Canada’s Non-Terminal Euthanasia Deaths in 2021 Outnumbered US Executions in Last 30 Years

In Canada, there were more medically assisted deaths in 2021 than there have been executions of convicted prisoners in the United States since the 1970s.

More than 10,000 people died from medically assisted death in 2021 alone, according to a Reuters report about the amendment to Canada's law mandating medically assisted deaths.

In less than a year, the law will be updated to include citizens suffering from mental illness.

In the United States, 1,571 men and women have been executed since the 1970s, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Only 917 prisoners have been put to death since 2000.

Reuters reports that in March 2024, the criteria for medically assisted death will expand to include Canadians whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness. Experts argue that it is too difficult to determine if most mental illnesses are incurable.

They further claim it is nearly impossible to differentiate between suicidal ideations and a rational desire to die.

Canada legalized assisted death in 2016 for patients with a terminal illness. In 2021, the law was revised to include people with incurable but non-terminal diseases.

The new provision permitting assisted death for those with mental health disorders will make Canada's law one of the most extensive on the planet.