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Comment by jewayne | Hacker News Reader

This might be the biggest PR disaster I've ever seen. Suddenly, the media is full of stories implying that the Canadian government is trying to kill its infirm citizens. This happening with the backdrop of a culture that habitually prolongs life way past the point of cruelty.

This will not end well.

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That's probably the actual sad point with this entire saga so far. Medically assisted death is not easy to obtain in Canada only a handful of doctors in a hospital can prescribe the drug and you need to fit pretty stiff criteria (which don't include mental illness despite what every other article seem to imply).

Medically assisted thing is a good thing for a lot of near terminal patients stuck with debilitating conditions that cause them suffering. It's a mercy.

Your post has some errors & omissions:

- Legal euthanasia ('MAID' in Canadian parlance) is not limited to 'only a handful of doctors in a hospital'--both physicians and nurse practitioners are legally permitted to administer and evaluate patients eligibility for euthanasia.

- Legal euthanasia in Canada is available both to patients with terminal illness (deaths which are 'reasonably foreseeable') and patients with non-terminal illness which is 'grievous and irremediable'. The Canadian gov website expressly notes: "you do not need to have a fatal or terminal condition to be eligible for medical assistance in dying." [0]

- Patient eligibility is largely based on subjective assessment by the patient ("experience unbearable physical or mental suffering...that cannot be relieved under conditions that you consider acceptable") [0] and has been applied in cases far from clear-cut terminal illness leading to unbearable suffering.

- As of March 17th, 2023, the law will change to indeed permit legal euthanasia for patients with isolated mental illness. [0]

Your last two sentences express a valid opinion on the matter, but your initial paragraph contains several inaccuracies. Canada now has one of the world's most liberal euthanasia frameworks which permits euthanasia for non-terminal illnesses, defines patient eligibility largely on the basis of subjective criteria, and will soon be open to patients presenting with isolated mental illness.

[0] https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/medical-assi...

I used to “joke”, as British Columbia cut back healthcare, workers comp, disability payments, social services, treatment programs, etc over the past few decades, that the government wants you dead if you are not a productive, employed person. I mean, that’s the message, right? “You were injured and we’re not going to pay your rent.” “You’re crazy and we’re going to close the institution.” “You’re homeless and we’re not going to provide shelter.”

It’s not a funny joke, because boy, it keeps getting more true with every passing decade.

Thank you for correcting the many false statements made in the parent post.

The Canadian government allowing mentally ill persons to terminate their lives should be real cause for alarm.

The amount of people dying of it Canada’s New Euthanasia Laws Carry Upsetting Nazi-Era Echoes, Warns Expert

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gusalexiou/2022/08/15/canadas-n...

Canadian man claims assisted suicide is being pushed on him by hospital

https://nypost.com/2022/11/08/canadian-man-assisted-suicide-...

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