(LifeSiteNews) – Most Canadians have concerns over expanding euthanasia to those suffering from mental illness, according to a new poll.
The poll, conducted by Angus Reid Institute and released Monday in partnership with Cardus, found that only 31% of Canadians are in favor of letting people with mental illness access medical assistance in dying (MAiD).
Over half of Canadians (51%) outright oppose the idea of expanding MAiD to those with mental illnesses, with 18% of people being unsure.
While 61% of respondents said they support the existing MAiD laws, 28% are opposed and 11% unsure.
A total of 52% of Canadians said the increase in MAiD has “cheapened the value of human life” in the country.
The Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau legalized euthanasia in 2016 and has continued to push for further expansions to who can qualify for state-sanctioned death.
The Quebec College of Physicians believes Canada’s assisted suicide program, Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), can and should be used on infants born with ‘severe malformations’.
This is nothing short of infanticide.
In a recent press release, Dr. Louis Roy from the Quebec College of Physicians claimed that MAiD could be appropriate for babies born with ‘grave and severe syndromes’ for which their ‘prospective of survival is null, so to speak.’
No matter how you spin it, an infant cannot consent to their own death – to decide for them and give a lethal dose is murder.
Sign now to tell the Quebec College of Physicians they cannot issue death sentences to infants with illnesses!
Once the door to killing without consent is opened, the number of people who become eligible to be murdered increases exponentially. Providing MAiD to a person who cannot consent is a standard that is wildly dangerous for all persons with intellectual disabilities in Canada.
Canada cannot begin killing babies when doctors predict that they will not have a good quality of life. Predictions are often based on discriminatory assumptions about life with a disability. Many people diagnosed with disabilities as babies who were expected to not have a good quality of life are now grown adults leading thriving lives.
Providing MAiD for terminally ill newborns is murder! This is a slippery slope towards ending the lives of millions of people either born with or diagnosed with intellectual disabilities.
The Quebec College of Physicians MUST back down from infanticide — SIGN NOW and make them know that you flatly condemn this horrifying practice!
MORE INFORMATION:
‘It’s murder’: Quebec physicians group slammed for proposing to euthanize ‘severely ill’ babies
The expansion to include those suffering solely from mental illness came as part of the 2021 passage of Bill C-7, which also allowed the chronically ill – not just the terminally ill – to qualify for doctor-assisted death.
The mental illness expansion was originally set to take effect next month. However, after massive pushback from pro-life groups, conservative politicians, and others, the Trudeau Liberals have since decided to delay the introduction of the full effects of Bill C-7 until 2024 via Bill C-39.
According to the poll, two-thirds of Canadians think that one must have exhausted all treatment options before being allowed MAiD.
The poll also found that people who are practicing their religious beliefs are against MAiD for all criteria when it comes to mental illnesses.
People who are not religious are more likely to approve of MAiD.
Overall, over half of Canadians note they are concerned that euthanasia laws are being promoted over social programs to help people.
The poll, conducted January 24-26, sampled 1,816 Canadians.
Last week, Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) MP Ed Fast introduced a new private member’s Bill C-314 that would repeal expansion of Canada’s euthanasia laws to those suffering solely from mental illness.
Fast’s bill received immediate praise from Canada’s top pro-life organization, Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), after it passed its first reading.
In a statement posted two weeks ago, CPC MP Michael Cooper, who serves as the Conservative Shadow Minister of Democratic Reform, said on behalf of his party that the Liberal’s one-year delay of MAiD “for mental illness is an admission of failure.”
Canada’s increasingly permissive laws have allowed euthanasia to rise 32% since 2020, with more than 10,000 people dying in 2021 alone.