Canada is under international scrutiny after the Quebec College of Physicians (CMQ) suggested that euthanasia may be appropriate for newborns born with severe disabilities, prompting outrage from human rights and pro-life advocates.
The recommendation comes amid the continued expansion of Canada’s euthanasia and assisted suicide program, which has drawn increasing attention from global medical ethicists.
Speaking to the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, CMQ officials told the Daily Mail, “The CMQ reiterates that medical assistance in dying may be an appropriate treatment for babies suffering from extreme pain that cannot be relieved and who have severe malformations or serious polysymptomatic syndromes that destroy any prospect of survival.”
They framed the practice as a form of “care” under these circumstances.
The proposal has triggered strong condemnation from critics worldwide.
Wesley J. Smith, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism, said, “Canada has jumped so enthusiastically into the euthanasia abyss that I have little doubt that infanticide will eventually be allowed there. It’s only logical. If killing is an acceptable answer to suffering, why limit the killing to adults?”
Canada’s euthanasia program has expanded rapidly since legalization in 2016.
Initially limited to terminally ill adults,