The Iona Institute » Canada sued to allow euthanasia for mental pain

A euthanasia advocacy group and two individuals have launched a legal challenge ^[1] over the exclusion of those suffering solely from mental illness from Canada’s assisted suicide program. It is further evidence of how rapidly pressure grows to allow euthanasia on multiple grounds. Euthanasia and assisted suicide are now the fifth leading cause of death in Canada.

47-year-old Claire Elyse Brosseau struggles with bipolar disorder while 83-year old John Scully, a former journalist and war correspondent, is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.

Their challenge was launched in response to the Trudeau government’s decision to delay expansion of the program to include those whose only reason for wanting assisted is for reprieve from struggles with mental illness.

“They think it’s begging for death, which it is, but it’s begging for my life, to please, please, please, just let me be free and take it away. Make it stop,” Brosseau told the National Post.

According to the challenge, the exclusion infringes on sections 7 and 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which says every person is guaranteed “the right to life, liberty and security.”