Canada's MAiD program, Transhumanism, and Assisted suicide

The slippery slopes of assisted suicide—expanded eligibility, coercion, devaluation of life, and ethical erosion—hinge on implementation and cultural attitudes. The potential for coercion in poorly regulated systems is a significant concern, while robust safeguards (e.g., Switzerland’s model) can mitigate them. The transhumanism connection lies in shared themes of autonomy, technological control, and redefining human limits.

Canada’s MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) program, which expanded rapidly since 2016, has faced criticism for cases where poverty or lack of social support influenced decisions. Legalizing assisted suicide is a deeply polarizing issue, and its potential societal impacts—often framed as “slippery slopes”—depend on how it’s implemented and the cultural context. Sometimes, it must be uncomfortable to be Canadian. When it comes to their MAiD program, they are an ill-informed society and letting the government get away with bizarre policies and actions. They make it appear that the majority of Canadians are in favor of their assisted suicide program, which kills more than 15,000 people a year. The Canadians I’ve asked are uniformed or feel like they’re stuck with it because it is lumped into who they vote for. They don’t seem to vote individually for these laws. And it’s not as simple as if the Canadians would have voted conservative to suppress this law. Most governments appear to rely on their citizens’ ignorance, especially in Canada’s MAiD program. It’s all pretty demonic.

The Controversy Surrounding Euthanasia as a Leading Cause of Death in Canada

As of 2022, euthanasia is now Canada’s fifth-leading cause of death, accounting for one out of every 25 deaths, ahead of diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. Despite becoming increasingly challenging to track, the number of so-called “assisted deaths” increased by 30% year-over-year. It’s because, in the future, euthanasia deaths won’t be recorded as deaths. Instead, the reason the patient provides for seeking euthanasia will be recorded as the cause of death. This is the case if you had COVID and died from cancer; it was COVID listed on the death certificate. Research suggests medically assisted dying could result in substantial savings across Canada’s healthcare system. Doctor-assisted death could reduce annual healthcare spending across the country by between $34.7 million and 136.8 million dollars.

The Slippery Slopes of Legalizing Assisted Suicide

Laws usually restrict assisted suicide to terminally ill adults with clear mental capacity. Over time, countries like the Netherlands and Canada have broadened the indications to include chronic illnesses and mental health conditions (e.g., depression). The societal impact of normalizing euthanasia as a solution to suffering is immense, potentially pressuring vulnerable groups—like the elderly, disabled, or those with mental health struggles—to feel they’re a burden. Oregon (2023) data shows a steady increase in assisted deaths (0.4% of total deaths), with some citing “loss of autonomy” rather than just terminal illness. This societal pressure is a cause for concern and should be a focal point in our ethical debates. However, strict oversight and narrow criteria can limit expansion, as seen in Switzerland, where assisted suicide is tightly regulated for non-residents and residents alike.

This erosion of trust in healthcare systems is alarming and fosters a culture where life is devalued for those deemed “less productive.” Studies (e.g., 2022 Canadian reports) suggest some patients felt pressured due to systemic failures in care. Canada’s health system is certainly partly to blame regarding how difficult it is to be seen for non-life-threatening conditions. Unless you are presenting for an imminent heart attack in Canada, you can be sure of a months-long wait to see a healthcare provider. Depressed people need therapy and care, not an assisted way to plan a meeting between them and their maker.

Devaluation of Life

Legalizing assisted suicide shifts societal norms toward viewing certain lives as less worth living, particularly for the disabled or chronically ill. This has led to a broader acceptance of euthanasia as a default for suffering, potentially undermining palliative care or social support systems. In Belgium, more than 20% of euthanasia cases in 2022 involved non-terminal conditions, raising ethical questions. We are going back to medieval times when life was not considered sacred, and we can be justified in killing someone anytime we feel the need to do so.

