Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) is asking people to contact their MPs and tell them to ensure medical assistance in dying (MAiD) is not expanded to mental disorders..“We know a lot of people with mental illness struggle with thoughts of suicide and low self-esteem, low sense of self-worth,” said CLC campaigns manager David Cooke in a Monday video..“We know that this is not the answer.” .The video starts off with Cooke saying Conservative MP Ed Fast (Abbotsford, BC) has tabled Bill C-314 to protect people with mental illnesses from MAiD. He said MAiD has been expanding since it was introduced in 2016..MAiD began by covering terminal illnesses. It was expanded to allow people with disabilities to access it, even if they were healthy..Now it is being expanded to mental illnesses. This expansion would affect people with mental illnesses such as chronic depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and gender dysphoria..Cooke said mental illness can be treated. He added death is not a treatment..The campaigns manager went on to say people with mental illnesses need help and support. He said these people need others to be present with “suicide prevention, not suicide provision.” .Bill C-314 would block the Canadian government from expanding MAiD to cover mental illness. It was about to be expanded in March, but the public outcry was so great it had to backtrack..The Canadian government introduced Bill C-39 in February to delay the expansion of MAiD to people whose sole underlying condition is a mental disorder..READ MORE: Cabinet introduces bill to delay expanding MAiD.“The safety of Canadians must come first, which is why we are taking additional time to get this right,” said Justice Minister and Attorney General David Lametti..Anyone suffering from a mental illness who met all eligibility criteria would have been eligible for MAiD effective March 17. But the legislation introduced by Lametti, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, and Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett would extend the temporary exclusion period until March 17, 2024..Cooke concluded by asking people “to help us put a stop to this radical expansion of euthanasia in Canada.” .“Let’s get Bill C-314 passed this year,” he said.
