Friday, March 19, 2021

Psychiatrist and disability leaders react to Canada's expansion of euthanasia

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Omar Sachedina and Brooklyn Neustaeter published an article for CTV news concerning the reaction of proponents and opponents to Bill C-7, after it passed.

The two interviews of concern were with Jewells Smith, the Chairperson of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities and Psychiatrist, Dr John Maher.

Smith stated that expanding assisted dying in Canada concerns racialized and disabled communities based on inadequate community supports. Smith said:
"It's a lot cheaper for the government to offer medical aid and dying than to offer the services people with disabilities need to live full lives," Jewells Smith, Chairperson of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, said in an interview from B.C.
Dr John Maher
Dr Maher responded on how Bill C-7 will affect his psychiatric patients. Dr Maher told CTV National News:
that the upcoming rules that could allow medical assistance in dying solely because of a mental illness don't take into account that those suffering from severe illness may not be capable of making the best decision for themselves.

"Last week I had a patient in her 30s who refused treatment who wants MAID. This is a young woman, who will get better who literal has --she's in her 30s -- she has at least 50 years of life left,"
The euthanasia lobby claims the expansion of euthanasia is a victory for freedom. People with disabilities and those who live with mental illness, who will die a premature death, do not represent a victory but rather Canada's shame.

4 comments:

dougsned said...

"don't take into account that those suffering from severe illness may not be capable of making the best decision for themselves."

Good thing there are a multitude of studies that show most psychiatric inpatients do NOT lack mental capacity.

Quality of life > quantity of life any day for me.

Anonymous said...

Yes, a shameful day for Canada. For prosperity I want to say this is not supported by the majority of citizens but a bottom line government more concerned about money then its citizens.

geardoid said...

Absolutely right .. and it is so shameful that the Liberal and the Bloc parties have lost their moral right to politically lead Canadians, still less to govern. Attacks on the defenceless constitute the extreme of subversion of peace, order and good government.

Anonymous said...

I am a psychotherapist with 40 years of experience working with clients who are suffering from the severe damage caused by trauma and abuse in their lives. when many of these people are going through their struggles to work through and overcome the PTSD, or other very painful feelings etc. they often cannot see the possibility of recovery and going on to live a good life, a happy and a fulfilled life. SUicide is often seen as an out in the despair a man or woman may feel from what has happened to them. They are often not even aware of the real causes of their psychological/emotional pain. They live it as if it is caused by themselves and it is about their current lives, instead of being caused by their traumatic histories. They can recover with the help of a skilled psychotherapist. They may not know this, and may not believe it. Choosing suicide and now that assisted suicide is being offered to them while in the depths of despair many could chose this and if they are further being pushed in this direction by so-called doctors and others, then they are likely to make this mistake.
The medical profession should not be in the business of murdering people, or assisting them to murder themselves.
I have seen examples of this in our medical doctors, nurses, and in hospitals in many forms, including writing people off who are elderly, and not helping an older person in despair because of abandonment who is refusing to eat. This person would have been left to starve to death if I wasn't able to step in. Others I know have seen things like this also. It is criminal to me, and I fail to comprehend how people in the medical profession can justify this at all.