Canadian bill would expand euthanasia to “advance request” cases

A bill introduced Tuesday in Canada’s House of Commons would legalize assisted suicide for people who have lost the mental capacity to consent, if they earlier filed a request. The bill would allow adults to file so-called advance requests with the government if they have been diagnosed with an incurable illness or disease that doctors expect will destroy their mental capacity to consent to the procedure. The bill says that the person cannot receive lethal drugs until they have lost mental capacity. It also says that assisted suicide can’t happen until the person is clearly in a state of irreversible decline, with great physical or psychological suffering that can’t be relieved by other reasonable means.

The bill was criticized by pro-lifers in Canada. Daniel Zekveld, policy analyst for the Association for Reformed Political Action Canada, said that the legislation would remove the existing requirement for present consent. He challenged the notion of advance consent, saying that it was not informed consent but “based only on fear of a future condition that the person has never experienced.”

Are there any other protections outlined in the bill text? The bill sets some further boundaries for its expansion of assisted suicide, such as requiring two medical professionals to agree that the person’s condition fits the requirements. Those medical professionals can’t be connected to the person or be beneficiaries of his or her will. They also must inform the person how to change or cancel the request. The bill also states that any purposeful words, sounds, or gestures from the person which seem to indicate refusal would trigger a 30-day waiting period before trying again.

The bill does contain a provision that would ban assisted suicide for those whose only condition is mental illness, something many pro-lifers agree with. Canada in 2021 passed legislation legalizing assisted suicide for mental illness, though that expansion isn’t scheduled to take effect until March 2027. The UN committee on disabilities in 2025 condemned the planned expansion. It also urged the Canadian government not to add an option for advance requests, saying such plans threatened disabled individuals’ right to life.

Dig deeper: Read Daisy Sachoff’s report on how Belgium’s assisted suicide rate doubled over the last five years.