are offered suicide by the state-run healthcare system, countless nightmare scenarios will play out in thousands of Canadian families across the country.
With Bill C-218, Parliament has the opportunity to prevent this nightmare.
“Dr. John Maher testified before Parliament that 7% of those who attempt suicide die by suicide,” Andrew Lawton stated in his parliamentary speech in December. “That means that 93% of people who, at one or multiple points, want to end their life eventually get over that. The success rate of MAiD is 100%. By design, this is a policy that will give up on people … These are real people. There are faces to this. If Bill C-218 does not pass, people will die. We have a right and a duty to stand up for those who need it.”
Canadians should rally to support this essential bill, both by signing the petition, and, if possible, by sharing their own stories of mental illness, suicidal ideation, and recovery with Andrew Lawton, which can be done through his website.
