A grieving family is sounding the alarm over Canada’s controversial “assisted suicide” system after their 26-year-old son, who struggled with seasonal depression, was euthanized under the country’s expanding death-on-demand laws.
Kiano Vafaeian, a blind man living with Type 1 diabetes, was killed by lethal injection in December through the Canadian government’s taxpayer-funded Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program.
MAiD euthanizes patients, deemed to have “grievous and irremediable” medical conditions, with lethal drugs.
Canada broadened eligibility in 2021 to include people with chronic illnesses and disabilities, and lawmakers have debated extending access further to certain mental-health conditions.
The rapidly expanding slippery-slope laws are raising growing concern among critics who warn that the system is drifting toward normalizing suicide for vulnerable individuals.
Family Alleges Doctor “Coached” Path to Death
Vafaeian’s mother, Margaret Marsilla, says the family fought for years to keep their son from pursuing assisted suicide as he battled depression that worsened during the winter months following a devastating car accident at age 17.
But last year, British Columbia MAiD provider Dr. Ellen Wiebe approved Vafaeian as a so-called “Track 2” patient, meaning his natural death was not considered reasonably imminent.
The family says they learned of the approval only days later.
Marsilla alleged the physician effectively guided her son toward qualifying for euthanasia.
“We believe that she was coaching him on how to deteriorate his body and what she can possibly approve him for and what she can get away with approving him for,” Marsilla said.
She has since pushed to reverse Track 2 eligibility rules and is backing Bill C-218, legislation aimed at preventing assisted suicide when mental illness is the sole condition.
“We don’t want to see any other family member suffer, or any country introduce a piece of legislation that kills their disabled or vulnerable without appropriate proper treatment plans that could save their lives,” Marsilla said.
A Life That Showed Signs Of Recovery
According to his family, Vafaeian’s condition fluctuated over time.
After previously attempting to schedule assisted suicide in 2022, an effort halted when his mother discovered the appointment and intervened, he later showed meaningful improvement.
By 2024, he had moved back home, joined a gym, completed personal-training sessions, and texted his mother that he was “looking forward to a new chapter.”
But as winter returned, his depression worsened again.
Soon after traveling to Mexico and then Vancouver, he informed his mother by text that his assisted suicide procedure was scheduled for the next day.
His parents say they were never notified of the approval beforehand.
“This whole process came to us as a shock,” said his stepfather, Joseph Caprara.
Questions Over Safeguards and Medical Justification
Vafaeian’s death certificate listed blindness, diabetes, and severe peripheral neuropathy as antecedent causes.
There was no mention that he was euthanized or suffering from seasonal depression.
His parents dispute whether the medical records support neuropathy as a qualifying factor.
Marsilla argues Canada’s safeguards are dangerously weak, noting Track 2 approvals can occur in roughly 90 days.
“Realistically, safeguards for patients would be reaching out to their family members, giving them a whole bunch of different treatment options,” she said.
“How is that safe for patients?”
After his death, she wrote online:
“This is not healthcare.
“This is a failure of ethics, accountability, and humanity.
“No parent should ever have to bury their child because a system — and a doctor — chose death over care, help or love.”
Doctor Defends Assisted Suicide as “Human Rights” Work
Dr. Wiebe, a longtime abortionist, has publicly described assisted suicide in strikingly positive terms.
She boasts that she has delivered more than 1,000 babies while also helping more than 500 patients die, calling euthanasia “the best work I’ve ever done.”
She added:
“I have a very strong, passionate desire for human rights.
“I’m willing to take risks for human rights as I do for abortion.”
Explaining eligibility decisions, she said physicians hold long discussions with patients about life’s meaning before determining “when it’s been enough.”
WATCH:
Assisted Suicide Expands Beyond Canada
The controversy comes as assisted-suicide laws continue spreading across the West.
On Monday, New York legalized physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill adults.
New York has become the 13th U.S. state, plus Washington, D.C., to enact such legislation.
Meanwhile, Canada already records one of the world’s highest rates of medically assisted deaths.
Euthanasia currently accounts 5.1% of all deaths, totaling 16,499 in 2024.
The surge in state-backed “suicide” is fueling an intensifying debate over whether the policy protects dignity or endangers the vulnerable.
For Vafaeian’s family, the answer is tragically clear.
READ MORE – Canadian Doctors Call for Newborn Babies to Be Euthanized
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