In June 2026, a Canadian parliamentary committee called on the federal government to cancel the scheduled 2027 legalisation of euthanasia for mental illness, while in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis pressed ahead with a series of executions of elderly inmates, including an 80-year-old man. These simultaneous developments highlight a North American moment of intense debate over the state’s role in ending life, with policy and public opinion moving in opposite directions on different forms of state-sanctioned death.

According to the Canadian committee, the expansion of medical assistance in dying (MAID) to those whose sole condition is mental illness, set for March 2027, should be halted. The recommendation follows cases such as that of Kathrin Mentler, who sought help for suicidal thoughts at a Vancouver hospital and was asked by a clinician if she had considered euthanasia. Disability rights advocates and religious leaders, including the Catholic Church, argue that offering assisted death to people with disabilities instead of support discriminates against them and signals that their lives are less valuable. A commentary by a church representative notes that nearly half of those who seek euthanasia cite feeling like a burden, undermining claims of autonomous choice.

In Florida, Governor DeSantis has made capital punishment a signature issue, with the state accounting for 40% of all US executions in 2025. His office scheduled three consecutive executions of aging prisoners, including Dominick Occhicone, 80, who would become the second-oldest person executed in modern US history. Catholic bishops in Florida have appealed to DeSantis to halt the executions, calling the practice cruel, while victims’ families, such as Marilyn Gifford, whose sister’s killer is set to die, welcome the long-delayed justice. President Donald Trump, upon returning to office, signed an executive order to “restore the death penalty” and directed federal prosecutors to seek capital punishment more broadly, lifting a moratorium and reducing avenues for appeal.

Meanwhile, a June 2026 Research Co. poll found that 60% of Canadians now support reinstating the death penalty for murder, up six points from 2025, with only 30% opposed. This marks a significant shift from the narrow 1976 parliamentary vote that abolished capital punishment. Analysts in Montreal note that the resurgence of support coincides with political rhetoric favouring harsh sentencing, such as Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s 2024 pledge to keep certain murderers imprisoned until death. Historical abolitionist arguments, revived at a recent global congress in Paris, stress that the death penalty has no proven deterrent effect and that its application often falls disproportionately on marginalised groups.

The Canadian government has not yet responded to the committee’s recommendation, and the 2027 deadline for MAID expansion remains in law. In Florida, the execution of Dennis Sochor is scheduled for this week, with Occhicone’s set for late July, while three other death row inmates are older than 80. The global abolitionist movement, gathering in Paris, points to a 78% rise in executions worldwide in 2025, driven by China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the US, even as the number of abolitionist countries grows. The contrasting trajectories in North America underscore a broader international struggle over the limits of state power over life and death.