A Canadian politician has launched a campaign to oppose assisted suicide for people who struggle with mental health issues, but no other physical conditions.
Andrew Lawton MP has urged others to share their stories of recovering from suicidal thoughts caused by mental illness using the hashtag #IGotBetter, to persuade his colleagues that such people should not be eligible for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID).
Canada is scheduled to expand MAID legislation to include people with mental health conditions who do not have any physical illnesses, from March 2027. Lawton has seconded The Right to Recover Act, a private member’s Bill to permanently stop this from happening.
Hope
Lawton shared his own battle with depression. He explained how, 15 years ago, he attempted to take his own life and was left on life support and in a coma for several weeks. He stated: “Simply put, if the law on the books now were there 15 years ago I’d probably be dead right now.”
The politician said: “In my story and those of countless others, the desire to end my life was a symptom of my mental illness.”
He explained: “I wanted to die because I thought I had no future. I had no hope that I could be happy — and boy was I wrong. I got better. It wasn’t easy, but I did.”
He urged his listeners to “keep hope alive for people struggling with mental illness”, saying that they need support and assurance that recovery is possible, not to be helped to die.
‘I Got Better’
The campaign video stated: “The most important message we can send to those struggling with mental health is that hope is always possible.”
It added: “The ‘I Got Better’ campaign is about showing how the desire to end your life because of mental illness doesn’t have to be permanent.
“It’s possible for people to heal and to flourish, but not if we give up on them.”
Response
People on social media have been responding using the hashtag, with one person commenting: “#IGotBetter, and so did many others around me. But Canada’s heading down a DARK path. Soon, you could qualify for Medical Assistance in Death (MAID) just for struggling with mental illness. This isn’t compassion—it’s chilling.”
Another wrote: “I can absolutely relate to this. People battling depression do not always have capacity to make these decisions, and they can get better over time. #IGotBetter”
A further comment stated: “I recovered. I am so grateful that at the time the government did not consider death the proper treatment for suicidality.”
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