A Catholic priest in Canada who broke his hip was told by medical professionals at Vancouver General Hospital in British Columbia that he might want to consider assisted suicide.
The B.C. Catholic broke the news about Father Larry Holland. The priest reportedly had told hospital staff that he is opposed to euthanasia, but he was still told on two separate occasions that he has the option to kill himself if his condition gets worse.
“I think I was very shocked,” said Holland, who is trained in health-care chaplaincy. “There are some things you just don’t talk about to some people.”
Holland fell and fractured his hip on Christmas Day. At last report, the 79-year-old priest was still in the healing process at the hospital, but he’s not dying and hasn’t received a terminal diagnosis. Still, The B.C. Catholic reports the doctor told him weeks ago that he needed to inform Holland of his options for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD). A nurse later reiterated the assisted suicide option.
Vancouver Coastal Health, the government-run health authority in British Columbia, told the Catholic news site that “staff may consider bringing up MAiD based on their clinical judgment, provided they possess the necessary knowledge and skills to do so.”
But Father Larry Lynn from the archdiocese said, “This must surely be among the most appalling examples of Canada’s coercive and insensitive euthanasia regime.”
Canada’s MAiD program has been the subject of controversy in recent years. In 2025, a report revealed Canada had set a new record by killing 16,499 people through euthanasia in a single year – that’s 1 in 20 deaths, according to some estimates.
MORE: Canada’s Disabled Citizens Feel ‘Threatened’
And this isn’t the first high-profile case of Canadian health officials unnecessarily steering patients toward assisted suicide. As CBN News reported earlier this year, conservative talk radio host Glenn Beck intervened in the case of a Canadian named Jolene Van Alstine, likely saving her life.
HER STORY: Canadian Woman Survives Date With Death After Glenn Beck’s Assistance
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