Kevin Dunn examines Fatal Flaws of assisted suicide laws

The following article was published by the HamiltonNews.com on July 4, 2018.

Kevin Dunn (Hague)

Kevin Dunn wants each and every one of us to be the reason for someone’s tomorrow.

The producer/director and his crew have logged over 50,000 kilometres in the past two years exploring the impact euthanasia and assisted suicide laws have on families and society.

The result is the film Fatal Flaws: Legalizing Assisted Death, produced by Dunn Media in association with the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and co-produced by Alex Schadenberg,

• Fatal Flaws film will change the way you view assisted death.

Filming started last January with a visit to Holland for Euthanasia Week. During the five-day annual event organized by the Dutch Right-to-Die Society activities take place to raise awareness of “dying with dignity,” according to the World Federation of Right to Die Societies website.

Events in 2017 included a symposium for people under 40 to discuss euthanasia among youth, and a debate on “weary of life” to facilitate a dialogue among elderly people.

Dunn said wherever people stand on the issue of euthanasia and assisted suicide, it’s impossible to ignore the cultural shift in attitude.

“What was once considered murder under the law is now being accepted as medical treatment in many countries,” he said.

Fatal Flaws focuses on what Dunn calls the “under-represented viewpoint.” It features testimonies from those whose lives have been dramatically affected by a culture that sees killing as a form of caring.

Fatal Flaws debuted in Ottawa in May to an appreciative audience that included the filmmaker himself.

Dunn said he felt “a great load of responsibility” while watching his completed project appear on the screen.

“I took these very, very personal stories in four countries, and the people trusted me to tell their stories and to present them on camera in a way that does them justice and allows for meaningful discussion about the consequences of these laws over the long term.”

Take for example, said Dunn, the Netherlands, where legislation has expanded so much that the country is considering a law that would allow healthy people who feel their life is complete to die with the help of a physician.

“It’s a really crazy slippery slope, the incremental extensions of these laws all over the world,” Dunn said.

For the Ancaster resident, Fatal Flaws underscores the need for better palliative care, not only in Canada but around the world. He said pain was not cited as the number one cause for someone considering euthanasia or assisted suicide, rather, it was loneliness, depression and the fear of being a burden.

“We need to visit people and let them know they don’t have to go there,” said Dunn. “As friends and advocates, we have to be there for somebody’s tomorrow ... we need to be the reason for someone’s tomorrow.”

For more information, visit http://www.fatalflawsfilm.com/.