❓WHAT HAPPENED: Physicians in Quebec, Canada, have suggested extending the country’s euthanasia program to include infants.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The Quebec College of Physicians, Canadian lawmakers, and euthanasia prevention advocates.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Canada, ongoing discussions in 2026.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Medical assistance in dying may be an appropriate treatment for babies suffering from extreme pain.” – Quebec College of Physicians
🎯IMPACT: The proposal has reignited the debate over euthanasia laws in Canada becoming a “slippery slope.”
Canada’s so-called medical assistance in dying (MAID) euthanasia program is facing renewed scrutiny after the Quebec College of Physicians suggested it could be extended to infants, supposedly in cases of “extreme” suffering. The organization said, “Medical assistance in dying may be an appropriate treatment for babies suffering from extreme pain,” and proposed that parents be given the option to request the procedure for their child.
The comments have reopened a debate many believed was settled years ago. MAID was legalized in Canada in 2016 and initially restricted to adults with terminal illnesses whose deaths were reasonably foreseeable. Over time, eligibility has expanded to include non-terminal conditions, and the number of assisted deaths has risen steadily. Federal data shows 16,499 MAID deaths were reported in 2024 alone, bringing the cumulative total to 76,475 since legalization. By early 2026, at least 94,000 deaths had occurred under the program, according to Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.
The idea of extending MAID to infants is not new. In 2022, Dr. Louis Roy of the Quebec College of Physicians testified before Parliament’s Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying that the program could apply to “babies from birth to one year of age” with severe deformities or disabilities.
The issue resurfaced last fall after attracting international attention. A feature in The Atlantic titled “Canada is Killing Itself” compared aspects of Canada’s euthanasia policies to historical practices in Nazi Germany, prompting backlash from euthanasia advocates and intensifying public debate.
MAID has also drawn controversy beyond the infanticide proposal. Reports have highlighted cases involving organ donation following euthanasia and allegations that safeguards have failed vulnerable individuals. In one recent case, the mother of a 26-year-old man claimed her son, who was physically healthy but suffered from depression, was euthanized under MAID, despite federal plans to delay eligibility for mental illness alone.
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