A Priest Walks Into a Canadian Hospital. They Offer to Kill Him. Twice.

A Catholic priest recovering from a fractured hip says he was offered Canada's state-sanctioned euthanasia program twice while in hospital, sparking fresh outrage over the country's expanding Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) program. The incident, reported by The B.C. Catholic, highlights what critics call a 'false compassion' that pressures vulnerable patients toward death rather than care.

Father Larry Holland, a Catholic priest, was admitted to a Vancouver hospital after breaking his hip. According to the report, a doctor first raised the option of assisted death shortly after his arrival. A nurse later brought it up again. Both knew Holland was a priest. The Catholic Church unequivocally rejects euthanasia in all its forms.

Holland told the doctor he was morally opposed. The doctor replied that he 'just wanted to make sure that, if a [terminal] diagnosis came up or not ... I knew of the different services I had access to.' The nurse, Holland said, seemed uncomfortable but likely acted because he was in severe pain. 'It's a false compassion, really,' Holland said.

Vancouver Coastal Health defended the practice, stating that healthcare providers can discuss MAiD 'based on their clinical judgment.'

How Did Canada's MAiD Program Expand So Quickly?

MAiD was legalized in 2016 for people whose natural death was 'reasonably foreseeable.' Since then, the program has expanded dramatically. Government figures now put the total number of assisted deaths at roughly 100,000. As The Daily Wire reported last year, the expansion has led to an explosion of state-sanctioned suicides.

Holland's case is not isolated. Miriam Lancaster, a British Columbia woman, went to a hospital in severe pain last year and was offered MAiD before doctors even identified her treatable pelvic fracture caused by osteoporosis. She fully recovered.

Christine Gauthier, a 52-year-old disabled veteran, requested a wheelchair ramp from Canada's Veterans Affairs department. Instead, she was offered a MAiD kit to end her own life. Roger Foley, an Ontario man with a neurological condition, says he was offered death-by-MAiD while fighting for proper long-term care.

Are Minors Now Being Targeted for Euthanasia?

Prominent groups are now calling for minors as young as 12 to be included in MAiD. Dying With Dignity Canada recommends minors as young as 12 be eligible, and suggests 16- and 17-year-olds should not even need parental consent to be killed by a doctor if they fit broad criteria.

'There is a kind of gruesome, relentless logic at work here,' Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, a psychiatrist and director at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told The Daily Wire. 'Once you cross the line of allowing doctors to kill patients, once you cross the line of accepting the basic premise of the euthanasia movement — which is that some lives are not worth living and therefore these people should be killed by the medical profession, then it's very hard to argue that there should be any limitations.'

What Do Internal Reports Reveal About MAiD's Oversight?

An internal British Columbia government report found 2,807 cases requiring follow-up and 353 compliance concerns in 2024 alone. The findings raise serious questions about whether the program's safeguards are being effectively enforced, particularly given the lack of public information about how many flagged cases resulted in corrective action or discipline.

FAQ: What Should Guyanese Know About Canada's MAiD Program?

Is MAiD legal for all Canadians? Yes, since 2016, but eligibility has expanded from terminal illness to include chronic conditions and disabilities. The government is considering lowering the age to 12.

Can doctors refuse to discuss MAiD? In practice, many healthcare providers feel pressured to offer it, even to patients who are not dying. The Catholic Church and other religious groups oppose it.

What safeguards exist? The program requires two independent assessments, but internal reports show hundreds of compliance concerns each year, suggesting weak enforcement.