Transgender-identifying individual seeks euthanasia for post-surgical pain and regret

A biological man who identifies as a woman recently requested euthanasia following surgery that left him with pain and regret. That individual is now speaking out against Canada’s healthcare system and its Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) program following the rejection of his MAiD request.

Lois Cardinal underwent a vaginoplasty in 2009, a surgery in which his penis was inverted to create a neo-vagina. He has since suffered from complications, and like most people who undergo so-called ‘gender reassignment surgery’, is dealing with pain and discomfort. A recent study found that 81% of people undergoing these procedures endure post-operative pain, more than half have pain during sex, and about a third have bladder issues.

According to DailyMail.com, Cardinal feels constant pressure, pain, and discomfort though it has been 14 years since the surgery. His neo-vagina also must be dilated regularly to prevent it from collapsing.

“It’s taking this psychological burden on me. If I’m not able to access proper medical care, I don’t want to continue to do this,” said Cardinal, a self-proclaimed “sterilized First Nations post-op transsexual.” He said he lives in constant pain.

“‘Medical care’ for transgendered individuals is now a multimillion-dollar industry. Soon it may be in the billions,” wrote “Pints With Aquinas” podcast host Matt Fradd. He argues that the industry is creating its own “lifelong patients” who must spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on surgeries and hormones.

In a social media post, Cardinal said, “[W]e must have honest conversations about the dark side of transition. We must talk about detransitioners and their stories — and my story, from a regretful transition to medical assistance in dying. I feel like I have contributed to the genocide of my people.”

A doctor determined that Cardinal doesn’t meet the criteria for physician-assisted death. MAiD is available for adults with a serious and incurable illness, disease, or disability, though the Canadian government is in the process of making MAiD available to those suffering from mental health concerns.

Instead of being allowed to die by euthanasia, Cardinal has been referred to specialists in hopes of lessening his pain, but he said he will re-apply for assisted death in the near future if those doctors are unable to help. He called his rejection a “human rights concern.”

Alex Schadenberg, head of Canada’s Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, told the Daily Mail that Cardinal’s situation shows “how crazy Canada’s MAiD law has become.”

“Lois was turned down for MAiD, which shows you that some sanity still exists in Canada,” he said. “My concern is that after the federal government expands Canada’s euthanasia law to include people with mental health issues in March 2024, people in similar circumstances to Lois may be approved.”

According to a long-term study in Sweden, 10 to 15 years following gender surgery, the suicide rate increased to 20 times that of comparable peers.

Canada’s MAiD has reportedly been criticized for a lack of safeguards and purportedly discriminatory impact on disabled people. The nation also reportedly leads the world in assisted suicide for prisoners. Canadians have sought assisted suicide for homelessness, lack of medical care access, and hearing loss, and the nation’s rate of assisted death is 22 times higher than that of the U.S.