Canada’s Euthanasia Expansion Sparks Global Alarm Over Disabled Newborns

29.08.2025

A deeply disturbing proposal from Canada’s Quebec College of Physicians (CMQ) has drawn international concern after being reported by Right to Life UK. The CMQ reaffirmed its recommendation that euthanasia be permitted for newborn babies with severe disabilities — describing the deliberate ending of a child’s life as a form of “care.”

This marks a chilling escalation in Canada’s assisted suicide programme, which has already removed key safeguards. In 2021, the requirement that a person’s natural death be “reasonably foreseeable” was repealed. By 2027, euthanasia will be legal on the grounds of mental illness alone. Proposals have also been made to extend access to children and prisoners.

Critics warn that the logic behind these expansions is dangerously slippery. Wesley J. Smith of the Discovery Institute stated, “If killing is an acceptable answer to suffering, why limit the killing to adults?” Legal experts like Professor Trudo Lemmens, once a supporter of Canada’s euthanasia law, now caution that the practice is becoming dangerously normalised.

If adopted, Canada would join the Netherlands in permitting euthanasia for infants — a practice last seen in Nazi Germany, as noted by The Atlantic.

This development should serve as a wake-up call for Ireland. As debates around assisted suicide continue here, we must ask: where does the line get drawn? The idea that a baby’s life can be ended under the guise of compassion is not progress — it’s a profound moral failure.

The Irish pro-life community stands firm: every life, regardless of ability or age, deserves protection. Compassion must never be confused with killing. We must ensure Ireland never follows this path.