A homeless camp in Vancouver, Canada. Photo: The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck.
A recent survey by the polling firm Research Co. shows that 28% of Canadians are fine with approving a homeless person’s request for assisted suicide, even if the individual does not suffer from any serious medical condition. The purpose of the poll was to probe “just how comfortable Canadians were with the current state of the country’s MAID (medical assistance in dying) regime,” according to a National Post report.
In March 2021, Canada became one of a handful of countries in the world to legalize medically assisted suicide, including cases where a patient does not have a terminal illness. Since then, a Canadian can be approved for MAID simply for having a “grievous and irremediable medical condition.”
The Research Co. survey also found that 73% of the poll respondents were in favor of the current MAID system while 16% opposed it. The survey also found that quite a significant number of Canadians supported approving assisted suicide requests for people who do not suffer from medical conditions of any kind.
If a Canadian’s only affliction was “poverty,” 27% of the respondents said that they would be fine with legalizing that person’s access to MAID. Another 28% said “homelessness” was an appropriate bar to qualify for MAID.
About 20% of respondents were fine with MAID being handed out to anybody for any reason, as they agreed with the sentiment “medical assistance in dying should always be allowed, regardless of who requests it.”
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Notably, the most unequivocal supporters of MAID were evenly distributed among age groups, regions, and even political positions: the group was made up of 20% conservatives, 20% New Democratic Party supporters, and 22% liberals.
The most pressing implication of the survey is that a significant portion of the Canadian population seems to agree with disposing of people just because they are poor, thus exposing the farce of Western support for human rights.
Controversies surrounding MAID include the fact that a number of Canadians with serious illnesses have opted for assisted death after years of failing to obtain proper medical care. However, a slim majority in the Research Co. survey supported this situation, as 51% endorsed “inability to receive medical treatment” as a sufficient reason for assisted death.
(Misión Verdad) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/KZ
Misión Verdad
Misión Verdad is a Venezuelan investigative journalism website with a socialist perspective in defense of the Bolivarian Revolution
