OTTAWA, Dec 16 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — A report from the Ministry of Health of Canada recognized the increase of more than 15 percent of cases of death by euthanasia, and pointed to several causes as the responsible ones.
The information published on the digital site Life News/InfoCatólica revealed that four percent of total deaths in 2023 occurred through the so-called practice of assisted death.
The number of patients to whom euthanasia was applied, according to the report, amounted to 15,343 people, of which more than 90 percent corresponded to individuals in terminal conditions and the rest without being in such circumstances.
A revealing fact of the report states for the first time the demographic origin of the deceased, counting 96 percent white, while less than one percent were indigenous.
Social conditions also played a significant role in this process, particularly loneliness, disabilities, loss of independence, and more than 50 percent of those who requested euthanasia mentioned being a burden on family members.
Canada’s law on medical assistance in dying dates back to February 2015, when the Supreme Court ruled that parts of the Criminal Code should be changed to comply with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and gave the government until June 6, 2016 to create a new law.
In June 2016, Parliament passed federal legislation allowing eligible adults to request medical assistance in dying.
On October 5, 2020, the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General’s Office introduced a bill that expanded the framework and conditions required to authorize euthanasia. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA
