When it comes to medically assisted dying, critics say Canada has left people with mental illness behind ⁠34%

By CBC Docs⁠0%

10/30/2024, 8:55:05 PM

BS Summary: This article contains 22 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Emotion, Biased Writer Voice, and Hasty Generalization, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 44.1% saturation with 230 hits. Analysis detected 1,300 faulty-reasoning hits from 522 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 42% and a BS Rank of ⁠34% (14,491 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 66.20% of the article peer group.

Canada is one of a handful of countries where it is legal for individuals to seek out medical assistance in dying (MAID) if they are terminally ill or intolerably suffering — just not if this suffering is solely caused by a mental disorder. 
In 2021, the Senate passed a bill that would expand access to MAID to people with grievous and incurable mental illnesses beginning in March 2023. 
However, before it came into effect, the government announced a one-year delay. 
In 2024, the expansion was delayed again, this time until 2027. 
Over the years, medical practitioners, advocates and professional bodies have characterized this exclusion as discriminatory. 
"People with mental disorders are not treated the same as people with physical disorders and haven't been," says Helen Long, the CEO of Dying with Dignity Canada in the new documentary No Way to Die. 
"There's an invisibleness to the disorders, but also, I think, to the suffering." 
No Way to Die follows the journey of Savannah Meadows and Jane Hunter, two individuals with mental illnesses who want to apply for MAID as soon as it becomes available to them. 
Savannah has been struggling with behavioural problems since she was a child, and has spent 40 years looking for peace from the torment of violent thoughts and depression. 
Jane is a 75-year-old who feels she is nearing the end of her lifelong journey to find relief from complex PTSD and depression. 
Access to MAID for mental illness is a contentious issue in the political and the medical spheres, drawing sharp criticism from its opponents. 
In archival footage shown in the film, one Canadian politician expresses concern about "people seeking MAID because they can't get the psychiatric care they need," while foreign pundits critique Canada's legalization of assisted dying in the first place. 
But as the debate rages, and eligibility dates get pushed back, Jane and Savannah are left feeling like they're running out of resiliency — and running out of options. 
"I'm at the point where it's been too much for too long," Savannah says in the documentary. 
"I feel I've given it a lifetime of fighting, [a] lifetime of trying all these different things, and now the pain is … just too overwhelming. 
It's crushing me. 
I've tried everything I can, and it's at the point where it's just … it's broken me." 
How to watch No Way to Die: 
The documentary is now streaming on CBC Gem and the CBC Docs YouTube channel. 
If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help: 
Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988 
Talk Suicide Canada: Call 1-833-456-4566 (or 1-866-277-3553 in Quebec) or text 45645 (text available from 4 p.m. to midnight ET) 
Kids Help Phone: Call 1-800-668-6868, text CONNECT to 686868 or access live chat counselling online (chat available from 7 p.m. to midnight ET) 
Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a local crisis centre 
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health: This guide outlines what to do if someone you care about is thinking about suicide 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 6.0%CBC: 2.6%Confirmation Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.3%CBC: 0.7%Anchoring Bias0.0%This article: 2.5%CBC Docs: 2.8%CBC: 3.1%Availability Heuristic2.5%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.9%CBC: 1.1%Representativeness Heuristic0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.8%CBC: 1.0%Hindsight Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 2.8%CBC: 1.4%Overconfidence Bias0.0%This article: 10.0%CBC Docs: 9.0%CBC: 4.2%Framing Effect10.0%This article: 10.5%CBC Docs: 0.8%CBC: 0.6%Loss Aversion10.5%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 1.0%CBC: 0.6%Status Quo Bias0.0%This article: 8.2%CBC Docs: 0.3%CBC: 0.2%Sunk Cost Effect8.2%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 1.5%CBC: 4.0%Optimism Bias0.0%This article: 10.9%CBC Docs: 1.4%CBC: 1.4%Pessimism Bias10.9%This article: 44.1%CBC Docs: 11.3%CBC: 5.7%Negativity Bias44.1%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 1.0%CBC: 1.2%Self-Serving Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.8%CBC: 0.9%Fundamental Attribution Error0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.2%CBC: 0.2%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 