(LifeSiteNews) — In a society unmoored from moral absolutes, law frequently becomes a moral teacher. That is why we have seen practices and behaviors once opposed by solid majorities become accepted by equally large majorities almost overnight — because once the stigma of criminalization or legal restriction was removed, the public promptly adopted a new position. We are seeing this unfold in profoundly chilling ways with assisted suicide, which was legalized in Canada in 2016.
According to a new survey done by Research Co. between April 22 and 24 among 1,000 adults, Canadian attitudes toward assisted suicide are expanding with the boundaries of our euthanasia regime. Consider a few significant numbers.
27% believe that people should have access to euthanasia because they are poor — a number that rises to 41% among the 18 to 34 age group. A full 28% believe that Canadians should have access to euthanasia for homelessness. This means that a growing plurality of Canadians believe that killing poor and homeless citizens by lethal injection is morally acceptable, and perhaps even desirable — despite the obvious fact that Canadians opting for death in these circumstances are doing so in part due to economic coercion.
It is important to note, despite a conveyor belt of horror stories about the poor applying for assisted suicide, Canadians have clearly not been hearing what they are saying. They don’t want to die — they want to be able to live, as one MAiD applicant Les Landry told me. The Toronto Star referred to the Canadian status quo as “Hunger Games-style social Darwinism.” I suspect we haven’t seen anything yet.
The most chilling statistic, however, is the fact that 50% of Canadians support euthanasia for the disabled — a number that rises to 60% among the 18 to 34 age group. This is not simply ableism; it is ableism harnessed to eugenics. The Canadian disability community has been desperately warning the government of these growing attitudes since the discussion around assisted suicide and euthanasia began, and they have been ignored at every single turn. The reality is that many people look at people with disabilities and think: If I had that disability, I’d rather be dead. It is this perverse version of “compassion” that is driving their support for assisted suicide for the disabled.
Support is growing for the Liberal government’s plan to extent assisted suicide to the mentally ill as well. While a majority of Canadians still opposes the expansion — only 43% of respondents supported assisted suicide for those with mental illness — only 22% “strongly disagreed.” That means the Liberal government will be able to implement these changes, barring a change in leadership, virtually unopposed. The advocates and activists desperately trying to stall these changes and warning about the consequences of the government affirming suicidal ideation and cognitive distortions in those suffering from mental illness will be ignored — just as representatives of the disability community were ignored.
In short, this new survey contains nothing but bad news. Canada is shifting on assisted suicide, and if the trend continues, I suspect opposition to euthanasia for mental illness will rapidly melt away as well.
As historian Tom Holland noted in response to this poll: “Now, this really IS post-Christian.”
RELATED
Lawsuit filed to strike down California’s ‘unconstitutional’ assisted suicide law
The Netherlands is euthanizing children, and Canada could be next
