Friday, February 17, 2023

Canadian Children may be euthanized with or without parental consent.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Sign the EPC petition: Oppose Child euthanasia in Canada (petition link).

A report by the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying (AMAD) was tabled in the House of Commons on February 15 calling for a drastic expansion of euthanasia (MAiD) in Canada. Among other recommendations, the report recommends that euthanasia be expanded to include children "mature minors."

Recommendation 19 in the report states:

That the Government of Canada establish a requirement that, where appropriate, the parents or guardians of a mature minor be consulted in the course of the assessment process for MAID, but that the will of a minor who is found to have the requisite decision-making capacity ultimately take priority.

This means that parents or guardians may or may not be consulted, in the euthanasia death of a child that is deemed capable of decision-making.

To understand Recommendation 19 better we to go back to the policy developed by the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto on euthanasia for "mature minors" that was published as a report in the Journal of Medical Ethics in September 2018.

According to an article by Sharon Kirkey published by Sun Media, on October 9, 2018; the ethicists at the Children's Hospital believe that there is no difference between killing someone and letting them die. Kirkey reported:

The working group said it wasn’t convinced that there is a meaningful difference for the patient “between being consensually assisted in dying (in the case of MAID) and being consensually allowed to die (in the case of refusing life-sustaining interventions).” 

Sick Children's hospital draft policy applies the same "ethics" for mature minors making medical decisions as making death decisions. Most Canadian provinces allow mature minors to make decisions about their own care, including withdrawing or withholding life support. In Ontario a minor can provide consent for treatment or withdrawal of treatment if they understand the “reasonably foreseeable consequences” of their decision. The Sick Kids' hospital stated that they encourage minors to involve their families in medical decisions.

Kirkey explained that the Hospitals for Sick Children draft policy would permit children to decide to be killed by euthanasia without the consent of the parents:

The draft policy argues the same rules should apply to MAID since there is no meaningful ethical or practical distinction from the patient’s perspective between assisted dying and other procedures that result in the end of a life, such as palliative sedation (where people sleep until they die) or withdrawing or withholding life-sustaining treatments. 

The draft policy by Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children set out what can be expected if Canada permits euthanasia for children (mature minors).

Children who are deemed, by their physician, as competent to make medical decisions will be also deemed competent to decide, with or without the consent of their parents, to die by lethal injection.

Now that the Canadian government is considering child euthanasia and euthanasia of incompetent persons who requested death in an advanced directive, the requirement to consent to die has become only an option.

Every time a door is opened to new reasons for killing it always leads to another door. Opening the door to child euthanasia also opens the door to euthanasia without consent.

7 comments:

Pam said...

Now parents dare not leave their critically ill child alone for even one moment. If they do, the hospital staff may take that moment to guilt trip your child into understanding they are a "burden" to their family & they would be a "kinder" person if they just ended their life. We have seen it happen to the elderly already! Doctors and Nurses have both been guilty of convincing grandparents that their family would be "better off" if the grandparent were dead. Family members are legally murdered and ripped away from us. It's horrible! It's not medicine. It's murder! - and now children are their new victims! Please Lord Jesus, come quickly!

Charles Soper said...

It's not the children that are sick it's the hospital.

Charlene said...

Hi Alex. How can we be of help to stop this train? Is it letter writing time to Senator Wallin? Justice Minister Lamenetti? Let us know how John Q public can make a difference. Thank you and God bless your organization and all that fight for the dignity of the human person.

Anonymous said...

The first victims of the Nazis were handicapped children in the T4 program. People who still dont want to see the truth MUST wake up

Bill Whatcott said...

God have mercy. It is hard to believe, but the culture of death will become more comprehensive yet if we don't stop this madness.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."
John 10:10

Anonymous said...

As a person with disabilities, this is my worst nightmare

Mary-Catherine Bailey-McKenna said...

God have mercy, indeed. We live in an age of growing deception. We are each answerable for our actions. Nothing done in the dark is not visible by God.

"I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live" Deuteronomy 30:19