Coming here? Canada’s horror show of assisted dying

Just before Christmas I read two articles by two different authors. One was by The Times Scotland columnist Alex Massie. He said he used to be in favour of the legalisation of assisted suicide, but now wondered whether any such law could be safely implemented. The other was by Sonia Sodha in the Guardian. She also used to be in favour but now opposes any change in the law on similar grounds.

Both these authors have been influenced by the horror show that is unfolding in Canada, where assisted suicide and a form of euthanasia have been legal since 2016. It shows you the importance of looking at the evidence from other countries and making sure as many people as possible know about what’s been going on.

First, a quick history of how Canada arrived at an assisted suicide law. In February 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Carter v. Canada that parts of the Criminal Code would need to change to satisfy the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The parts that stopped assisted suicide would no longer be valid.