Kristin Logan and Donovan James moved to Canada hoping its publicly funded health care system would protect them from crushing medical costs. They returned to the United States after encountering what they described as a “dystopian” system that offered medically assisted death before cancer treatment.

James said Canada’s medical assistance in dying program, known as MAID, has expanded in a frightening direction. “I think it's evil,” James told Fox News Digital.

Logan said the experience left her feeling as though the system had prepared her for death instead of helping her pursue treatment. “It was the most heartbreaking experience, to basically be set up to die.”

Logan was first diagnosed in September 2023 and left Canada later that month to receive initial treatment. She suffered a bowel obstruction in March 2024, again left the country, returned in April 2024 and then saw the cancer return in December 2024.

Gun Laws Have Changed! Protect yourself by knowing where you can and cannot carry your firearm, so you can travel with confidence.

The couple decided in January 2025 that they would leave Canada. They officially moved back to the United States in May of that year after repeated struggles to obtain care.

Health Canada describes MAID as “a health service that allows eligible people to receive help from a medical practitioner in ending their life.” Logan and James said it was the best initial solution Canada offered following her diagnosis.

The Atlantic has reported that MAID accounts for about one in 20 deaths in Canada and has surpassed countries where assisted dying has been legal much longer. Concerns have been raised about whether the program has become too expansive.

James said the medical system should concentrate on treatment and helping people stay alive. Instead, he said, the system has expanded medically assisted death “as a kind offer because they pretty much assume you're going to die.”

James is a Canadian citizen who lives in the United States with a green card. Logan, his wife, is a U.S. Air Force veteran with stage four ovarian cancer, and the couple had moved to Canada hoping to avoid ever going bankrupt during a future medical emergency.

That plan collided with long waits and limited resources after Logan became seriously ill. She traveled back to the United States three separate times while seeking care, and multiple emergencies and hospital visits in Canada pushed the family into a desperate search for treatment.

James said Canadian medical providers told the family there were “no plan[s] to operate on her,” while a hospital helicopter was unavailable to transfer her to Vancouver. He also said a doctor advised Logan to “leave the country” if she had the means.

With Logan deteriorating quickly, the family removed her from hospital machines and placed her in a car. They drove down Vancouver Island, boarded a ferry, crossed the border and continued into Seattle so she could receive immediate emergency surgery.

“The surgeon said had she waited another day, she would have gone septic and died in Canada,” James said. Logan said she was 43 years old when diagnosed and had spent nine months pursuing the disease while being blocked at nearly every turn by Canada’s health care system.

British Columbia has announced an expansion of services for women with gynecological cancer. According to the Fraser Institute’s 2025 report, the median reported wait for gynecology was 25 weeks from a general practitioner’s referral to a specialist consultation, followed by 15.6 weeks from consultation to treatment.

James said Americans do not receive enough Canadian news to understand how much the country’s health care system has declined over recent decades. He argued that existing problems have become even more troubling with the introduction and expansion of MAID.

Logan said the prospect of receiving information about ending her life before she had even secured an oncology appointment was deeply disturbing. Faced with that system, she concluded that pursuing life meant taking matters into her own hands and leaving Canada.

WATCH:

Health Canada is the lead federal department for the MAID program. It did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment about the couple’s account.

The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of LifeZette. Contact us for guidelines on submitting your own commentary.