Bill C-218, which aims to prevent euthanasia for mental illness as the sole criterion, has undergone debates in the Canadian Parliament and is scheduled for a vote on October 7, 2026, with opposition from Bloc Québécois and support from some Conservative MPs. The debate includes concerns about the unpredictability of psychiatric prognoses, the risk of premature death for potentially recoverable patients, and the impact of euthanasia availability on suicide prevention and psychiatric treatment effectiveness.
Liberal MP Kevin Lamouroux opposed Bill C-218, which seeks to ban euthanasia for mental illness, stating that preventing mentally ill persons from accessing medical assistance in dying is not the right approach. The bill, introduced by Conservative MP Tamara Jansen, aims to amend the Criminal Code to restrict euthanasia for mental illness, but faces opposition from the governing Liberal Party and is scheduled for a second reading in early October 2026.
Donna Duncan was euthanized in Canada under the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) program despite not being terminally ill, with her daughters stating she was suffering from a serious mental health crisis triggered by a car accident and worsened by COVID-19 isolation. Her daughters reported that she was given only 48 hours' notice before euthanasia, and after a psychiatric assessment diagnosed her with a psychosomatic disorder, she died by lethal injection shortly after being discharged from a psychiatric ward without their knowledge.
Donna Duncan died by euthanasia in Canada after being deemed eligible under the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) program, despite her daughters stating she was not terminally ill but suffering from a serious mental health crisis triggered by a traffic collision and worsened by COVID-19 isolation. Her daughters reported that Donna was diagnosed with a psychosomatic disorder, had attempted suicide shortly before her death, and was discharged from psychiatric care without their knowledge just two days before she was euthanized by lethal injection.
Bill C-218, which aims to prevent euthanasia for mental illness as the sole criterion, had its first hour of debate on December 5, 2025, and its second hour on September 23, 2026, with a vote scheduled for October 7, 2026. During the September 23 debate, Luc Thériault (Montcalm) of the Bloc Québécois opposed Bill C-218 and supported euthanasia for mental illness as a sole criterion.
Canadian Members of Parliament are debating the expansion of the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) service to include the mentally ill, with Bill C-218 proposed to prevent this expansion and protect the mentally ill from euthanasia. The article draws a historical parallel between Canada's MAiD program and Nazi Germany's Aktion T4 euthanasia program, highlighting concerns about consent and the ethical implications of euthanizing mentally ill individuals.
Michael Cooper spoke in parliament on September 23, 2026, in support of Bill C-218, which aims to prevent euthanasia (MAiD) when mental illness is the sole criterion. He described the bill as the 'right to recover act,' emphasizing its goal to offer hope and help to those with mental health challenges rather than allowing state-sanctioned death.
In 2024, Canada recorded 16,499 euthanasia deaths, which is 1,135 more than the 15,364 firearm homicide deaths in the United States during the same year. Canadian healthcare policy mandates that doctors and nurses inform patients about euthanasia as a treatment option, a practice unique compared to other countries with legal euthanasia.
Brigitte Stegemann, an 83-year-old Canadian grandmother, died by assisted suicide despite not giving final verbal consent, according to her family who allege the procedure was botched and conducted without proper consent protocols. Her family is now demanding documents and has filed complaints and a police report to investigate the legality and circumstances surrounding her euthanasia under Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) program.
Brigitte Stegemann was declared competent despite not answering the competency questions during an assessment related to euthanasia. The Daily Mail published an article about an 83-year-old Christian grandmother who was euthanized against her will under Canada's assisted dying system, and the story has been confirmed as true despite some online doubts.
Late-term induction abortions often involve injecting the preborn child with a feticide to cause fatal cardiac arrest before inducing labor to deliver a stillborn baby, a procedure some describe as 'euthanasia. Women who have undergone this process report it as emotionally difficult, with some paying large sums for the procedure and expressing grief over not holding their living baby, while others describe it as a 'humane' or 'gentle' method to end the pregnancy.
Brigitte Stegemann, an 83-year-old Canadian pensioner with stage four stomach cancer, died through Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) program despite her family's opposition and claims that she did not want to die. Her granddaughter, Brigitte Kranendonk, alleges that the care home accelerated the euthanasia process while she was away and that staff viewed the family as obstacles to administering MAiD, which now accounts for about one in ten deaths in Canada.
Euthanasia has become widespread in Canada, with over 100,000 people having been euthanized by doctors and nurse practitioners. Some hospices have lost funding for refusing to participate, and doctors with moral objections face pressure to comply or leave medicine, while media reports highlight euthanasia as a source of organs and recount numerous horror stories.
The spread of assisted suicide and euthanasia legalization and the resulting pressure on doctors to participate despite many refusing. It highlights the use of coercion, including threats to doctors' professional licenses, as a method to ensure compliance, citing bioethics advocates like Ezekiel Emanuel, Julian Savulescu, and Peter Singer.
Several thousand pro-life supporters, estimated at over 2,200, gathered in Zurich-Oerlikon, Switzerland, on September 19 for the annual March for Life, which was delayed by 200 masked protesters who blocked the route and set off firecrackers. The event has been held since 2010 but has been restricted from Zurich's city center by local officials, leading organizers to hold it on the northern outskirts, while abortion remains legal in Switzerland for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and euthanasia tourism is also prevalent in the country.
