Euthanasia

Is Canada killing autistic people without their consent? No, that's not true: The implication in a social media post, with a screenshot of a news article, that a man's perfectly healthy daughter who is on the autism spectrum could be killed with Canada's MAID program is false. MAID -- an acronym for "medical assistance in dying" -- does not kill…

Did Pope Francis, acting on behalf of the World Economics Forum, publicly support euthanasia for "alcoholics, autistic and disabled people" to "help humanity" fight climate change? No, that's not true: The pontiff never said that. Following the Roman Catholic Church's long-established policy, he has condemned euthanasia more than once in his public speeches. Pope Francis does not work for the…

Did Dutch physicians start to euthanize people with autism and "other minor disabilities" against their patients' will in order "to save the planet"? No, that's not true: The source of the claim distorted the findings of a recent study that concluded that, in some cases, people requesting assisted death do not cite physical suffering. The results did not imply that…

Is Canada killing poor people? No, that's not true: Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) is legal in Canada but "being poor as your only 'condition' would clearly not meet the eligibility criteria for MAID," Canadian law professor Jocelyn Downie told Lead Stories. Applicants must meet all of five criteria. Economic trouble, poverty or any related term is not one of…

Will Ottawa euthanize truckers' pets as punishment for the convoy protest? No, that's not true: Pets were not threatened with death as a punishment for protesters getting arrested in Canada. A message was posted to Ottawa's animal control service Twitter account on February 17, 2022, telling demonstrators not to bring pets to the protest because they would be taken from…

Did the state of Hawaii buy 30 "passing assistance pods" to aid in assisted suicides? No, that's not true: This is a false claim made by a bogus Facebook page claiming to be an official state of Hawaii page. One of the co-creators of the assisted suicide pod pictured in the Facebook post, longtime euthanasia activist Philip Nitschke, wrote, "There…

Will Switzerland allow child rapists to commit suicide in lieu of a prison sentence? No, that's not true: the headline on this article is misleading. Swiss prison officials have begun to consider making assisted suicide an option for certain inmates who are sick, but it's not an official alternative to serving time. The claim originated from an article published by…