State-Sanctioned Suicide Is The 4th Leading Cause Of Death In Canada
'The doctors who advocate for it call it compassion, but ethical doctors are healers, not killers.''The doctors who advocate for it call it compassion, but ethical doctors are healers, not killers.'Charlie Kirk’s assassination demands your courage, not your sympathy
I have lost grandparents, childhood friends, and college friends. As you age, death becomes familiar. Each loss shakes you briefly, reminds you that life is fragile, and then fades. You drift back into the illusion that tomorrow is guaranteed. That you will have time later to become a better Christian, husband, and father.
That illusion shattered on September 10, the day Charlie Kirk was assassinated by a leftist.
Charlie Kirk showed us how a Christian lives and how a Christian dies. His race is finished. Ours must now begin.
I did not know Charlie personally. I worked as his publicist last summer for what became his second-to-last book, “Right Wing Revolution,” but we never spoke directly. Still his death devastated me in a way no other loss had.
I had to understand why. Answering that question became the genesis of this book, “For Christ and Country: The Martyrdom of Charlie Kirk.”
On the day Charlie was killed, I joined my wife to pick up our 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter from preschool. The day before, she had asked again and again, “Dada in car? Dada here?” This time, I wanted to be there when she came running out.
As we pulled into the parking lot, my phone lit up. Charlie Kirk had been shot. My stomach dropped.
I had felt that dread once before. On July 13, 2024, I was rocking my daughter to sleep when an alert flashed that President Trump had been shot in Butler, Pennsylvania. Minutes later, dread gave way to relief. Trump survived.
This time, the dread did not lift.
While my wife walked toward the school entrance, I sat frozen in the car, refreshing news feeds. Then I saw the video. The moment the bullet struck Charlie.
One look told me no one could survive that wound.
Then my daughter appeared.
Her face lit up when she saw me. Pure joy. The same joy Charlie’s daughter would never experience again.
As my little girl ran toward the car shouting, “Dada!” another child had just lost her father forever. His daughter. His son. His wife. They would never again live a moment like the one unfolding before me.
Nothing had changed for my daughter. Everything had changed for me.
That night, I slept on the floor beside my oldest daughter’s crib. I lay awake for hours, listening to her breathing and thinking of Charlie’s children and of Erika, facing the impossible task of explaining why their father would never walk through the door again.
In the days that followed, I cried more than I ever had. I am not a man who cries. But something in me died with Charlie, and something else was born.
I began studying Charlie’s words, speeches, debates, and sermons. Not as content but as testimony. What I saw changed me. Charlie possessed a maturity beyond his years, a steadiness most men twice his age never reach. He knew who he was and whom he served. He knew his mission and the cost of it. He accepted that cost.
In Charlie, I saw the man I wanted to be. Strong yet gentle. Courageous yet humble. Unmoved by hatred because he feared God more than man. That recognition exposed an uncomfortable truth. I shared many of Charlie’s convictions but not his courage.
I had spoken boldly only when it was safe. I avoided conflict when it was convenient. The wounds of losing lifelong friends in 2020 because I voted for Trump still stung, and I carried a residual fear of losing more.
Charlie did not hesitate. He lived Matthew 5 and Mark 8 not as verses but as marching orders. He carried his cross onto hostile campuses and into debates before crowds that despised him, knowing exactly what it cost.
When that hatred finally culminated in a sniper’s bullet, it ended his life but not the mission that made him a target.
His death exposed my compromises. It forced me to confront the gap between the man I was and the man God was calling me to be. It demanded that I stop postponing courage and start living the truth now. Costly truth. Dangerous truth. Biblical truth.
Charlie’s life and death were not political events. They were spiritual ones.
He defended the family because God commanded it. He rejected identity politics because every person bears God’s image. He championed fathers because fatherlessness destroys nations. He defended black Americans by insisting on their dignity as individuals created by God, not as pawns of a political movement. He confronted transgender ideology because lies about human nature are lies about God Himself.
For that, he was vilified, dehumanized, and finally murdered.
The ideology that killed Charlie did not emerge overnight. It grew in the silence of those who knew better but feared the cost of speaking. Evil advances when good men retreat, and too many of us did.
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Charlie did not retreat. Now none of us can afford hesitation.
The man I was — cautious and hesitant — died with Charlie. In his place stands a man who understands that truth requires sacrifice, that silence is surrender, and that the only approval that matters comes from God.
My daughter deserves a country where political murder is condemned, not excused. Where truth is spoken even when it is dangerous. Where courage is not outsourced to a handful of men like Charlie Kirk but lived by millions.
That is why I wrote “For Christ and Country: The Martyrdom of Charlie Kirk.” Not simply to remember Charlie but because his death demanded my transformation and now demands yours.
Charlie Kirk showed us how a Christian lives and how a Christian dies.
His race is finished. Ours must now begin.
The torch is ours to carry — for Christ, for country, and for Charlie.
Editor’s note: This article is adapted from the author’s new book, “For Christ and Country: The Martyrdom of Charlie Kirk” (Bombardier Books, Post Hill Press).
