84-year-old Catholic woman rejects euthanasia offer at Vancouver hospital

(LifeSiteNew) — An 84-year-old Canadian Catholic woman who was offered euthanasia while at a hospital despite not being deathly sick has spoken out, saying there was “no way” she was going to “take measures to end” her life.

The case concerns Miriam Lancaster, whose recent stay at Vancouver’s General Hospital was less than ideal.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, Lancaster was asked by doctors if she wanted “MAiD” (Medical Assistance in Dying). In a recent interview with “EWTN News Nightly,” Lancaster noted how “the very first thing” a young doctor told her at the hospital was “I would like to offer you MAID.”

In reply, she said “No, thank you,” adding, “I was certainly taken aback, and there were so many other things on my mind.”

Lancaster said she was “feeling fine” one day but the next day she got out of bed not feeling well and was in “horrendous pain.”

She mentioned that her husband was offered MAiD as well three years ago but refused.

“As practicing Catholics, there is no way that we are going to take measures to end our life. That is in the hands of the Lord,” she said.

“So he turned down MAID when he was in hospital, and a few years later, there I am in the same hospital, and I gave the same response.”

Lancaster said that after being moved to another hospital, she was told she had a tiny crack in a bone in her spine and that surgery wasn’t possible.

She later got well enough to go home, noting that she thought, “I’ve been given a second chance here. I am going to make the most of whatever time is left.”

As a result of getting better and refusing Canada’s death regime scheme, she went on trips to Mexico and Cuba with her daughter.

Stories like Lancaster’s have become commonplace in Canada since euthanasia was made legal in 2016 under the Liberal government of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Indeed, as reported by LifeSiteNews, a Canadian man was euthanized just because he had partial blindness.

Some provinces, such as Alberta, are doing what they can to limit the availability of MAiD, which is federally mandated.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, recently, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party (UCP) government was the first in a Canada to introduce a bill that would severely limit who can get euthanasia and ban it for minors. The UCP said that the bill is to “strengthen protections for vulnerable Albertans” as well as allow doctors and hospitals to refuse to offer assisted suicide.

In February 2024, the federal government delayed the mental illness expansion until 2027 after pushback from pro-life, medical, and mental health groups, as well as most of Canada’s provinces.

The Liberal government under Trudeau and current Prime Minister Mark Carney, however, has worked to expand euthanasia 13-fold since it was legalized in 2016. Canada now has the fastest-growing assisted-suicide program in the world. Meanwhile, Health Canada released a series of studies on advanced requests for assisted suicide.

Euthanasia is now the sixth-highest cause of death in Canada after it was not listed in Statistics Canada’s top 10 leading causes of death from 2019 to 2022.