Canadian bioethicists: ‘Poverty justifies euthanasia’

Being poor is sufficient reason for people to be allowed to undergo assisted suicide, an academic paper has argued. In an article published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, Canadian bioethicists Prof Amy Mullin and Kayla Wiebe said assisted suicide “should be available” for people “in unjust social circumstances”. Allowing people in poverty to opt for euthanasia was an “imperfect” solution, they admitted, but was “a ‘lesser evil’ between two or more less than ideal options”. And Canadian-born Professor Kevin Yuill, Chief Executive of Humanists Against Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, said the article highlights just how “irrational the case for euthanasia has become”. The Committee is currently hearing evidence about assisted suicide, including on access to palliative care and the role of medics.