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We're making utter fools of ourselves while claiming to have reached the apex of wisdom.Tragic Kingdom: String of mysterious deaths shakes Disney World
The happiest place on Earth is going through a strange bout of deaths this fall.
In just a matter of weeks, four guests to Florida's Walt Disney World have died, all from tragic circumstances.
'People who ... want to have that one last good happy family memory will go to Walt Disney World.'
The first death reportedly came on October 15 when an avid Disney World fan was found dead hours after she vanished.
Four deaths in four weeks
As the New York Post reported, 31-year-old Summer Equitz died at the Contemporary Resort, one of the theme park's 25 hotels. Equitz even reportedly had a missing persons page posted on a Reddit for Disney fans, with relatives seemingly looking for help to locate her.
"She booked a flight [to Orlando] without telling us, unfortunately," a relative allegedly wrote.
Unfortunately, Equitz died by multiple blunt impact injuries, originally thought to be by jumping onto the monorail; police declared she was "NOT struck by the monorail."
A man in his 60s then reportedly died on October 21 after being taken to the hospital from Disney World. Entertainment Weekly said it was told by the Orange County Sheriff's Office that there were "no signs of foul play."
The man had a history of hypertension and end-stage liver disease.
More questions than answers
This "medical episode" was the most open-and-shut down case of the four, leaving far fewer questions than the next death at the Contemporary Resort.
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The third death came as visitors to the theme park posted a video about a "VERY large law enforcement" presence outside their balcony at Disney's Bay Lake Tower.
Entertainment Weekly confirmed that Matthew Cohn died by suicide on October 23 at the Contemporary Resort, with a representative saying the cause of death was "multiple traumatic injuries."
A fourth death was then reported by TMZ on Tuesday, with the Orange County Sheriff's Office telling the outlet that a "woman in her 40s was transported to Celebration Hospital where she passed away."
The sheriff's office also told the Independent that there were "no signs of foul play."
The woman was reportedly found at Disney's Pop Century Resort, located near Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
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'Weird phenomenon'
Outlets like Fox Business and the New York Post have reported that since 1971, there have been a total of 68 deaths at Disney World.
In those 648 months, that would be an average of about 0.1 deaths per month before the recent four.
The strange phenomenon may be explained by remarks made by Jim Hill from the "Disney Wish" podcast in 2022.
According to Fox Business, Hill told the Post that there exists a "weird phenomenon where people who are severely depressed but want to have that one last good happy family memory will go to Walt Disney World."
Fox Business, the New York Post, Entertainment Weekly, and the Independent were unable to acquire comment from Disney World on these matters. Blaze News has reached out for comment and will update this article with any applicable responses.
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'Pro-death legislators' want euthanasia in Illinois — Canada reveals why that's a terrible idea
Democratic lawmakers in the Illinois legislature have passed a bill that would legalize doctor-assisted suicide across the state.
The bill now awaiting Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker's signature, SB 1950, originally started out as a measure concerning sanitary food preparation. The bill was, however, hollowed out then repurposed. Instead of keeping consumers healthy, the language was changed to expedite death — authorizing a qualified patient with a terminal disease to demand that their doctor prescribe a lethal dose of medication, thereby ending "the patient's life in a peaceful manner."
Catholic leaders in the state are among the bill's loudest critics.
'Now, they can prescribe death.'
In May, Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, wrote, "I have to ask why, in a time when growing understanding of the deteriorating mental health of the U.S. population — and particularly among our youth — caused the country to create the 988 mental health crisis line, we would want to take this step to normalize suicide as a solution to life's challenges."
Cupich stressed that the Illinois legislature should explore options that instead "honor the dignity of human life and provide compassionate care to those experiencing life-ending illness."
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield stated after legislators ignored Cupich's counsel and passed the bill in a 30-27 vote on Friday, "It is quite fitting that the forces of the culture of death in the Illinois General Assembly passed physician-assisted suicide on October 31 — a day that, culturally, has become synonymous with glorifying death and evil."
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"It's also ironic that these pro-death legislators did it under the cloud of darkness at 2:54 a.m. Make no mistake: killing oneself is not dying with dignity. Doctors take an oath to do no harm. Now, they can prescribe death," the bishop continued. "Physician assisted suicide undermines the value of each person, especially the vulnerable, the poor, and those with disabilities."
The Illinois Catholic Conference warned on Wednesday that the legalization of assisted suicide in Illinois will put the "state on a slippery path that jeopardizes the well-being of the poor and marginalized, especially those in the disability community and have foreseeable tragic consequences."
The dangers and fallout of legalized assisted suicide are hardly hypothetical.
North of the border, Canada is weeks away from publishing its sixth annual report on so-called medical assistance in dying. While the official numbers have yet to be released accounting for all MAID deaths in 2024 nationwide, provincial data appear to indicate another year-over-year increase in state-facilitated slayings.
The federal government under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau passed the Medical Assistance in Dying Act in 2016, legalizing euthanasia nationwide. Originally, applicants had to be 18 or older and suffering from a "grievous and irremediable medical condition" causing "enduring physical or psychological suffering that is intolerable" to them.