In Italy, ten doctors who refused to perform euthanasia on Sibilla Barbieri, an elderly former actress with cancer, now face a criminal investigation after her family filed a complaint alleging denial of her constitutional right to assisted suicide. The case highlights Italy's shift from cautious approval of assisted suicide to mandatory participation by healthcare providers, with legal authorities pursuing criminal penalties against doctors who act according to their medical conscience.
A toddler with severe health problems was euthanized at two years old in the Netherlands, and a Canadian grandmother died through MAiD amid concerns about consent. Hosts Ellie Gardey Holmes and Lyrah Margo discuss these cases on the Spectator P.M.
Canadian law enforcement is investigating the euthanasia of 83-year-old Christian great-grandmother Brigitte Stegemann, who was euthanized on July 10 despite previously refusing due to her beliefs and cognitive decline. Her family alleges that her consent was improperly obtained while her granddaughter, who held power of attorney, was on vacation, and they have appealed to multiple authorities including the Ontario Chief Coroner's Office and Belleville Police, who confirmed the investigation is ongoing.
The Green Party has released a health policy that includes support for abortion, gender-affirming healthcare, euthanasia, and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, including contraception, abortion, assisted reproduction, maternity, post-natal, and surrogacy services. The policy also aims to address various forms of discrimination such as racism, sexism, ableism, fatphobia, ageism, queerphobia, and transphobia, while proposing fully funded public health services including dental care, general practitioner clinics, ambulance and emergency services, aged care, palliative care, and mental health services.
In Italy, ten doctors who refused to perform assisted suicide on an elderly former actress, Sibilla Barbieri, are facing a criminal investigation after her family filed a complaint alleging denial of her constitutional right to euthanasia. The case highlights Italy's shift from cautious approval to mandatory acceptance of assisted suicide within its public health system, despite ethical objections from medical professionals and the country's Christian heritage.
Brigitte Stegemann, an 83-year-old woman in Ontario, Canada, was euthanized under the country's assisted dying system despite showing visible distress and opposition to the procedure, with her family alleging it was done without her express consent and questioning her competency. Her granddaughter, who was also her caregiver and medical power of attorney, is appealing to authorities to investigate the legality and circumstances of the euthanasia, citing concerns about the conduct of medical staff and the manner in which the procedure was presented and carried out.
Brigitte Stegemann, an 83-year-old Christian woman in Ontario, Canada, was allegedly killed by medically assisted suicide (MAID) without her consent, despite explicitly declining the procedure due to her faith. Her family has filed a complaint with the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario, alleging failures in statutory safeguards, patient consent protocols, and that the euthanasia was carried out while her legal power of attorney was away on vacation.
Brigitte Stegemann, an 83-year-old woman, was euthanized under Canada's assisted dying system, as reported by Imogen Garfinkel in the Daily Mail. Her family is now challenging Canada's euthanasia laws following her death. Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, referenced articles about Brigitte Stegemann's case and his family's experience with Medical Assistance in Dying in July and September publications.
Brigitte Stegemann, an 83-year-old Christian grandmother in Ontario, Canada, was euthanized through Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) despite her family's claims that she did not consent and opposed the procedure due to her faith. Her granddaughter alleges that Stegemann was covered in blood during the procedure, which involved multiple needle attempts, and that the care home and practitioners proceeded without explicit consent or proper communication with the family.
“Even when not motivated by a selfish refusal to be burdened with the life of someone who is suffering, euthanasia must be called a false mercy, and indeed a disturbing ‘perversion’ of mercy. True ‘compassion’ leads to sharing another’s pain; it does not kill the person whose suffering we cannot bear.” ― Pope St.
In September 2026, the Netherlands reported its first euthanasia case of a child aged one to twelve under recently revised laws, where a nearly two-year-old child with severe disabilities was euthanized after being deemed to suffer profoundly and hopelessly. Two days later, the British House of Commons voted down a bill to legalize assisted dying, highlighting contrasting approaches to euthanasia and assisted suicide in Europe and raising concerns about the moral implications of such laws, especially regarding consent and the intrinsic dignity of human life.
A Dutch government review board concluded that the euthanasia of a two-year-old disabled toddler, who was born prematurely with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and other impairments, was handled well despite initial medical opinions that she still had treatment options. This case marks the first euthanasia of a child aged one to twelve in the Netherlands and has sparked international concern and comparisons to historical euthanasia programs targeting disabled children.
Kelsi Sheren discusses the first Dutch case under the expanded child life-termination framework, expressing horror that suffering was used to justify ending the life of a two-year-old who could not consent. She draws on her experience covering euthanasia and MAiD, noting the clinical language used to describe these irreversible actions.
The spread of assisted suicide and euthanasia legalization and highlights that most doctors refuse to participate in these practices. It also mentions that doctors who refuse participation face threats such as professional license revocation and coercion, with bioethics figures advocating for mandatory involvement despite moral opposition.
The Netherlands reported its first euthanasia death of a child under 12 years old at the end of 2025, involving a 2-year-old born prematurely with severe disabilities including cerebral palsy and epilepsy. The article draws a historical parallel to the Nazi euthanasia program initiated in 1939, and notes ongoing debates in Canada about expanding euthanasia to include children, with some hospitals considering policies that allow euthanasia without parental consent.
