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A Canadian man about to be evicted from his home has applied to be legally euthanized and die rather than become homeless.
Amir Farsoud, 54, applied for the drastic measure after the rooming house where he lives was up for sale.
Farsoud lives with debilitating, untreatable back pain, which made him eligible for Canada’s controversial dying medical assistance program known as MAID.
But it wasn’t his pain that drove Farsoud’s decision, but rather his prospects of homelessness after Canada’s Social Services failed to offer him support.
Farsoud received one of two doctor’s signatures required to be accepted by the MAID program and is expected to be euthanized this month.
But his story made headlines in Canada, and a GoFundMe page set up in his name by a stranger ended up raising him more than $60,000 — enough to get him a new home and change his mind about it. end his life.
Amir Farsoud, 54, applied for Canada’s controversial dying medical assistance program known as MAID after the house where he lives went on the market
Farsoud received one of two doctor’s signatures required to be accepted by the MAID program and is expected to be euthanized this month
When Farsoud requested euthanasia, he said he didn’t want to die, but he didn’t want to be homeless anymore.
“I don’t want to die, but I don’t want to be homeless any more than I don’t want to die,” he told City news. “It’s not my first choice.”
Farsoud’s survives on Social Security, but the allowance is so low that he is left with only $7 a day for food, and next to nothing to pay rent.
When his rooming house, the house he shares with two others, came up for sale, he decided to sign up as a maid.
With his chronic back pain – which has left him weakened – Farsoud said he was probably going to die on the streets anyway, so he thought he might as well end his life the easy way.
‘I know, with my current state of health I wouldn’t survive anyway. It wouldn’t be worth waiting at all, so if those become my two options, that’s pretty much a good idea,” he said.
Farsoud lives with debilitating, untreatable back pain, which made him eligible for MAID
Farsoud’s back pain started after an accident several years ago that left him unable to lead a normal life. He said everyday life was “awful, non-existent and horrible.” I do nothing but manage pain.’
Farsoud said despite his pain that if he had an affordable and reliable place to live, he “wouldn’t even be close” to considering euthanasia.
“It would be on my radar because my physical condition will only get worse,” Farsoud told City News.
“At that point I would probably take the opportunity, but that will probably take years.”
Before being rescued, Farsoud said he was afraid of dying. ‘Who not? Yes that’s me. Who wouldn’t that be?’ he told City News
MAID was first legalized in Canada in 2016 with the intention of providing an option for people for whom death was inevitable and foreseeable.
In the spring of 2022, it was expanded to include people living with a disabling disability or pain, even though their lives were not in immediate danger.
Before being rescued, Farsoud said he was afraid of dying. ‘Who not? Yes that’s me. Who wouldn’t that be?’ he told City News.
He said it was “horrible” and “backward” that people like him have to contemplate suicide because their social services can’t provide them.
“I think it’s horrible, whether it’s ethical or not, but I think it’s retarded,” he said. ‘I think people in a country like ours shouldn’t go hungry and worry about whether they have a roof over their heads.’
“I think we actually have the resources to not let that be a problem and for us to choose not to help the most vulnerable members of society is tragic.”
But after Farsoud’s story made headlines, an anonymous woman named Effy set up a GoFundMe for him. The $60,000 was enough to put a roof over his head and change his mind about ending his life.
‘I am a different person,’ said Farsoud. ‘The first time we spoke, I had nothing but darkness, misery, stress and hopelessness. Now I have the opposite of those things.’