Monday, August 17, 2020

BC woman asks for assisted suicide based on COVID-19 isolation.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition



Rob Munro reported for Kelowna Infonews that a British Columbia woman, Shirley Turton (78), asked her family to arrange an assisted suicide death because she feels "locked into a long term care prison" due to COVID-19.

Munro reported that the daughter of Shirley Turton said that her mother is not terminally ill but she has become:

depressed, not interested in eating and can’t even put a glass of water to her lips but, most of all she is lonely.
Shirley Turton with her daughter last year.
Turton has a caring family:
Prior to the COVID-19 lockdown in March, the family had a private care aide who would take Turton on outings, get her hair cut and such things three days a week. Family members visited regularly and took her to Molgat’s farm, the beach to watch the grandchildren playing in the water or feed her home cooked meals.

After the family was excluded, they tried zoom meetings but Turton couldn’t hold the iPad. A care aide would drop it in her lap and leave the room. Turton would look up at the ceiling or around her room to try to figure out where the voices were coming from.

They were able to visit by looking through a window or a wrought iron fence but, Molgat said, that felt like they were in a prison and, since Turton’s voice is so weak and she was 20 feet away, conversation wasn’t practical.

“It’s cruel, in a way, these visits, because they’re so hard on her,” Molgat said. “I think a lot of seniors in long term care are in the same boat. They’re not able to visit and chit chat and have conversations. They just need to be close to people and have the proximity of their family members. These visits are not appropriate or helpful.”
The family believes that the inability to take their mother on trips is crazy:
“It’s just crazy to me, and I can’t see how it’s even legal that they’re able to keep these people trapped in their homes,” she said. “All my mother would like to do is have us wheel her wheelchair down the road, put her in her private wheelchair van and bring her out to our farm so that she can see the horses and enjoy the sunshine. We would never take her anywhere where it’s dangerous. But they won’t even look at it.Data appears to indicate that deaths of despair have increased during the COVID-19 crisis. 

The question is: how many people have died by MAiD (euthanasia or assisted suicide) in Canada because they became deeply depressed from the COVID-19 isolation?

We need to rethink nursing homes and support community based care.

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition works with the Compassionate Community Care charity to provide training for volunteers and others to visit lonely and isolated people.

More articles on this topic:

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

We will all get old ........
2 years ago my dad passed away. His last 2 years were filled with drives to areas within the city, rural areas, parks ; later , (in his wheelchair ) walks around the neighborhood.
When his time came family was near, his breathing was made easier through special equipment, he passed while holding my hand. If we are a caring society SHOULDN'T WE BE FIGHTING FOR OUR SENIORS TO HAVE A QUALITY OF LIFE UNTO DEATH ? WE WILL ALL DIE ; BUT HOW WE DIE IS THE QUESTION - RIGHT NOW INJECTION IS BEING PUSHED - WHAT NEXT?

Janice said...

Then take her out of the facility and bring her home.
Families used to care for their parents, now they pack them up and send them to the death camp.
Of course this was going to happen.

Janice said...

@Anonymous: You are so right. The media/government is grooming society to believe assisted suicide is the most humane thing to offer our seniors, our disabled, our lonely. If enough people are convinced this is the right way to go, it will create a desensitized opinion of what death is and should be.
This covid exercise has given the media/government and pro-death groups the opportunity to promote this option. As the pandemic begins to subside, we will hear more about how this option could have been the answer for many living/existing in these nursing homes.
Right now, there is much sympathy being shown toward the many 'nursing home' cases involved in this pandemic seclusion. But it will be used for the benefit of activists encouraging/promoting assisted suicide and euthanasia as the best way to treat seniors living [abandoned] in nursing homes. Mark my words, they will say none of this would have happened if these seniors had only been given the opportunity to spare themselves the loneliness by being offered a way out.
We live in a disposable society. Our seniors were like caged in animals, unable to get out, exposed to every possible virus or bacteria, and no one took them out of that environment nor brought them to hospitals to be treated.
Society needs to understand that sending our seniors, our Mothers/Fathers/Grandparents to nursing homes is not the norm. Previous generations showed more love and attention to their loved ones than this generation will even comprehend.
Our definition of love has dwindled to convenience.

whizzo said...

Too true. But then GP's did home visits. Metal bedpans were available. Where are these now?

Anna said...

I believe if more people would look after their parents and grandparents instead of putting them in homes we would have a better world

GV said...

It is so sad to hear about these poor elderly who only want to be treated like everyone else, enjoy the simple things in life that they are entitled to such as spending time with friends and family, enjoying that home cooked meal, partaking in home activities, family prayer time, etc.

The mother must have the choice to decide where to go when an alternative is made available such as going to her daughter's house. Am I to understand that she is not able or "permitted" to leave that nursing home? This is illegal and is forced confinement. I am certain that in this case police could get involved. Something doesn't sound right.

DLR said...

I don't always have the time to read the EPC posts in a timely fashion, as I am in my late 60's and am taking care of my husband who suffers from heart failure. I take care of my husband, our home and the yard and garden with little to no help. I believe that we do need to keep our senior loved ones in their own home if at all possible. It may not be convenient, but if families worked together, I am sure they could find a way to take care of each other. it does mean more planning, less leisure and recreation time, but there is a sense of satisfaction in putting our own selfish needs aside to make someone else's life more comfortable and happy. old age is going to happen to all of us and we should not be considered disposable because it is more economic.
DLR.