June 23, 2026

Dear Friends:

We have great news, we have a renewed direction, we have challenging news, and we have difficult news.

The great news is that Canada’s Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying has advised the government to not permit euthanasia for mental illness alone. The Canadian government is currently scheduled to begin euthanasia for mental illness alone on March 17, 2027. The best way for the government to institute this change is to pass private member’s Bill C-218 that is sponsored by MP Tamara Jansen.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) has renewed our campaign to demand a complete review of Canada’s euthanasia law. The original law (Bill C-14) that was passed in June 2016 required a complete review of the law to begin in June 2020, which never happened. A complete review will enable Canadians to tell the committee about their experiences with Canada’s lethal law.

EPC has been approved to intervene in the Claire Brosseau / Dying with Dignity court case that will urge a judge to legislate from the bench and order Brosseau’s death by euthanasia based on mental illness alone. Even if we win at the lower court level and the judge does not order Brosseau’s death, the case will continue to the Court of Appeal and possibly the Supreme Court of Canada. EPC is challenged to raise the money to effectively intervene in this case at every level. Intervening in court cases is necessary but it is also expensive. We are trying to raise at least $50,000 for our legal fund.

The difficult news concerns child euthanasia. The Netherlands has announced the euthanasia death of at least one child. One of the reasons Canada expanded the euthanasia law so fast was that the Netherlands and Belgium already had expansive guidelines for killing, which made it easier for Canada to follow their direction. I am concerned that child euthanasia in the Netherlands will renew the push to extend euthanasia to children in Canada.

There is more good news. The film that is designed to activate Americans to oppose assisted suicide titled, “Prescription Poison” will be released in the next few weeks. This is a very important project.

“Life Worth Living” has recently been named a finalist in several film festivals and it continues to be screened throughout Canada.

EPC has hired Lisa Barnett, a phenomenal supporter of our work, to help us raise the money that we need to carry out our work. We need your support for the US film, for the court case, and to effectively campaign and convince the government to commit to a complete review of the law. [Click here to donate online.]

We thank you for your constant support.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director