Euthanasia Becomes Top 5 Cause of Death in Canada
Over 15,000 people chose to end their lives via euthanasia in 2023, accounting for 5% of all deaths in the country.
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Newsbites
Chart of the week: The number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. has dropped significantly since President Trump took office this year.
President Trump will meet with Vladimir Putin today (Friday) in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss the war in Ukraine. Trump reportedly spent half of Thursday meeting with his security team to prepare. While Putin will likely try to keep Trump in good graces while he continues his military advances, Trump could draw a line in the sand and back out of negotiations altogether. He might also threaten more severe economic sanctions on buyers of Russian oil. Trump told reporters this week, “We’re going to be calling President Zelensky, if it is a good meeting…If it is a bad meeting, I’m not calling anybody. I’m going home.”
More than 120 car windows were smashed in Minneapolis on Monday night. A woman who caught the group of dozens of young people on video yelled out of her apartment, “I got you on video,” as the group dashed back to their car and drove away (video). No arrests have been made. One of the victims told a local news station, “it makes me scared to even come out here at night.” There have been hundreds of car window smashings and break-ins in recent months. Minneapolis Police say they are increasing patrols in those areas and encourage people to send video when they have them.
More deaths in Gaza: Israel has launched a multiple day bombing of Gaza City, killing more than 130 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The operations are likely the first of many as Israel says it intends to take over all of Gaza and is telling Palestinians to leave. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "They’re not being pushed out, they’ll be allowed to exit," adding that anyone who wants to help the Palestinians should “open their gates.” According to the Gaza Health Ministry, between August 13th and 14th, eight more people in Gaza, including three children, died of starvation, bringing the number to 235 since the war began two years ago.
Alcohol consumption in decline: According to a new Gallup poll, a record low percentage of Americans are drinking alcohol. 54% of respondents said they consume alcohol, the lowest percentage since Gallup began the survey in 1939 and down from 65% in 2019. The decline is consistent with the subsequent rise in NA beer and seltzers, along with changing health perceptions. In the same Gallup survey, 53% of respondents said moderate alcohol consumption is bad for one’s health, a sharp increase from 28% of respondents in 2015.
Humanoid robot games: China is hosting the first ever international event where robots compete in a variety of sports such as soccer, track and field, wrestling, and boxing (video). 16 countries are participating in the weekend event, including teams from Germany, Japan, and the U.S.
Trends: Canada Embraces Euthanasia
Less than 10 years after becoming legal, Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), otherwise known as assisted suicide or euthanasia, has become a top 5 cause of death in Canada.
In 2023, that meant over 15,000 people chose to end their lives via euthanasia, accounting for 5% of all deaths in the country. In the province of Quebec, the percentage is even higher, at 7%.
The rise has been swift.
Shortly after parliament passed the initial euthanasia legislation in 2016, officials predicted it would eventually account for 2% of total deaths and remain steady. After the country quickly surpassed that level, in 2022 they predicted euthanasia would reach a steady state of 4% of deaths by 2033. After surpassing that mark more than ten years ahead of schedule, officials stopped releasing projections.
Assisted suicides are carried out by doctors and nurse practitioners and can take place in a hospital or simply in a person’s home. It typically involves sedating the person, injecting a drug that induces a coma, and then a paralytic agent that shuts down the heart.
The practice is referred to as a “provision” by many clinicians. Some physicians have carried out hundreds of assisted suicides.
Requirements easing, access expanding
At the beginning, eligibility for euthanasia was limited to individuals that were terminally ill and approaching a “reasonably foreseeable natural death.” In other words, people that had terminal cancer or other diseases and for which death was deemed inevitable. These cases are known as “Track 1.”
Two separate clinicians (nurse practitioners or doctors) must confirm the person meets the eligibility requirements. Initially, a 10-day reflection period was required before the person was killed, but this requirement was removed in 2021.
In 2021, lawmakers passed legislation broadening eligibility to also include people with chronic illnesses but who are not terminally ill - referred to as “Track 2” cases. In other words, this includes people for whom natural death is not reasonably foreseeable, but their condition is such that it causes “intolerable suffering.” This could include chronic pain syndromes or neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy.
In 2027, legislation is set to go into effect that will broaden euthanasia eligibility to also include people with “mental illness” as the sole condition. Before this legislation goes into effect, officials are tasked with determining guidelines for how assisted suicide should actually be applied in these cases.
Authorities are also exploring expanding euthanasia to include “mature minors.”
Clinicians decide
Physicians and nurse practitioners assess whether someone meets the eligibility requirements for assisted suicide. Given the language of the legislation is inherently ambiguous, ultimately it is often up to the individual physician to decide whether the eligibility requirements are met.
For example, there is no defined timeline for what constitutes “reasonably foreseeable natural death” in Track 1 cases - it could be two months or two years. Nor is there a definition for what constitutes “intolerable suffering” for Track 2 cases. While there have been some criminal investigations for possible abuse, typically the physician has been acquitted given the ambiguous language of the law.
President Trump Deploys 800 National Guard Troops in Washington D.C.
What’s going on?
President Trump deployed 800 National Guard troops on Monday across Washington D.C. in an effort to “take our capital back,” citing crime and lawlessness. Trump also assigned more than 100 federal agents from the FBI across the district and said he is willing to deploy active military personnel if needed.
The plan is a part of the White House’s Safe and Beautiful Task Force, which aims to beautify and restore law and order in the nation's capital city.
Under the Home Rule Act, which is specific to the nation's capital, Trump invoked section 740, which allows the President to federalize the D.C. police when “special conditions of an emergency nature exist.”
Here are some of the things that have happened this week in D.C.:
Clearing of homeless encampments: People began packing their belongings and moving out of the encampments before officials began bulldozing the previously occupied regions. There were dozens of such camps around D.C. It’s unclear where the homeless will be sent, although President Trump said they will be transferred somewhere far away from the capitol.
End of sanctuary city rules: The Metropolitan Police Department of Washington D.C. granted its officers authority to share information regarding immigration status in instances where someone has broken the law such as a traffic stop or any criminal act. D.C. was previously considered a “sanctuary city” where illegal immigrants are protected from being deported.
While crime in D.C. spiked drastically during the covid years, it has dropped significantly in the past year, falling to pre-covid levels in some cases. But a recent Washington Post survey found that 50% of residents (mostly Democrats) said the level of crime is an “extremely serious” or “very serious” problem. The Metropolitan Police Department also has the lowest number of officers in over 50 years.
During Trump’s press conference, he told a story about his father, Fred Trump, who once said, “when you walk into a restaurant and you see a dirty front door, don't go in. Because if the front door is dirty, the kitchen's dirty also.’ Same thing with the capital. If our capital's dirty, our whole country is dirty, and they don't respect it.”
President Trump has also frequently brought up the case of Edward Coristine (AKA “Big Balls”), a government worker for the Department of Government Efficiency, who was recently bloodied and beaten after surviving a car-jacking in D.C. (photo)
How is Washington D.C. different from other American cities?
Washington D.C. is a special area called a federal district, created to be the capital of the United States. People who live there elect a mayor and city council, just like in other cities, and they make local laws and run city services. But unlike states, Congress still has the final say. That means Congress can change D.C.’s laws or budget anytime it wants. The president also has direct control over the D.C. National Guard, which is different from states in which governors are in charge of their Guard units.
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