Abortion and assisted suicide must be pretty wild industries to be in. Ironically, they are linked to the healing industry. Most don’t recall precisely what the Hippocratic Oath says:

“And by all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses that I will carry out according to my ability and judgment this oath and this indenture. Neither will I administer to anybody a poison when asked to do so. Similarly, I will not give a woman a pessary to cause abortion. But I will keep pure and holy both my life and my art.”

Legalization conflicts with the Hippocratic principles, forcing doctors to balance patient autonomy with their ethical obligations. Many physicians have opted out of MAiD due to moral conflicts. This could fracture trust in the medical profession and create a chilling effect where doctors prioritize legal compliance over patient care. It might also incentivize cost-cutting in healthcare systems, favoring euthanasia over expensive treatments.

Relation to the Transhumanism Agenda

Transhumanism, broadly defined, seeks to enhance human capabilities and transcend biological limits through technology. It often emphasizes autonomy, longevity, and optimized existence. Its connection to assisted suicide is complex.

Transhumanism champions individual control over body and mind, including the right to enhance, modify, or end one’s life. Assisted suicide aligns with this by granting autonomy over death, especially for those facing unbearable suffering. Legalizing assisted suicide could normalize the idea of “choosing” one’s exit, potentially paving the way for transhumanist ideas like elective life extension or consciousness uploading as extensions of bodily autonomy. For example, transhumanist thinkers advocate for radical self-determination, including over life and death. If autonomy is absolutized, it might amplify slippery slopes, prioritizing individual choice over societal safeguards, especially for vulnerable groups.

Redefining Death and Life

Transhumanism’s focus on overcoming biological limits (e.g., through cryonics or digital immortality) attempts to reframe death as a choice rather than an inevitability. Assisted suicide might be seen as a precursor to technologies that allow curated exits, like “uploading” consciousness before physical decline.

Legalizing assisted suicide desensitizes society to death as a malleable event, aligning with transhumanist goals of mastering human existence. This could exacerbate the devaluation of “natural” life, particularly for those unable to afford transhumanist enhancements, creating a tiered society where only the enhanced have “worthy” lives.

Transhumanism envisions technologies like AI-driven diagnostics or brain-computer interfaces like Neuralink to enhance decision-making. In an assisted suicide context, such tools could assess eligibility or mental capacity. It’s easy to imagine where this leads.

Legalization might accelerate demand for tech-driven euthanasia protocols, aligning with transhumanist goals of integrating technology into human choices. For example, AI could streamline approvals, as seen in speculative proposals for “death algorithms.”

Overreliance on tech depersonalizes decisions, amplifying coercion risks and reducing human oversight, especially if profit-driven systems (e.g., healthcare or tech firms) dominate. It’s important to remember that coercion for the greater good doesn’t rely on beneficial outcomes, as in the case of forced chemotherapy for children.

Transhumanism often challenges traditional ethics, prioritizing progress and enhancement over sanctity-of-life principles. Assisted suicide legalization could reflect a similar shift, questioning absolute moral prohibitions on ending life.

This convergence only emboldens transhumanist policies, like state-backed enhancement programs or deregulated biotech, which prioritize individual optimization over collective welfare. Many warn of transhumanism’s potential to erode social cohesion, a risk mirrored in euthanasia debates. Without ethical guardrails, both could foster a utilitarian view where only “enhanced” or “useful” lives are valued, marginalizing those who don’t fit the mold.

The UnHerd Article

This particular case of Marge in the UnHerd article and others reminds me of the beginning of the transgender hoax. And we’re letting common sense go out the door and replace it with the opinions of desperate, unwell individuals. And now, a few medical professional outliers, compliant courts, and an uninformed country lack proper governance. This is Canada. A slippery slope is becoming ever steeper and more slippery. Compulsory euthanasia awaits. And this is a foray into transhumanism, where only the completely healthy can live. And then you also hear of the arguments that assisted suicide is an act of incurable suffering. Some say, “you wouldn’t allow your dog to suffer like that. Why would you not relieve people of their misery?” People who think like this are more about themselves and their own power than the other person whose suffering is personal and unknown to them. And then you have the ‘Choice-nicks’ who believe they have a right to choose death if they want to, and it’s nobody else’s business. The trouble with this is that it is the business of others because actions set examples that affect attitudes. These kinds of cases are where the proverbial rubber meets the road. And most Canadians, and the rest of the world for that matter, are unaware that these things are happening.

