Canadian committee rejects assisted suicide for mental illness 

A Canadian parliamentary committee has recommended the country keep its ban on assisted suicide for people whose only medical condition is mental illness.

The committee released a report Wednesday urging lawmakers to amend the Criminal Code “to indefinitely exclude persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness from eligibility for medical assistance in dying.”

Canada calls its assisted-suicide program Medical Assistance in Dying, or MAID.

Canada legalized assisted suicide in 2016 for some adults whose natural deaths were reasonably foreseeable. Parliament expanded the law in 2021 to include some people who were not close to death.

Canada plans to expand assisted suicide again in March 2027, allowing people to qualify when mental illness alone causes their suffering. But the committee urged lawmakers to stop the expansion, saying the nation lacks the conditions needed for “safe and equitable implementation.”

Polling shows Canadians grow less supportive as assisted suicide moves beyond end-of-life cases.

An Angus Reid Institute poll released May 31 found 77% of Canadians support the original 2016 assisted-suicide law, but support drops to 53% for the broader 2021 expansion.

Only 43% support assisted suicide for mental illness alone, while 39% oppose it and 19% remain unsure.

The poll also found 56% of Canadians did not know mental illness alone could qualify someone for assisted suicide as soon as next year.

Residents also expressed concern about vulnerable people receiving death before care. Angus Reid found 74% say the government should first ensure people with disabilities have sufficient housing, income support and disability services.

The Lion has previously covered the rapid growth of assisted suicide in Canada.

Health Canada recorded 16,499 assisted-suicide deaths in 2024, up 6.9% from the previous year. Officials received 22,535 requests for assisted suicide that year and found only 1,327 applicants ineligible.

Catholic bishops in Canada have also supported legislation to block assisted suicide for mental illness alone.

The bishops warned mental illness is “not necessarily irremediable” and urged lawmakers to focus on treatment, support and palliative care.

The debate has also drawn attention in the United States.

During a Senate hearing in April, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized Canada’s assisted-suicide laws, calling them “abhorrent.”

Kennedy also warned about how such laws affect vulnerable people.

“I don’t think we can be a moral society – we can’t be a moral society around the globe – if that becomes institutionalized throughout our society,” he said.

Currently, 13 states and Washington, D.C., allow the practice.

Supporters of expanding assisted suicide argue people with severe mental illness should receive the same access as those with physical illnesses.

Critics argue mental illness differs from many physical conditions because doctors cannot reliably predict who may recover.

Justice Minister Sean Fraser said the Canadian government will review the committee’s report before deciding how to proceed.