The state-facilitated suicide program has since been grossly liberalized such that the country's eugenicist-founded health care system can now effectively execute those struggling with anxiety, autism, depression, economic woes, PTSD, and other survivable issues.
In its first year, MAID offed 1,108 Canadians. That number tripled the following year, and by 2021, the number had climbed to over 10,000 assisted-suicide deaths in a single year.
The Canadian think tank Cardus revealed last year that "MAiD in Canada is no longer unusual or rare. Federal predictions about the expected frequency of MAiD have significantly underestimated the numbers of Canadians who are dying by this means."
As of 2022, MAID was tied with cerebrovascular diseases as the fifth leading cause of death in the country. The following year, state-facilitated suicide claimed the lives of 15,343 individuals, accounting for 4.7% of all deaths in the country.
'Feeling like a burden can play on a patient's decision to request and receive a MAiD death.'
Authorities in Nova Scotia, a province of just over 1 million souls, indicated to Blaze News that it saw a drop in completed MAID slayings last year. Whereas there were 380 slayings in 2023, there were allegedly only 169 in 2024, with 286 active cases and 71 recorded natural deaths prior to MAID.
This appears to be the exception, not the rule.
The nation's more populous provinces have alternatively seen continued increases in MAID slayings.
British Columbia's 2024 euthanasia data, for instance, indicate that there were 3,000 state-facilitated suicides in the province last year. While most of the victims were over the age of 65, 1.5% of those slain were between the ages of 18 and 45 and individuals who were not dying. In fact, among the conditions cited as reasons and/or contributing reasons for MAID were "frailty," dementia, mental disorders, and unstated neurological conditions.
The Euthanasia Prevent Coalition noted that MAID deaths in B.C. were up over 8% from the previous year and accounted for 6.7% of all deaths in the province last year.
Alberta, a province of just over 5 million souls, recorded 1,117 deaths in 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 14.3% and making its total MAID kill count 5,646 victims since 2016.
Data obtained by the MAiD in Canada Substack indicate that in 2024, Ontario had 4,957 deaths, representing an increase of 6.8% and making its grand total 23,333 victims since 2016.
Quebec reportedly had 6,058 MAID deaths last year, representing an increase of 6.4% and making its grand total over 26,000 victims since 2016. In addition to the growing number of deaths, there is apparently a growing cohort of doctors willing to dish out lethal doses in Quebec. A recent government report indicated that over 2,000 physicians were involved in the slayings, representing an 11% increase over the previous year.
Rebecca Vachon, health program director at Cardus, told Blaze News that "based on current reporting from the most populous provinces, we expect to see more than 16,500 'medical assistance in dying' or euthanasia deaths in 2024, which is an increase from the 15,343 deaths reported in 2023. This will likely result in MAiD deaths constituting 5% of total deaths in Canada that year, which, as Cardus discussed in a report released last fall, is a far cry from the expectations set by the courts that MAiD would be for exceptional cases only."
The Canadian government released a report in 2020 indicating that the previous year, MAID resulted in a net cost reduction of over $86 million for provincial governments. The report additionally noted that further liberalization of the MAID program under Bill C-7, which was passed in March 2021, would result in an additional $62 million reduction in costs.
When asked whether MAID is being championed in part as a way to cut costs for Canada's immigration-strained health care system, Vachon told Blaze News, "Regardless of intentions, the pressure that feeling like a burden can play on a patient's decision to request and receive a MAiD death should not be understated."
"For instance, Canadian MAiD providers report that almost 50% of the patients they helped die in 2023 reported feeling they were a burden on others — up 10% from the previous year," Vachon said.
'Illinois should be a state that offers compassion, care, and hope — not death — as the answer to human suffering.'
Polls conducted by Cardus in partnership with the Angus Reid Institute found that 62% of Canadians fear that those who are financially or socially vulnerable may consider state-facilitated suicide because of difficulties accessing adequate care, Vachon indicated.
The fear is justified given that 42% of all MAID deaths from 2019 to 2023 involved people who required disability supports. Of those victims, over 1,017 never received those supports.
"Canadians deserve care that alleviates their suffering and prevents it from becoming 'unbearable,'" Vachon said.
Blaze News has reached out for comment to Prime Minister Mark Carney's office as well as to the leaders of the New Democratic Party and Conservative Party, Don Davies and Pierre Poilievre.
While the slope has been greased in Canada and in states such as California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Vermont, and Washington, there's still hope that Pritzker may reconsider, especially after he noted on Monday, "It was something that I didn't expect and didn't know it was going to be voted on, so we're examining it even now."
Rather than sign the bill, the Illinois Catholic Conference has implored Pritzker to "expand and improve on palliative care programs that offer expert assessment and management of pain and other symptoms."
Bishop Paprocki noted, "Pray for Gov. Pritzker to reject this legislation. Illinois should be a state that offers compassion, care, and hope — not death — as the answer to human suffering."
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