The beginning of this story is from an article in UnHerd where a father is battling Canada’s suicide machine. He is battling the MAiD program not to kill his autistic daughter, who has been cleared for assisted suicide. This story about a father trying to save his 28-year-old daughter Marge, who is scheduled to die by assisted suicide. Even more, she doesn’t even have to leave her home to accomplish this. The health care providers come to the family’s home in Alberta, Canada. Per the story, Marge is autistic, vulnerable, and has no diagnosed physical illness. Her autism made her different from her peers and lonely, no doubt. But we need to come to grips with whether this is something we want to start terminating lives over.

Like any parent trying to save his daughter, he went to the courts and filed a legal claim that no father should have to face trying to save his daughter’s life from the Canadian health system that appears more committed to delivering death than protecting life. By taking legal action, he has delayed Marge’s death for a while. But his daughter Marge keeps pressing on. This seems like the same narrative that the young transgender youth follow. The big difference here is that the transgender youth will receive irreversible surgery, and most will have to deal with the consequences alive. But once you go down the MAiD program, there’s no coming back.

Recently, the pro-euthanasia liberals were re-elected to power in Canada. This story highlights this slippery slope expansion of the categories of patients deemed eligible for suicide by doctors and, in Canada, by nurse practitioners. Marge’s only diagnosis is autism and ADHD. I was taken aback by one instance: the family doctor practicing with the Alberta Health Services took fewer than 24 hours to review and approve Marge’s application for assisted suicide, even though her treatment neurologist quoted her as usual. This appears to be that if you want something bad enough, you just need to find the right healthcare provider to say yes. Again, the same thing happens with the transgender population.

It can also be said that Marge is a victim of the COVID lockdowns and her condition. During this time, her life was on nocturnal lockdown. And like many, she spent it online late at night, sleeping through the day. It must be realized that these kids go into very deep, dark places in these internet chat rooms. The internet is no place for deeply depressed individuals. Jonathan Haidt, author of the “The Anxious Generation,” has written about these dark internet abysses.

Where’s Canada Going with MAiD?

Canada has become a warning light for the limits of enforcing safeguards for euthanasia. In Canada, at least today, intellectual disabilities or mental illness alone are no reason for people to receive MAiD. That’s unlike the Netherlands, where at least five people with intellectual disorders (younger than 30) cited autism as their primary motivation for euthanasia. Recall the Dutch press article in which Zoraya spoke about the urn she plans to use, saying it will be her “new home.” Zoraya’s psychiatrists didn’t suggest any alternative and told her she was doomed as “they had tried everything, that there’s nothing more we can do for you. It’s never going to get any better.”

Surprisingly, the reaction to this Free Press article varies greatly. In The Netherlands, instead of being upset with the medical industry, there was anger directed towards the publication for bringing attention to the topic.

Matt Walsh, in the Daily Mail article, highlighted The Free Press article: as Rupa Subramanya put it on X:

“I’ve been struck by the reactions, some of which I anticipated. North Americans tend to be horrified at the Dutch acceptance of the right to die, even for someone who is not terminally ill, or their acceptance that there should be a more humane to commit suicide even when euthanasia is legal. The Dutch I spoke to find North Americans very conservative and religious when it comes to life and death. The Netherlands is a post-religious society (just like Canada is a post-national country – the similarities are striking.) …”

Is Assisted Suicide Peaceful?

Let’s look at the peacefulness of euthanasia. In the Netherlands, euthanasia is legally regulated, and specific drugs are used to ensure it’s performed “humanely and ethically.” It’s only humans who ever commit suicide. The funny thing is that we can see ourselves clearly when the water flows smoothly, like a mirror. Everything seems beautiful and serene. But when the water becomes turbulent, it becomes harder to see ourselves, if at all. What’s happening underneath the glassy-like water is violent and, in reality, a nightmare.

