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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\nNew Yorkers are being warned they could be opening \u201cPandora\u2019s box\u201d as the state moves towards legalizing physician-assisted suicide this summer, with Canada\u2019s experience as a cautionary tale.Debbie Fisher, a 71-year-old from Ontario, said her elderly mother narrowly avoided being euthanised after making a single remark in hospital. Her mother, 93-year-old Rita Busby, had been admitted after accidentally overdosing on prescribed medication. While drowsy, she told a nurse she \u201cwanted to die\u201d.Hospital staff took the comment seriously and began preparing for euthanasia. \u201cI was terrified. I couldn\u2019t believe what was happening. They talked to me like I was putting a dog down,\u201d Fisher told The New York Post.Fisher said her mother had no intention of ending her life. \u201cMy mom wanted to die, she didn\u2019t want to be killed!\u201d she said. \u201cIf I hadn\u2019t been there, and she hadn\u2019t signed over Power of Attorney, who knows what would have happened\u201d.Busby avoided the procedure and lived for another six months, during which she resumed normal activities, including bowling, attending baseball games and reconnecting with family, before dying naturally at home in 2019.Fisher is now urging families in New York to prepare in advance as the state plans to legalise physician assisted suicide. The law is set to take effect from August 4. It will allow eligible patients with terminal illness to request life-ending medication, subject to strict conditions.<\/p>\n In Canada, 58-year-old Heather Hancock, who lives with cerebral palsy, warned of a \u201cslippery slope\u201d. \u201cYou just opened Pandora\u2019s Box, and the slippery slope will get very steep very fast,\u201d she said.Hancock claimed she had been encouraged multiple times by medical professionals to consider ending her life. Recalling one hospital visit, she said, \u201cthe nurse on my ward looked at me and said, \u2018You really should consider MAiD. You\u2019re not living. You\u2019re just existing,\u2019\u201d.She now carries a \u201cdo not euthanize\u201d card and warned vulnerable groups to remain alert. \u201cKeep your ears and eyes open, especially if you have a disability or mental illness or are in any way considered a disadvantaged or non-contributing member of society. Those are the people that are targeted,\u201d she said, adding, \u201c[PAS] is an effective way to get rid of those they deem draining the healthcare system. It\u2019s not compassionate.\u201dCanada legalized physician-assisted dying a decade ago and has since expanded access. Estimates suggest around 100,000 people have died under the system, accounting for roughly one in 20 deaths in 2024.The system has become increasingly permissive. Canada is expected to extend eligibility to those with mental illness as the sole condition in 2027, pending legal challenges.Medical bodies in the United States have also raised concerns, stating that physician-assisted suicide is incompatible with the role of a doctor and carries serious societal risks.<\/div>\n\nThe case of Heather Hancock<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n