The Controversial Trend: Are Younger Generations Embracing Euthanasia as a Means of Ending Their Pain?

Apr 07, 2024

It’s only humans who ever commit suicide. Nearly fifty thousand people did so in 2023. 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.

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 like 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.

There isn’t a vast coalition of healthcare professionals in support of euthanasia. In Canada, over a quarter of the deaths are the result of some nurse practitioners and doctors. Canada has adjusted its euthanasia regulations since their initial implementation, making it unique as the sole country permitting nurse practitioners to diagnose, prescribe, and to perform the procedure. Additionally, there are plans to allow euthanasia for mental health reasons and potentially for minors under 18 who meet specific criteria. In 2020, it was announced that euthanasia would also be extended to long-term disabled individuals not facing imminent death.

When retired corporal and Paralympian athlete Christine Gauthier spoke to a veteran’s affairs officer on the phone about installing a stairlift in her home, she says she was offered euthanasia instead.

“I have a letter saying that if you’re so desperate, madam, we can offer you MAID, medical assistance in dying,” Gauthier told a Canadian House of Commons veterans affairs committee in early December. The 52-year-old had lost the use of her legs after a military training accident in 1989 and is a five-time world champion para-canoeist. She wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after the alleged incident with the government worker to express her concern at how euthanasia in the country, which has been legal since 2016, is being handled.

Another Canadian woman was told by her doctors to consider euthanasia after being diagnosed with cancer. She refused and fled to the United States, where she was treated for hundreds of thousands of dollars. These kinds of stories make you realize there are a lot of sick people in countries like Canada who don’t have a lot of money, and many of them are choosing euthanasia. It’s hard to imagine this trend turning bleaker, but it does. As you’d expect, as euthanasia becomes increasingly common all over the world, we’re hearing more disturbing stories.

The Rise of Euthanasia as a Booming Industry: Exploring All-Inclusive Packages Offered by Funeral Homes

Euthanasia has become a booming industry. Funeral homes now offer all-inclusive packages for those euthanized. There’s no denying that the Canadian state-owned media love this. They claim euthanasia saves “millions” in health care costs. However, this isn’t just a Canadian phenomena. Euthanasia has increased around the world. The rate of euthanasia has increased by more than 10 to 25% in Australia, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. In Australia, public broadcasters are running segments promoting euthanasia. “Make a difference in someone’s life today by killing them. Give them a little something extra.”

The Free Press Article

In my Substack article about the Free Press, I wrote about Zoraya ter Beek, a 28-year-old Dutch woman. She plans to have her healthcare professional kill her sometime in May. She’s not suffering from terminal cancer. She’s been diagnosed with depression, autism, and borderline personality disorder and despite living in a beautiful home with her boyfriend and her cats, she’s choosing euthanasia. Even in 2017, she’s romanticized about assisted suicide in the Dutch press. Additionally, 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. In America, the reaction was different. Instead of writing fluff pieces about Zoraya’s decision, many mainstream outlets presented it as a horrifying crime against humanity and a betrayal of the most fundamental principle of life.

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 so far, 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.) …”

Are we going to turn to euthanasia now if we can’t treat mental illness?

If the initial antidepressant drugs prove ineffective, more potent medications will be prescribed to permanently address the issue. Interestingly, the same pharmaceutical companies producing antidepressants also manufacture drugs used in physician-assisted suicides for individuals dissatisfied with their treatment outcomes. Bausch Health produces Seconal, a widely utilized drug in assisted suicide situations that is a barbiturate anesthetic utilized in medical procedures and executions.

This indicates the contagion that has swept Europe, particularly the Netherlands. But America isn’t far off. Earlier this year, the American Medical Association’s delegates considered a resolution endorsing euthanasia, and the AMA has become increasingly dystopian in its views on many issues.

Where We Go from Here

There are three models for assisted suicide. The conservative, Christian model says: No, you cannot commit suicide, because life is a gift from God, and that would be a sin and it’s not moral. The progressive version is the one that currently exists in places like Canada and the Netherlands; it’s publicly funded, the government provides it, directs it, supports it, and pays for it. And they encourage it by not providing the tools necessary for people to get better as in the example of Zoraya ter Beek. The third version is that the government has nothing to do with it, and if you want to take you own life, with assistance, that is your business — you or I might not approve, but it solely upon the person deciding their own fate. We’ll see what model takes in the USA and other places. It suggests that, unless the underlying causes of this trend are rectified, it’ll sweep over the USA.

The root causes of youth suicide lie in the rise in mental illness. This trend of hopelessness and depression emerges when individuals are perplexed about the inherent difficulties of life. The pursuit of happiness is a human right, but not the pursuit of constant happiness. If one feels that their existence is devoid of meaning, it’s not because life lacks purpose; they struggle to realize it. The key is to support these individuals in finding significance and fulfillment in their lives, no matter the societal cost. If we can spend trillions of dollars in a day (like the Iraq war) and billions of dollars (like the Ukraine war), then this becomes a human rights issue.

It’s uncomfortable for some members of society who should be saying that we should be giving these people better resources. Individuals cannot be held hostage to society’s failings. We need to distinguish between a rational, well-informed, fact-based request for assisted dying and a suicidal mental health patient requesting death. We physicians can do this. The difference between a rational suicide request and a rational request for assisted death is well-known to doctors and nurses.

It’s a dystopian nightmare, a war on human life. Once it’s out, it’s uncontrollable. As we tread on the high-wire of euthanasia, more young adolescents with mental illness will romanticize about it. This is a slippery slope we’re treading, and these things tend to become a reality.

Johnathan Edwards MD Substack

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