Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Participate in the Canadian Government MAiD euthanasia consultation

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Guide to answering the MAID consultation questionnaire (Link).
The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) is urging you to participate in the Canadian Department of Justice Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) consultation questionnaire. 
(Consultation webpage).

The language of the consultation questionnaire is not great, nonetheless, the questionnaire does allow you to leave further comments. (Link to the questionnaire).

Guide to answering the MAID consultation questionnaire  (Link).
Before responding to the questionnaire, it is important to read these important articles to help you respond to the consultation questionnaire:
  • Historical: Canadian Senate passed euthanasia law in time for summer break (Link).
  • Canada's euthanasia deaths increased by 50% in 2018 (Link).
  • Ontario euthanasia deaths are rising quickly (Link).
  • UN Disability rights envoy urges changes to Canada's euthanasia law (Link).
  • Québec court expands euthanasia law by striking down the terminal illness requirement (Link).
  • Physically healthy depressed man died by euthanasia in BC (Link).
  • Ontario doctor experiences abuse of euthanasia law (Link).
  • Québec Fourth Interim Euthanasia Report, 13 deaths did not comply with the law (Link).
  • BC Health Minister orders Delta Hospice to do euthanasia by February 3 (Link).

15 comments:

  1. Euthanasia is nothing less than downright MURDER even when the patient or patient's family consent, all the more so when consent is not obtained or even sought. Likewise, is giving the patient the medication with which to take their own life. Therefore, to legalize Euthanasia constitutes legalizing MURDER.
    Martin H. Hoffman
    Toronto, ON.

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  2. Of course, we know that this a painful and soul-searching topic for many people on both sides of the fence. We know Euthanasia is on that level of flavour of the month.We also know that abortion on demand, started the ball rolling and now the snowball has grown into basically death on demand. Will the next step be the destruction of those individuals, who are different in whatever fashion. Once again, we have a situation, of the me generation cramming their beliefs down the throats of the collective opposition. Finally if members of the medical profession do not wish to kill someone,then they should not be forced to do so.

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  3. I agree totally with the comment just made by Mr Hoffman,Euthanasia constitutes legalizing MURDER,it is unbelievable to think of killing our Family members because they are not perfect or needing palliative care for pain management!Our Government should be protecting vulnerable persons instead of killing them.
    Barbara Blom
    Saskatoon, Sask

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  4. Anonynous said it all.

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  5. Thanks, Alex, for providing this important link to the survey, and for the other links to information to assist us. You're doing a great job keeping us informed.

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  6. I printed out the questionnaire to have a good look at it, without automatically responding. The 2nd question in section C, which is quite substantial, only allows for responses which are, to some degree, in agreement with euthanasia at all. There is no option to say it should never happen.

    In the others, the yes/no questions (C1. D1, D2) allow a "no" response to the question given, which can be non-euthanasia options, and the "any other comments" questions (C3, D3 and E1) are open ended.

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    1. I don’t believe people are righteously pointing fingers. I just think they are fed up with society not valuing life. Or another popular term would be you Christian fanatics stop telling people what to do. I suppose it is simpler to call people names rather than focus at the problem at hand. People are legally being murdered in Canada and the numbers are only going to rise, including disabled, depressed, and children. We need to point fingers!!!!! When such an atrocity is occurring all around the world, we have a responsibility to our fellow man to start pointing Fingers and get this insanity to stop. These are our fellow human beings, What are we doing?

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    2. Just choose the answer that is the best possible answer to that question, there are a few areas in which you can leave a comment. That is where you can make your comments. That is where I told them that I vehemently disapprove of MAID, and that Justin Trudeau and his government should absolutely NOT expand the eligibility criteria for MAID! If you are unable to express everything you want to say (as there are a limited amount of words you can use in the comment areas, simply finish the questionnaire, then go back and fill out another one. That way you can get all your thoughts and concerns down for the liberal government to read. They need to know how we feel about MAID. We need to be heard.

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  7. I have contributed extra comments to the Canadian Government discussion as follows:--

    (1) It ought to be invariable practice for every adult to make a living will while still in good health and of sound mind. My late husband died from complications of Parkinson's Disease, with 'Comfort Care' caringly offered and consciously accepted both by him and by me in a hospital setting. He needed tube feeding into his stomach, and even so pneumonia from aspiration of food and fluids into the lungs could not definitely be precluded. His living will made years earlier covered this situation.

    (2) “Do you have any other comments you want to share about allowing MAID to be provided to a person who has an advance request but is not able to consent to MAID at the time of the procedure?”
    Allowing MAID to be provided in such circumstances does not allow for the person's changing his mind if he had been able to. That infringes on his freedom and dignity.

    (3) There needs to be much heavier investment in hospice.


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  8. Each case of request for medical assisted suicide has its own nuanced circumstances. Instead of righteously pointing fingers, we need to act with compassion. I wonder how much does our disposable societal mentality add to this movement. The prevention of making this choice has to start very early. We need to cultivate a grateful attitude. We need to look at small suffering in our daily life as redemptive. We need ongoing education and quality improvement in palliative care, be it in an institution or at home. We need to support the suffering and their family (if any) in our own community. This is more than the duty of the medical or spiritual professionals. Finally, we need to contribute to the hospice care long before we get there ourselves.

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    1. Vicky we are not being self righteous. Of course the bottom line is that our government must put funds towards better pain control, improved and expanded palliative care, better societal support systems for people living in institutions as well as those who are living at home with disabilities and various illnesses. It’s all about doing everything in our power to support and care for those who are suffering. To value each and every life and to care for them with dignity and compassion. Yes I will righteously point my finger when I see my fellow man being exterminated because society has failed to support and help them in their times of suffering. When people look to MAID they are already at a point where they feel they have no other choice. We can and must change this. Mass extermination is where we are headed, how sad for human kind.

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  9. The right to live or die at the aid of a physician or anyone else should be made only by that person or
    Their immediate family

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  10. I write from the capital of the state of Victoria, that is Melbourne in Australia!
    We have just legalized extra judicial state sanctioned executions either as a doctor prescribed suicide or as a direct execution by a doctor who performs the execution by giving the patient the poison to kill the patient.
    Already the requests for euthanasia in the state of Victoria are running TEN TIMES ( YES, TEN TIMES) the numbers predicted by our death dealing state government!
    Why I am writing is to congratulate Alex and the EPC for all your continuing efforts to stop the executions!
    What is happening now in Canada in 2020 is a sobering warning to what will soon be happening in Australia!
    We need to learn how to FIGHT THE FOREST FIRE OF EUTHANASIA EXECUTIONS before it gets worse in Victoria, Australia. The deaths from our forest fires are so small, so tiny compared to the murders in the euthanasia executions.
    Eugene Ahern, Melbourne, Australia

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  11. MAID is wrong.
    Maid is Murder.
    Maid is against God's Commandment -- Thou Shall not Kill

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  12. It is a slippery road. It is a way for government now or in future to save money. And the poorest amongst us will be the victims. This is not what Canada stands for as a country with a proud health coverage for all. And, it opens a door for grave future misuse. Carol Delisle.

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