In Canada, where assisted suicide has been legal since 2016, 1 in every 20 deaths is now medically assisted. Wisconsin Democrats want to bring a version of that law here — and they’ve been trying for a decade.
Senator Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, has introduced this legislation repeatedly since 2015. The legislation which she calls, “Death with Dignity,” allows adults in Wisconsin who are of “sound mind” and have a terminal illness, to prematurely end their life. This is limited to adults who have a diagnosis of 6 months or less, which allows them to request their doctor to give them life ending medication.
This legislation not only puts a lot of pressure on the family and the patient, but also the doctor who would have to determine a standard for that 6 month window. In a study from the NHS, the prognosis of terminally ill patients was only correct 20% of the time. Those timelines can become obsolete and lead to longer lifetimes than the original prediction.
In 2016, Canada legalized a version of this voluntary euthanasia. In 2023, 320,000 Canadians died, with about 15,300 passing due to voluntary euthanasia. This makes every 1 and 20 Canadians death resulting from medically assisted suicide. (RELATED: Milwaukee Public Schools Axes 201 Employees as District Drowns in $46 Million Deficit)
In 2025, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, former Archbishop of Milwaukee, spoke on New York lawmakers who were contemplating the ratification of assisted suicide legislation. “I can’t help but shake my head in disbelief at the disparity in official responses. Our government will marshal all its resources to save the life of one hopeless and despondent man. Yet it may conclude that some lives aren’t worth living — perhaps due to a serious illness or disability — and we will hand those despondent women and men a proverbial loaded gun and tell them to have at it.”
According to Wisconsin Right for Life, assisted suicide gives insurance companies an option they approve of, offering the patient life-ending medication at a lower price than life saving medication. WRL also has provided testimonials of people who were offered a similar deal, or were given only 6 months to live, and lived much past their initial prognosis. (RELATED: Getting to Know Mike Hallquist: The Man Who Wants to Be Brookfield’s Next Mayor)