Fact check: Medically assisted suicide is available for adults in Canada, not children

Chris Mueller, USA TODAY
·4 min read

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 any time day or night, or chat online.

The claim: Canada lets children be euthanized 'just for being depressed'

Canada is one of seven countries where euthanasia – when doctors use drugs to intentionally kill patients – is legal.

Since the law allowing it was passed in 2016, more than 31,000 people have ended their lives by requesting a medically assisted death. In 2021, the average age of people who received a medically assisted death was about 76 years old.

Some social media users, though, are claiming the law gives children the choice to end their lives.

"In Canada children can now be euthanized just for being depressed," reads a Dec. 2 Facebook post (direct link, archived link).

A similar claim was made in a Dec. 3 Instagram post that was liked more than 100 times before it was deleted.

But the claim is false. Medically assisted suicide in Canada is only available to those who are 18 years or older, according to the Canadian government's website. A committee tasked with studying a range of issues with the law, including whether to expand it to "mature minors," has yet to make a recommendation to lawmakers.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment.

Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks

'No immediate plans' to change age restrictions for medically assisted death

The Canadian government "has no immediate plans to alter the minimum age requirement to access (medical assistance in dying)," but it will consider the advice of the committee as it relates to mature minors, Maryse Durette, a spokesperson for Health Canada, told USA TODAY in an email.

Health Canada is the country's government agency responsible for public health.

The committee last month discussed expanding the law to make mature minors eligible, but it is not expected to present its report to Canada's Parliament until February, the agency said.

While the committee is reviewing medically assisted death for minors, "no recommendations or decisions have been made at this time," Sarah Dobec, spokesperson for Dying With Dignity Canada, an end-of-life advocacy group, told USA TODAY.

The law in Canada already allows minors who are "sufficiently mature" to make their own health care decisions.

In 2021, the Medical Assistance in Dying law was changed to remove the requirement that a person's natural death be "reasonably foreseeable" to qualify. It also expanded eligibility to people with mental illness, though that won't take effect until March. The change did not expand eligibility to minors.

PolitiFact, Check Your Fact and AFP also debunked the claim.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Canada lets children be euthanized "just for being depressed." Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying law currently applies only to adults. A committee has been studying a range of issues with the law, including whether to expand it to include "mature minors," but it has yet to make any recommendations to lawmakers.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Canadian kids not eligible for medically assisted death