Petition to: Rishi Sunak - Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford
Reject Any Move to Legalise Assisted Suicide.
Reject Any Move to Legalise Assisted Suicide.
Amir Farsoud didn’t want to die. But after being threatened with eviction, he applied for MAiD (medical assistance in dying) rather than face homelessness. Mr Farsoud, from Ontario, did not have a terminal illness, but was signed off for euthanasia because of chronic back pain. ‘I don’t want to die but I don’t want to be homeless more than I don’t want to die,’ he said. ‘It’s not my first choice.’
His story made headlines, and a GoFundMe page set up for him raised over $60,000 - enough to get him new housing - and to change his mind about ending his life. Just a month after his story was first shared, Mr Farsoud said: “I’m a different person…I had nothing but darkness, misery, stress and hopelessness. Now I have all the opposite of those things.”
Thankfully, Mr Farsoud's story has a happy ending. But for many marginalised and suffering people in Canada, the end has been very different. Michael Fraser, who, again, was not terminally ill, had his life ended on July 2, at the age of 55. His physician said: “poverty is pushing people to MAiD … For sure, I think the fact that he had trouble paying his rent made it harder for him to be in this world.” A woman in Ontario was forced into euthanasia because her benefits did not allow her to move to better housing which didn’t aggravate her crippling allergies. Another disabled woman applied to die because she ‘simply cannot afford to keep on living’.
Canada’s approach to assisted suicide shows how laws of this nature are inherently unsafe, unpredictable and unethical.
However, activists are pushing for similar laws in the UK. There are consultations happening to change the law on Jersey and the Isle of Man. In Scotland, Liam McArthur MSP is introducing his Assisted Dying (Scotland) Bill. At Westminster, MPs on the Health and Social Care Select Committee are running an inquiry into assisted suicide.
We must send a strong message to our political leaders that assisted suicide is a dangerous and unethical practice that must never be legalised in any part of the UK. Please sign the petition now.
More Information:
Canadian man facing eviction accepted onto country's controversial legal euthanasia programme (Daily Mail)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11441995/Canadian-man-facing-eviction-accepted-countrys-controversial-legal-EUTHANASIA-program.html
Paralympian claims Canada offered to euthanise her when she asked for a stairlift (Independent)
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Petition to: Rishi Sunak - Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford
Reject Any Move to Legalise Assisted Suicide.
We the undersigned call on the leaders of the UK to reject any move to legalise assisted suicide.
Evidence from Canada, a Western, modern nation very culturally similar to the UK, shows just how dangerous such laws can be.
When Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) was first legalised in Canada in 2016, it was only available to terminally ill adults or people whose deaths were ‘reasonably foreseeable’.
By 2021 MAiD was responsible for a shocking 3.3% of all Canadian deaths. In recent months, many reports have emerged of marginalised Canadians seeking MAiDbecause of poverty, disability and homelessness.
Canada’s approach to assisted suicide shows how laws of this nature are inherently unsafe, unpredictable and unethical. With living costs soaring, the UK cannot afford a regime which leads people to choose death out of the fear of poverty or homelessness. Shockingly, Canada is also pondering expanding its euthanasia regime to people suffering from mental health conditions. Is this the route we want to go down in the UK?
The Canadian experience clearly demonstrates that there are no safeguards to prevent coercion and abuse. Keep assisted suicide out of the UK.
Petition to: Rishi Sunak - Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford
Reject Any Move to Legalise Assisted Suicide.
We the undersigned call on the leaders of the UK to reject any move to legalise assisted suicide.
Evidence from Canada, a Western, modern nation very culturally similar to the UK, shows just how dangerous such laws can be.
When Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) was first legalised in Canada in 2016, it was only available to terminally ill adults or people whose deaths were ‘reasonably foreseeable’.
By 2021 MAiD was responsible for a shocking 3.3% of all Canadian deaths. In recent months, many reports have emerged of marginalised Canadians seeking MAiDbecause of poverty, disability and homelessness.
Canada’s approach to assisted suicide shows how laws of this nature are inherently unsafe, unpredictable and unethical. With living costs soaring, the UK cannot afford a regime which leads people to choose death out of the fear of poverty or homelessness. Shockingly, Canada is also pondering expanding its euthanasia regime to people suffering from mental health conditions. Is this the route we want to go down in the UK?
The Canadian experience clearly demonstrates that there are no safeguards to prevent coercion and abuse. Keep assisted suicide out of the UK.
