{"id":2590938,"date":"2026-04-15T07:39:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T11:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/canadian-province-fights-back-as-assisted-suicide-claims-thousands-of-lives\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T07:41:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T11:41:01","slug":"canadian-province-fights-back-as-assisted-suicide-claims-thousands-of-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/canadian-province-fights-back-as-assisted-suicide-claims-thousands-of-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian Province Fights Back as Assisted Suicide Claims Thousands of Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcanadian-province-fights-back-as-assisted-suicide-claims-thousands-of-lives%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2590938&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Alberta is proposing Bill 18, the Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act, too create a provincial framework for MAID and address gaps in federal rules as assisted-dying use grows in Canada. The bill would limit MAID eligibility to adults 18 and over who have the capacity to make their own health care decisions,whose death is reasonably foreseeable,and would ban MAID for anyone whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness,among othre restrictions such as no advance directives. Alberta argues that federal expansion planned for 2027 to include mental illness should not apply in the province, and that additional oversight is needed to protect vulnerable people. The article cites rising MAID numbers in Canada, including tens of thousands of deaths as legalization and about 16,500 in 2024, with Alberta accounting for a portion of that, and notes statements from Alberta\u2019s leaders calling for stronger safeguards.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Canada has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-speculates-looming-israeli-ground-operation-in-rafah\/\" title=\"Biden administration suspects imminent Israeli ground operation in Rafah\">drawn worldwide attention<\/a> for their increasingly widespread allowance and usage of &ldquo;medical assistance in dying,&rdquo; also known as MAID or assisted suicide.<\/p>\n<p>But Alberta, the most conservative province in the country, is considering a bill to ensure federal laws in Canada do not expand to the mentally ill.<\/p>\n<p>Bill 18, introduced last month, is entitled the &ldquo;Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act,&rdquo; according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.alberta.ca\/protecting-vulnerable-albertans-seeking-maid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">webpage<\/a> from the government of Alberta.<\/p>\n<p>The legislation would &ldquo;set out Alberta&rsquo;s regulatory framework for MAID and will provincially address gaps in the current federal system where there is a lack of protection for vulnerable individuals.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In particular, those with a mental illness would be protected &ldquo;should the federal expansion come into effect in 2027,&rdquo; a move which the province opposes.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); 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 \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Bill 18 would &ldquo;limit MAID eligibility in Alberta to individuals 18 and over with capacity to make their own health care decisions whose natural death has been determined by a physician or nurse practitioner as being reasonably foreseeable.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>That includes all of &ldquo;Track 1 MAID,&rdquo; under which patients are deemed likely to die within 12 months.<\/p>\n<p>The legislation would meanwhile ban MAID for anyone under 18 years old, for advance requests, for those without the ability to make their own health decisions, and for &ldquo;persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>As noted in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theblaze.com\/news\/more-than-76000-canadians-have-been-killed-through-maid-one-province-has-had-enough\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a> from Blaze Media, the effort comes as <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >assisted suicide levels reach disturbing proportions<\/a> in Canada.<\/p>\n<p>There have been 76,000 Canadians killed through assisted suicide from its first year through the end of 2024.<\/p>\n<p>In 2024 alone, nearly 16,500 people were euthanized &mdash; marking more than 5 percent of all deaths in Canada for the year.<\/p>\n<p>Alberta had a slightly lower 4.6 percent level.<\/p>\n<p>The Canadian government now allows assisted suicide for reasons like anxiety, depression, PTSD, economic hardship, and autism, according to Blaze Media.<\/p>\n<p>Alberta Attorney General Mickey Amery recently defended Bill 18 before the Alberta Legislature, noting that Canada&rsquo;s usage of euthanasia is rapidly outpacing the rest of the world.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Canada has the fastest growing death rates in the world when it comes to MAID. Far from being an option of last resort, MAID is now the fifth leading cause of death in Canada,&rdquo; he warned.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The country is currently projected to reach its 100,000th death by MAID in June, becoming the first nation in the modern era to measure its total assisted deaths in the six figures, more than the totals of any other jurisdiction with some form of legal, doctor-assisted death,&rdquo; he added.<\/p>\n<p>Alberta Premier Danielle Smith agreed that more oversight is needed to protect the vulnerable.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Those struggling with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsom-says-californians-have-a-responsibility-to-accommodate-homeless-people-from-other-states\/\" title=\"Newsom Says Californians \u2018Have A Responsibility To Accommodate\u2019 Homeless People From Other States\">severe mental health challenges<\/a> need treatment, compassion and support, not a path to end their life at what may be their lowest moment,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In Alberta, a patient whose sole underlying condition is mental illness will not be eligible for MAID.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paraphrase:<\/p>\n<p>Canada has drawn global attention for its use of medical assistance in dying (MAID). Alberta, the most conservative province, is considering Bill 18, the Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act, to ensure federal MAID rules do not extend to people with mental illness when (or if) the federal expansion goes into effect in 2027. The bill would establish Alberta\u2019s own MAID framework and address gaps in the federal system to better protect vulnerable individuals, with a key aim of protecting those with mental illness should federal changes occur.<\/p>\n<p>Bill 18 would limit MAID eligibility in Alberta to adults 18 and over who have the capacity to make their own health care decisions and whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable, including the Track 1 MAID scenario in which death is expected within 12 months. It would ban MAID for anyone under 18, for advance requests, for individuals who cannot make their own health decisions, and for anyone whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness.<\/p>\n<p>Alberta\u2019s Attorney General, Mickey Amery, has argued that Canada already allows MAID for a range of reasons such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, economic hardship, and autism, and that the country\u2019s usage of euthanasia is growing rapidly. He warned that Canada is projected to reach 100,000 MAID deaths, potentially making it the first nation to reach six figures in this category. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith echoed calls for greater oversight, saying that those with severe mental health challenges need treatment and support rather than a path to ending their life; she stated that in Alberta, a patient whose sole underlying condition is mental illness will not be eligible for MAID.<\/p>\n<p>The report also cites Blaze Media, noting that 76,000 Canadians have been killed through assisted suicide since the program began, and that in 2024 alone roughly 16,500 people were euthanized-about 5 percent of all deaths that year, with Alberta recording a slightly lower rate of 4.6 percent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2590939,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Michael-Featured-Image-933.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[74092,3957,77798,77797],"class_list":["post-2590938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-assisted-suicide-2","tag-canada","tag-health-care-2","tag-provincial-policy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Michael-Featured-Image-933.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2590938"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2590942,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590938\/revisions\/2590942"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2590939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2590938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2590938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2590938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}