OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) – A senator appointed by pro-abortion/euthanasia Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is claiming that the decision for Canada to expand its assisted-suicide laws to those with mental illness has “already” been made despite the fact there is still a technical, albeit slim, chance it might not be.

As noted in a Canadian Press report dated March 15, Senator Stan Kutcher, who has Liberal Party ties and was appointed to the senate by Trudeau in 2018, says there is no more “debate” about the issue regarding expanding Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAiD) laws.

“The issue of expansion has already been decided upon,” Kutcher claimed.

Kutcher, a psychiatrist, claimed that not allowing people with mental illness to access MAiD is infringing on their charter rights.

“If you had Lou Gehrig’s disease, or if you had severe Parkinson’s, you would be eligible to apply for and be treated humanely and thoughtfully, and critically,” Kutcher claimed.

“But if you had a mental illness, you would be excluded from such. … I thought that that was a flagrant example of stigma and discrimination.”

Trudeau’s Liberal government legalized euthanasia in 2016. Since that time, he has continued to push to further expand who can qualify for state-sanctioned death.

The expansion to include those suffering solely from mental illness came as part of the 2021 passage of Bill C-7, which also allowed the chronically ill – not just the terminally ill – to qualify for doctor-assisted death.

The mental illness expansion was originally set to take effect this month. However, after massive pushback from pro-life groups, conservative politicians and others, the Trudeau Liberals decided to delay the introduction of the full effects of Bill C-7 until 2024 via Bill C-39.

The delay comes after numerous public scandals, including the surfacing of reports that Canadian veterans were being offered the fatal procedure by workers at Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC).

Bill C-39 passed, but not without controversy, and has received Royal assent.

During debate on Bill C-39, Canadian Minster of Mental Health and Addictions Carolyn Bennett caused a stir after appearing to have a “Freudian slip” when she acknowledged that people who provide euthanasia are indeed “trained” to “eliminate” suicidal people.

The expansion of euthanasia to those with mental illness will automatically become law in the spring of 2024, but as this is over a year away, there is a chance a new government could stop it.

Should there be an election and the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) form a new government, the party has indicated the bill would be overturned. There is also a chance a Conservative bill could stop it. However, that is unlikely, as all opposition parties besides the CPC are pro-death.

The CPC has said that they are against expanding Canada’s MAiD laws any further.

To that effect, CPC MP Ed Fast a few weeks ago introduced a bill that would reverse the expansion of MAiD. The bill – officially known as Bill C-314, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying) – was introduced to the House of Commons on February 10.

Bill C-314 received praise from Canada’s top pro-life organization, Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), after it passed its first reading last month.

“Fast’s bill would ensure that the delay would be permanent and that these vulnerable Canadians are protected and cared for, not killed by the physicians who should be helping them with their mental illness,” CLC national president Jeff Gunnarson said.

Fast said of his bill, which has the support of pro-abortion CPC leader Pierre Poilievre, “There is no consensus across Canada that medically assisted suicide should be extended to the mentally ill. None.”

“In fact, the government failed to engage in meaningful consultations with experts and mental health stakeholders on a broad,” Fast said.

“It is deeply concerning that this government appears to be inexorably moving from a culture of life to a culture of death. So my bill seeks to address that momentum and give the government and all Canadians time to reconsider the direction the government appears to be taking us when it comes to assisted suicide and euthanasia.”

As for Kutcher, he supported the delay of MAiD laws until 2024, but only because it would give time to provide what he said is proper training and to implement practice standards to provincial regulatory bodies and practitioners.

Pro-life advocates at the national level have long sounded the alarm over Trudeau’s Liberal government’s euthanasia program, which has drawn criticism on an international scale.

Canada’s increasingly permissive laws have allowed euthanasia to rise 32% since 2020, with more than 10,000 people dying in 2021 alone.