Canada's next frontier: Children's activity books for assisted suicide, and euthanasia for newborns

Supporters of assisted suicide say they help some very sick people end their agony.' Canada's government-funded assisted suicide activity book for children 'normalizes something that is egregiously wrong,' says campaigner Mike Schouten An 11-day-old baby suffering from heart problems about to be transferred to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.The activity book has illustrations to be colored in, and spaces for youngsters to add their own thoughts about assisted suicide Critics point to the innocent, child-like language used in the 26-page government-funded booklet to explain a process that is, for many, macabre The book was published last year by Canadian Virtual Hospice, a palliative care group, using Health Canada funding.The committee of top politicians last month released its long-awaited report, recommending that 'mature minors' whose deaths were 'reasonably foreseeable' could access assisted suicide, even without parental consent.

It's not yet clear whether the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (center) would immediately push for expanded access of assisted suicide to children Euthanasia is legal in seven countries — Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand and Spain — plus several states in Australia.Canada's road to allowing euthanasia began in 2015, when its top court declared that outlawing assisted suicide deprived people of their dignity and autonomy.