Euthanasia Skyrockets as Fifth-Leading Death Cause Across Western World

Clear Facts

• The numbers of euthanasia, now the fifth-leading cause of death in Canada, rose by over 30% annually.
• The trend of rising euthanasia rates is also occurring across the Western world, including the UK, Switzerland, Belgium, and South Australia.
• The pharmaceutical industry, which often manufactures both antidepressants and euthanasia drugs, is linked with the growing euthanasia industry. This results in unsettling cases of patients being prescribed suicide when their mental health treatments are unsuccessful.

Euthanasia is noticeably increasing across Western civilization. In Canada, once regarded as a stronghold of socialized medicine, euthanasia has become the fifth most common cause of death, surpassing liver disease, influenza, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s.

This euthanasia trend isn’t exclusive to Canada. Similar patterns are seen in the UK, Switzerland, Belgium, and South Australia. The number of British citizens signing up for assisted suicides through Swiss nonprofit ‘Dignitas’ surged nearly 25% in 2023. In Switzerland and Belgium, the rates of assisted suicide rose by 11% and over 15% respectively.

In South Australia, the legalization of “medical assistance in dying” last year led to death permits increasing around 20% per quarter. Euthanasia has essentially become an industry, and this trend is predicted to continue growing.

Alarmingly, the pharmaceutical industry seems to profit from this trend. For instance, a company called Valeant Pharmaceuticals, now Bausch Health, produces both Seconal, a common drug used in physician-assisted suicides, and Wellbutrin, a frequently prescribed antidepressant in the United States.

This cycle of the pharmaceutical industry providing both an ineffective solution (antidepressants) and a distressing alternative (euthanasia drugs) is a cycle of despair that persists. If individuals don’t respond to their prescribed antidepressants, they are often offered a permanent “fix” – death by euthanasia.

This trend has resulted in a frightening reality where despair and hopelessness are not treated, but instead are accelerated. A striking example is the case of 28-year-old Zoraya ter Beek from The Netherlands, who, despite a comfortable life, chose euthanasia as a solution to her mental health issues, with her doctors supporting this decision.

Zoraya’s story is not unique. It serves as a chilling reminder of the irreversible course Western societies have embarked on. Euthanasia, once a unthinkable option, has now become a commodity, readily available to those who choose it, often burdened by unmitigated despair.

Rupa Subramanya, commented on contrasting reactions from North Americans and the Dutch: “North Americans generally tend to be horrified at the Dutch acceptance of the right to die even for someone who is not terminally ill… The Netherlands is a post-religious society, and the comments from there are 180 degrees from what I’m getting from people in North America.”

However, there is still some hope. Late last year, the American Medical Association’s delegates successfully resisted an effort to officially endorse euthanasia. This suggests that euthanasia may not yet have fully permeated some parts of the Western world.

Nevertheless, unless the root causes of this trend are addressed — the loss of hope and a sense of purpose in modern society — it is feared that more people, even at younger ages, will turn to euthanasia. The solution lies not in a painless death, but in helping people find meaning and purpose in life. This is a solution that the pharmaceutical industry, like Bausch Health, does not seem to be providing, as they continue to profit from people’s despair.

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