Most people believe that programs like MAiD are if you’re going to die anyway, such as from terminal cancer or other life-ending illnesses. But this program sets up for MAID providers to pay a final house visit and bring the lethal, seemingly routine injection of:

1. Barbiturates (such as Pentobarbital or Secobarbital) - These are central nervous system depressants, eventually leading to unconsciousness.

2. Muscle relaxants (such as Rocuronium or Vecuronium) - These are administered following a barbiturate to hasten the cessation of respiratory activity.

3. Other anesthetic agents, such as propofol or midazolam, further suppress consciousness and respiratory activity.

And as I’ve written before, the process of this kind of death is not comfortable. It’s akin to being drowned in your lungs. And there certainly must be a point where you know there’s no coming back as you see the mirrors of your conscious crack before you. Please refer to my previous article. In my Substack article about the Free Press, I wrote about Zoraya ter Beek, a 28-year-old Dutch woman. She died under the auspices of experiencing “unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement,” per her psychiatrist.

Zoraya was not suffering from terminal cancer, like Marge, depression, autism, and borderline personality disorder. The result of late-night internet chat rooms is the romanticized idea of assisted suicide.

I have no idea what the people who killed this young woman used, but let’s go through the conceivable sequence of actions during euthanasia. Once an intravenous line is established, some combination of pentobarbital, propofol, and midazolam is forced into the veins, suppressing consciousness and breathing. Things seem fantastic and peaceful from the onlooker’s view. The mind is in another place but still conjoined to the body. Capable of coming back. Then, the muscle relaxant is pushed. Depending on the dose and when the muscle relaxant is given, the diaphragm is completely paralyzed, making breathing impossible. The heart rate increases as the body stops breathing to compensate for the severe hypoxemia (low levels of oxygen in the blood) and increased amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) just before death, known as the hypoxic and hypercapnic respiratory drives, respectively. The brainstem’s medulla oblongata triggers these responses, the brain’s life-support system setting off the distress signal to the brain that the body is shutting down.

Whatever beautiful picture she once had is now cracking. It’s probably something like a mirror cracking in front of you. You’re probably aware that your blood flow is ceasing and clotting. In the meantime, the lungs quickly fill up with water due to the lack of blood movement through the lungs and heart. This distress signal is powerful, designed for moments like this, to promote survival. In the context of impending death, particularly in cases of respiratory failure, the body is left unable to respond. This is undoubtedly the root of PTSD from waterboarding prisoners. Whether this death, or any death for that matter, is peaceful is impossible to answer. But looking at it from the lens of nature, there’s not much “peace” about it. Instead, it’s a brutal physiological attempt to save the body and cells.

The Future of MAiD in Canada

2027 is when the country will expand the laws to approve assisted suicide requests for mental illness alone. You need two physicians or nurse practitioners in Canada to meet eligibility requirements. And these healthcare providers are champions of the MAiD system. Sadly, Marge’s parents have to argue in court to save her life. All Marge had to do was go doctor shopping to find healthcare providers who would hear her cause and approve of her assisted suicide.

It’s only humans who ever commit suicide. Nearly fifty thousand people did so in 2023 in the US. Having euthanasia available as a painless, easy way to end their lives will lead to more and more people using it, and at younger ages. They’ll be given antidepressants that don’t help and then euthanasia drugs.

These laws protecting the MAiD program are difficult to govern in that it takes much effort for legal authorities to second-guess these healthcare providers. It’s amazing that the Supreme Court of Canada has decriminalized euthanasia and not found any problems with the safeguards. They have even ruled that the MAiD program wasn’t expansive enough.

It’s difficult to imagine what a society is going to become when we launch a euthanasia case based on a non-terminal disability rather than giving the person the means to treat the disability. These are cases that are discriminatory and violate our most fundamental rights.

https://unherd.com/2025/05/a-father-battles-canadas-suicide-machine/

Substack article: