Canada has crossed a chilling barrier: since the legalization of euthanasia, the country has recorded more than 90,000 provoked deaths under the “Medical Assistance in Dying” (MAID) program. According to the outlet LifeNews on October 14, 2025, in 2024 around 16,500 euthanasias were performed, equivalent to 5% of all deaths in the country. In 2023, there were just over 15,000, showing a constant increase.
What was initially justified as an extreme measure for terminal patients in unbearable situations has today become a habitual practice. In provinces like Ontario and British Columbia, the figures grow year after year. In just the first half of 2025, Ontario reported 2,551 cases, while British Columbia exceeded 3,000 in 2024, with an 8% increase from the previous year.
The argument of “fragility” and the mask of compassion
It is particularly controversial that the word “fragility” is used as justification for approving assisted deaths. In British Columbia, 35% of the authorizations were framed under “other conditions,” of which nearly two-thirds simply corresponded to the fragility of the patients. However, fragility is not a terminal illness, but a condition linked to age or general health. Turning it into sufficient reason to provoke death means crossing a dangerous ethical line.
The official discourse speaks of autonomy and compassion, but the facts show another side. By offering euthanasia as a legal and quick “option,” the State runs the risk of relegating palliative care and sending the implicit message to the sick and elderly that their life is costly, useless, or expendable. True compassion does not eliminate the sufferer, but accompanies them in their pain with love and care.
The most vulnerable under pressure
The elderly, the disabled, the chronically ill: all of them are especially vulnerable to the cultural and institutional pressure that normalizes euthanasia. What is presented as a free decision may be marked by the fear of being a burden to the family or by the lack of resources for dignified care. In that context, freedom becomes an illusion.
What Canada presents as “human progress” may be, in reality, the crudest face of the culture of discard. Society does not need more protocols to administer death, but a renewed commitment to life in all its stages. No one should be pushed to request euthanasia because they feel alone, fragile, or a burden. The true challenge is to recover the sense of human dignity and ensure care that accompanies, not that eliminates.