The Canadian government, known for its liberal stance on euthanasia for the poor and disabled, is now in a controversial spotlight.
Lois Cardinal, a 35-year-old native man from an Indian reserve near St. Paul, Alberta, is engaged in a struggle with the authorities over his plea for euthanasia.
Cardinal, who transitioned to a woman 14 years ago, has been dealing with constant “discomfort and pain” since his sex-change operation.
His request for euthanasia, however, was denied by the government that paradoxically supports and promotes the sex-change procedures.
Cardinal has made his story public, underlining the distressing fallout of sex-change procedures and the societal framework supporting it.
He has expressed profound regret for being hurried into a surgery that not only resulted in sterilization but has also left him in continuous pain.
Cardinal’s physical and mental health took a turn for the worse following complications with his vaginoplasty.
Further adding to his mental agony was the realization that unlike his family and friends, he wouldn’t be able to have children.
In January, Cardinal applied for Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program, concluding that he did not “want to get old in this body.”
The eligibility criteria for the MAID program are stringent, requiring applicants to have a severe and incurable medical condition, among other criteria.
Yet, despite being widely recognized for its permissiveness towards euthanasia for the weak, poor, and infirm, the Canadian healthcare system rejected Cardinal’s request.
Cardinal shared with the Daily Mail that his application was denied on the grounds of his condition of “pain/anxiety related to neo-vagina for gender affirmation” not meeting the MAID criteria.
Although the doctor affirmed Cardinal’s enduring physical and psychological suffering, the application was turned down on the basis that alternative treatments, such as numbing cream, could potentially alleviate his pain.
Cardinal has accused the healthcare system of prioritizing the use of correct pronouns over addressing his actual suffering.
He stated, “I’m not getting any better and nor am I experiencing better medical care, or any medical care.”
Standing against the ideology that landed him in his current situation, Cardinal took a symbolic step by burning the transgender part of the LGBT activist flag. His message was clear: he does not endorse transitioning, the mutilation of children, or the sterilization of anyone. He emphasized that transitioning is akin to conversion therapy, and he will not stand for it.
Cardinal has also raised his concerns about the rapid push of children into irreversible treatments under the banner of conversion therapies. He has been vocal in his plea to “ALL levels of governments and offices to reconsider their stance on ‘gender affirming care.'”
Despite the setback, Cardinal is determined to reapply for MAID while continuing to speak out against the harmful consequences of the ideologies that have led him to his present predicament.
More than 10,000 people reportedly died by euthanasia in Canada in 2021 (3.3% of all deaths in the country), the number steadily increasing since the legalization of MAID in 2016.
