This article was published by National Review online on January 19, 2026.
I really do try to write about other issues. But the awfulness keeps on coming.
Yesterday, I called attention to the Canadian bioethicist who claimed that lethal jabs are no different than hip replacements. Today, I came across an awful story out of Australia in which Tony Lewis, age 71 and experiencing Motor Neurone Disease — what we call ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease — has asked for euthanasia because he was denied sufficient financial support for his disability. From the Hello Care report:
A Queensland man with Motor Neurone Disease has chosen to access voluntary assisted dying after being denied support through the National Disability Insurance Scheme because of his age, reigniting concerns about Australia’s two-tier approach to disability and aged care.
Tony Lewis is 71. Diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease last year, he falls outside the eligibility criteria for the NDIS, which excludes people diagnosed after the age of 65. Instead, he must rely on the aged care system, where funding levels and response times are widely acknowledged as inadequate for fast progressing neurological conditions.
Lewis wants to go on living but believes his financial situation makes that impossible.
Mr Lewis currently receives funding that covers only a small number of basic services each week. The reality of his care needs far exceeds what is funded. Most of his daily support is provided by his wife, Gill, who has a nursing background and has taken on the role of primary carer…
Faced with the prospect of further decline without adequate support, Mr Lewis has chosen to begin the voluntary assisted dying process. He has been clear that the decision is not driven by a lack of will to live, but by the absence of appropriate care options that would allow him to remain at home with dignity.
Yeah, just like a hip replacement! This same kind of abandonment has happened in Canada, too. But euthanasia? Never a problem of access! Is it any wonder that disability rights activists oppose hastened death?
We keep hearing the magic word, “choice,” in this debate. Sometimes that word has as much meaning as it does for cattle being herded into slaughterhouse chutes.
Please Mr. Lewis, think better of your choice maid under duress and seek for alternatives, for certainly many kind people would be happy to help you, through the love, grace and Divine Mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ! Also, the realities of the afterlife for those who are unprepared have been revealed and the option of euthanasia opens you up to the risk of eternal suffering so please instead consider offering up your suffering, whatever happens, hopefully excellent loving care and Miraculous Healing at Lourdes Grotto or who knows, given for the salvation of the souls of those of us who have committed grievous sins in our lives and need help in atoning and that way you can go straight to Heaven at death and bypass much worse suffering*! *https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=994oKSmuLpc&pp=ygUZdW5pcXVlbHkgbWFyeSBtb25rIG1pbnV0ZQ%3D%3D
ReplyDeleteI Had No Idea Australia Was THAT BAD!!! I Mean To Deny Appropriate Care Because Of Money And Age IS AGAIN COMPLETELY WRONG!!! I Hope Mr. Lewis Gets PROPER LIFE-PROVIDING ASSISTANCE BUT THAT MEANS THE GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA AND THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE NEED TO "COMPLETELY REFORM" AND PROVIDE LIFE-PROVIDING ASSISTANCE---BECAUSE THOSE WHO HAVE POWER CAN ONLY PROVIDE THAT PROPER ASSISTANCE, Mr. Lewis IS REQUIRING ASSISTANCE AND CRYING OUT FOR HELP---SO IN THIS SCENARIO, THOSE WORKERS OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT AND AND AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE AND ANYONE ELSE IN A POSITION TO ASSIST MR. LEWIS AND OTHERS IN SAME CIRCUMSTANCE PROVIDING DEATH AS OPPOSED TO CARE NEED TO BE AWARE OF THEIR REALITIES OF THE AFTERLIFE AND THEIR ETERNAL SUFFERING FOR PROVIDING HELL WHEN THEY COULD HAVE PROVIDED HELP BECAUSE EVERYONE SUFFERS WITH INJUSTICES LIKE KILLING AND KILLING IS NEVER A SOLUTION;
ReplyDeleteDear Mr Lewis, please don’t allow them to force you into a wrong decision. Fight them. Write to your MP, write to the papers, get your GP to complain. Build a campaign so strong that they have to listen. Be a forerunner and force them to listen. Let that be your legacy. I don’t know your family and I can’t imagine how this will make them feel. And I can’t imagine your pain and suffering, both physical and mental. What I feel, as a person who struggles much of the time with severe bipolar depression, which cannot be successfully treated at this time; what I know is that the pain can be unbearable, the fight feels impossible, but there are windows of hope that makes the struggle worthwhile. Also, it is better for my family that I’m here, even though I feel that I’m a burden; that burden is better for my family than the supposed freedom that death would bring. Jesus gives me hope, but that hope often seems distant. The right church might be able to help in ways that you cannot imagine. Please don’t write this off as religious nonsense. Christians are a family, and that family could help to shoulder the burden. Don’t give up your real choice; fight the good fight. I hope this is encouraging and helpful. “If you’re going through Hell, keep going”.
ReplyDeleteThere are ALS Organizations in Australia. These organizations generally provide home care support. Can a family member contact one of them?
ReplyDelete