In 2013, I wrote a column for the National Post about Dr. Donald Low, a microbiologist at Mt. Sinai Hospital. He spoke about his cancer diagnosis, his fear of tremendous pain that might be looming and the loss of his dignity. He spoke without self-pity and urged Canada to make physician-assisted death legal. He died eight days later. 

Before death, he had not experienced pain. He ended his life based on anticipation. Once the diagnosis came, he decided his life was over. That was a tragedy.

Three years later, euthanasia was legalized under the banal name of medical aid in dying, or MAiD. It had the support of most Canadians, including 70 per cent of Catholics. Since then at least 45,000 Canadians have opted for a syringe filled with poison.

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I believe an unintended consequence of legalized killing is it makes Canadians more fearful of illness, pain and death. It has robbed many of their inner strength and their will to live. Euthanasia has snuffed out what could have been joyful times with spouses, children and grandchildren and friends. 

Rather than calm the sick, it has given way to panic. 

“Many patients present with anticipatory anxiety and despair as they face life’s trials and tribulations,” said Dr. Ed Rzadki, a Toronto area Catholic psychiatrist. “Anticipating pain is similar. In anticipation of dreaded events, they often resort to attempts to avoid what they believe will be impossible to bear.

“Unfortunately, they shortchange themselves because they are missing out on the inner strength humans are endowed with to face stresses and strains of everyday living.”

Worse, while interest in euthanasia grows, medicine has made huge strides in dealing with cancer and other so-called fatal diseases. It has become far better at managing pain. 

I was diagnosed with liver cancer seven years ago. I was told there was a good chance I’d be dead in five years. I’m still here. I’ve been in remission for more than 30 months, growing more optimistic each day.

We can’t know how many people have died because they have unnecessarily succumbed to fear, but here are some hints.

Alex Schadenberg, of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, wrote three years ago about a report concerning 45 lung cancer patients in Ottawa.

“(It concluded) people with lung cancer who died by euthanasia were less likely to consult with a radiation or medical oncologist and less likely to undergo effective treatments,” Schadenberg wrote.

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This even though lung cancer survival rates have improved, the report said.

It also found that “13 of the 45 lung cancer patients who died by euthanasia did not have a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis.”

The report noted Canadian law does not require a person to try treatments.

A report this year from the American Medical Association about legalized euthanasia in Canada raised alarms about how medical expertise is being shunted aside by patients’ fears.

“This tailoring of a therapy to a specific condition, drawing on evidence-based guidelines, is violated under MAiD, where patient preference effectively dictates practice.”

In short, euthanasia has become a right that often has nothing to do with good medicine. It cheats doctors of applying their best judgments based on years of training, and instead yields to a patient’s panic.

I spent several years volunteering at hospices and palliative wards. I soon realized that even though a patient was deemed terminal, the life they had left was still a life. Many people I met kept their sense of humour, loved music, prayed and laughed. 

Dr. Rzadki referred to the wonderful book Man’s Search for Meaning. It was written by Jewish Viennese psychiatrist Dr. Viktor Frankl. He survived Nazi concentration camps by finding meaning in his life. 

“Frankl tells us that no matter what you are facing, you have two choices. What’s the best you can do? What’s the worst you can do?” Dr. Rzadki told me. 

“If you have a meaning to your life you will spend the remaining time meaningfully. If you haven’t discovered a meaning to your life, you will face the inevitable thinking, ‘What is happening to me? I can’t take it any more!’ Having a meaning to life lets one accept the inevitable pain and suffering,” he added.

Suffering is not a personal insult. It is a human condition. Christ on the Cross never gave that impression. He did talk about the other side of death. 

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Pope St. John Paul II declared, “Be not afraid.” Wiser words have never been said.

(Lewis is a writer in Toronto.)