UN Committee slams Canada’s ‘ableist’ euthanasia regime

The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has urged the Canadian Government to stop euthanising patients based on “negative, ableist perceptions” of disabled people.

Under the country’s so-called Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) regime, those enduring “intolerable physical or psychological suffering” from a “serious and incurable” disability can request to be killed by doctors.

But the CRPD called on the Government to abandon plans to start euthanising patients whose “sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness” from 2027.

‘Negative perceptions’

The CRPD said the current law allows euthanasia “based on negative, ableist perceptions of the quality and value of the life of persons with disabilities, including that ‘suffering’ is intrinsic to disability rather than the fact that inequality and discrimination cause and compound ‘suffering’ for persons with disabilities”.

It continued: “The concept of ‘choice’ creates a false dichotomy by setting up the premise that if persons with disabilities are suffering, it is valid for the State Party to enable their death, with safeguards not guaranteeing the provision of support, and ableist assumptions deemphasising the myriad of support options for persons with disabilities”.

According to evidence from the Ontario Office of the Chief Coroner, the CRPD noted that “there is an upward trajectory of persons with disabilities killed”.

In contrast, the CRPD urged the Government to address “systemic failures” in services such as accessible housing, care, and employment support.

‘No choice at all’

During the Religion News Association’s annual conference, Krista Carr, CEO of disability rights group Inclusion Canada, warned that euthanasia is “being called a choice”, but “it’s not a choice”.

She explained that it is being pushed on those who are in “a desperate situation where they can’t get the support they need”.

Euthanasia now accounts for almost one in 20 deaths in Canada. In 2023, over 15,300 Canadians died by MAID.

Paralympian

In the UK, Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson has warned that Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill would devalue the lives of the disabled and coerce them into thinking dying is their ‘best’ option.

Speaking in October, Baroness Grey-Thompson explained that the more she looked into the topic, the more concerned she became, particularly given how quickly safeguards have been eroded in jurisdictions where it has already been legalised.

She shared how people have said to her: “If my life was like yours, I’d end it”. She explained: “I have a massive amount of privilege. If you think that about my life, what do you think of other disabled people as well? So I am really worried.”

Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow patients in England and Wales deemed to be terminally ill and with less than six months to live to receive help to kill themselves. It will now progress to Report Stage and Third Reading, where MPs will get another opportunity to vote it down.