6.7%CBC Docs: 0.8%CBC: 1.2%In-Group Bias6.7%This article: 7.3%CBC Docs: 0.5%CBC: 0.3%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias7.3%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 3.6%CBC: 3.6%Halo Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.2%CBC: 0.1%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.0%CBC: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 2.1%CBC Docs: 0.3%CBC: 1.2%Recency Bias2.1%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.4%CBC: 0.4%Primacy Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.0%CBC: 0.0%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 3.3%CBC Docs: 0.4%CBC: 0.4%Ad Hominem3.3%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.6%CBC: 0.2%Straw Man0.0%This article: 10.2%CBC Docs: 5.4%CBC: 3.7%Appeal to Authority10.2%This article: 4.4%CBC Docs: 0.9%CBC: 1.3%False Dilemma4.4%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.1%CBC: 0.4%Slippery Slope0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.2%CBC: 0.2%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 15.3%CBC Docs: 5.0%CBC: 4.8%Hasty Generalization15.3%This article: 7.3%CBC Docs: 0.6%CBC: 0.2%Red Herring7.3%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.1%CBC: 0.6%Bandwagon0.0%This article: 33.1%CBC Docs: 8.0%CBC: 4.2%Appeal to Emotion33.1%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.7%CBC: 0.6%Begging the Question0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 2.3%CBC: 2.5%Post Hoc (False Cause)0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.0%CBC: 0.0%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.9%CBC: 0.3%Burden of Proof0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.6%CBC: 0.3%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.2%CBC: 0.3%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 6.1%CBC Docs: 5.1%CBC: 3.3%Anecdotal6.1%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.0%CBC: 0.1%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 8.2%CBC Docs: 2.3%CBC: 1.6%Ambiguity (Equivocation)8.2%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.0%CBC: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.0%CBC: 0.1%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.3%CBC: 0.1%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.2%CBC: 0.1%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.0%CBC: 0.1%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 13.4%CBC Docs: 1.3%CBC: 1.1%Unattributed Quote13.4%This article: 11.7%CBC Docs: 1.9%CBC: 0.8%Quote-first Misdirection11.7%This article: 21.1%CBC Docs: 5.3%CBC: 4.8%Biased Writer Voice21.1%This article: 2.5%CBC Docs: 0.8%CBC: 2.4%Indoctrination2.5%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 1.3%CBC: 0.4%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%CBC Docs: 0.0%CBC: 0.1%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 10.2%CBC Docs: 4.0%CBC: 1.7%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…10.2%

522 words analyzed.

Speakers

2speakers21%attributed speech411writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Writer's voice • 17 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 43 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 25 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 12 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 11 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 15 words • 100.0% coverageHelen Long • 35 words • 100.0% coverageHelen Long • 13 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 32 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 28 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 23 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 23 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 38 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 29 words • 100.0% coverageSavannah Meadows • 17 words • 0.0% coverageSavannah Meadows • 26 words • 100.0% coverageSavannah Meadows • 3 words • 0.0% coverageSavannah Meadows • 17 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 7 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 14 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 13 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 7 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 20 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 23 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 10 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 21 words • 0.0% coverage
Selected voice

Helen Long

100%flagged-word coverage
48 attributed words43% of attributed speech74% writer coverage
0%37.5%75.0%Quote-first Misdirection+72.9 ptsWriter: 0.0%Helen Long: 72.9%72.9%Biased Writer Voice+3.5 ptsWriter: 23.6%Helen Long: 27.1%27.1%Unattributed Quote-17.0 ptsWriter: 17.0%Helen Long: 0.0%0.0%Attempt to Sell a Product -12.9 ptsWriter: 12.9%Helen Long: 0.0%0.0%Indoctrination-3.2 ptsWriter: 3.2%Helen Long: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.