Proponents of legalized physician-assisted suicide often couch their arguments in the verbiage of pain and dignity. They say that people with terminal and agonizing conditions should be offered the option of “death with dignity” on their own terms. While there are counterpoints against this policy, free people tend to gravitate toward ideas that feature personal agency and consent. Even if one has moral qualms about a culture that blesses any form of suicide, it’s hard not to feel sympathy for people suffering terribly from incurable illnesses.

One of the most common concerns raised against “death with dignity” laws has always been some version of the slippery slope argument, which is often a logical fallacy. But not always. On this front, prescient warnings along these lines have been repeatedly vindicated by events. Our neighbors to the north are a case study in this terrifying and heartbreaking phenomenon.