Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying continues to claim victims. But what’s even more disturbing is that unethical doctors are pushing it on the vulnerable and with very few ramifications. A recent article in Right to Life News caught my attention, as a physician named James MacLean is now facing sanctions for his role in the 2024 death of Thomas Dillon.
The article tells the tragic story of 45-year-old Dillon, who agreed to be euthanized because he suffered from Crohn’s disease and had a “history of alcohol abuse, depression and suicidal ideation.” What’s alarming is that MacLean conducted Dillon’s “euthanasia eligibility assessment outside of a Tim Hortons cafe, where the doctor found him to be eligible [for MAiD], after which they exchanged numerous text messages to plan the end of his life.”
The article continues, “They met again at the cafe, from where the doctor then drove the patient to the location where he would end his life. MacLean then ended Dillon’s life by euthanasia in an industrial unit where cadavers are prepared for transport to funeral homes.”
The case made news last week because the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario “found that MacLean had crossed professional boundaries with his casual approach to ending Dillon’s life, and found that the venue for the eligibility assessment was inappropriate.” As a result, “the College gave MacLean a caution, and agreed to several conditions relating to his practise, including a minimum six-month clinical supervision and unannounced inspections of his practice locations and patient records.”
This very light penalty, allowing MacLean to continue practicing medicine, illustrates the fact that Canada cares very little for the lives of its citizens. Indeed, nearly 18,000 Canadians died by euthanasia in 2025, and today Medical Assistance in Dying is the “fifth most common cause of death in Canada.”
It’s clear that when you tell people repeatedly that their lives are meaningless, many start to believe it.
After hearing stories like Dillon’s, I can only pray for both men and caution others about the tragedy unfolding, as it’s gaining ground in the US as well. Obviously, Thomas Dillon was depressed and likely felt hopeless about his health situation, but it’s also apparent that Dr. MacLean took advantage of that despair, leading Dillon to believe that his life held no value.
As I think about this tragic story, I can’t help but contemplate a different story of a man facing physical challenges. In the story of the paralytic from Luke, chapter 5, Jesus is preaching to the masses in Capernaum when four men, who had faithfully carried a paralytic an unknown distance on a mat to see Jesus, found that they couldn’t get close to Him. So the men did what good friends do; they improvised. They climbed on top of the dwelling and lowered their friend through the roof so that he would be right in front of Jesus.
And what did Jesus do? He first forgave the man’s sins, showing that our souls are more important than our earthly bodies, but then He healed the man, who “picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God.”
The paralytic’s friends gave their time and their efforts to serve their friend. It’s a beautiful story of what friendship should be and how we are all called to give of ourselves to others. This is the epitome of friendship. Understanding this, St. Thomas Aquinas once wrote that “there is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship,” explaining that “friendship is the source of the greatest pleasures, and without friends even the most agreeable pursuits become tedious.”
Indeed, life is better when we have friends to share it with, when we have people to care for us, and when we don’t feel so alone, especially as we face medical or mental health problems. Though I don’t know the man or his situation, it is clear that Thomas Dillon felt he had no other option than to take his own life. Maybe he had no friends or family he wanted to rely on. The bottom line is that he was more mentally ill than physically ill, and Dr. MacLean took advantage of that vulnerability.
Contrast that dysfunctional relationship with the relationship that the paralytic had with the four men who cared so much that they carried him, lifted him, and ensured that he met Christ. By doing so, they treated him with dignity, offering hope in our Lord. They clearly had great faith. And even when they saw the throngs of people around Jesus, they weren’t deterred. They didn’t give up on their friend because they encountered an obstacle. They didn’t go home or wallow in despair or tell him he wasn’t worth it. They persisted in faith out of love.
I imagine that this probably made the paralytic feel cherished, respected, and valued. Even if he had not received the healing he desired that day, he would likely have continued to rejoice in the love of his friends, and they would likely have continued to care for him.
We must take a lesson in the care of others from these four men because we know that, in our imperfect world, people prey on the vulnerable and target the weak. The reality is that there are many people who have no one or feel they have no one, who are sick or bedridden, who live in nursing homes, who suffer with chronic conditions, or who just feel overwhelmingly lonely. Our job is to serve them as the friends served the paralytic, doing what the book of Psalms tells us: “Rescue the lowly and poor; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
The wicked see human beings as burdens, as dispensable, or as people to dismiss when they no longer serve a “purpose.” But our faith and our love for our fellow human beings teach us that every person—regardless of his age, ability, or status in life—has value.
So as we contemplate these two stories, let us resolve to become like the paralytic’s friends and serve those who need support and compassion. Determine who in your life is lonely, sick, or sad and befriend them. Give them your time, your presence, and your love. Offer them the hope that the paralytic’s friends gave him so that together you can live in the hope of Christ and appreciate the true beauty of friendship, ensuring that they never feel lonely or worthless enough to fall prey to the wickedness of those seeking to end their lives.
This article first appeared in LifeSiteNews at lifesitenews.com/opinion/assisted-suicide-deaths-show-us-that-we-should-be-friends-to-those-who-are-suffering/?utm_source=most_recent.
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