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Man applies for euthanasia due to fear of being homeless

By John Patrick Magno Ranara Published Nov 12, 2022 11:47 am

A Canadian man is in the process of applying for euthanasia, known as medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in the country, as he is overwhelmed by fears that he may lose his home in the future and is forced to live in the streets.

Amir Farsoud, a 54-year-old man residing in Ontario, Canada, told CityNews that he has been suffering from agony on a daily basis because of his back injury that he got a few years ago. 

At its worst, the pain renders him "crying like a five-year-old and not sleeping for days in a row." This led him to have an "awful, non-existent, and terrible" quality of life where he does nothing but try to endure the pain.

However, his back injury isn't what ultimately drove him to want to end his life. Rather, it was because he is at risk of losing his housing, and he would much rather face death than become homeless.

Farsoud explained that he lives in a boarding house with two other people, but the owner has placed the house on the market. This left him in a difficult situation as he is only relying on social assistance to get by and he can't afford to find anywhere else to live.

He shared that he receives a little over $1,200 (P70,000) a month from a program that financially supports disabled people, but after paying his rent that costs $690 (P40,000) a month and other expenses, he is left with only $7 (P400) every day for food.

Because of this, he came to the decision to apply for MAiD.

"I don’t want to die, but I don’t want to be homeless more than I don’t want to die," Farsoud told the news outlet.

"I know, in my present health condition, I wouldn’t survive it anyway. It wouldn’t be at all dignified waiting, so if that becomes my two options, it’s pretty much a no-brainer," he continued.

When asked whether he is afraid to die, he became emotional and answered, "Who isn’t … Yeah, I am. Who wouldn’t be?"

"I think it’s horrible, whether it’s ethical or not, but I think it’s backwards. I think in a country such as ours, people shouldn’t be hungry and shouldn’t be worried about whether there’s a roof over their head," Farsoud said.

He has now received approval from his doctor for him to be eligible for MAiD, who said that he met the criteria because of his back injury. He now only needs one more signature to complete his application.

Canada legalized MAiD in 2016 following a decision of its Supreme Court. Its process requires an authorized healthcare provider to administer medication that intentionally ends the life of the patient, who approves of the procedure.

Some of the conditions required to be eligible for MAiD are that the applicant must have a serious illness or disability and must be 18 years old and above who is capable of making health care decisions for themselves.