Netherlands Child Euthanasia ...Gone too far.

Margreet van der Valk: They just killed my mother.

Narrator: Consent to euthanasia is sometimes ignored in the Netherlands.

Margreet: And I said the cause of death, what is the cause of death and she said pneumonia and heart failure, but I thought, I was laying in bed, no it was not, it was that lethal injection you gave her.

Narrator: And in neighboring Belgium, people with disabilities are being targeted.

Lionel Roosemont: We were walking with our child in her wheelchair and we would have people who we do not know, and they would come towards us, and they would ask us, why don't you have euthanasia with that child.

Narrator: Even those in favor of euthanasia in the Netherlands say we've gone too far.

Dr Boudewijn Chabot: People who are fighting their fear of life and fighting against death flock to the life ending clinic and then we see that there is a slippery slope.

Hugo de Jonge

Narrator: And now the Dutch Health Minister, Hugo de Jonge, has announced the expansion of euthanasia to include children.

Gerbert van Loenen: What we have seen here in the Netherlands and in Belgium is that the euthanasia practice has broadened.

*Sign and share the Petition opposing child euthanasia in the Netherlands (Link).

Narrator: When euthanasia was legalized in the Netherlands it was based on an adult who was capable of consent but as Margreet van der Valk found out doctors sometimes make the decision to euthanize patients on their own.

Margreet: And he said, the decision to let her go or to let her live, you couldn't make because you were not there so I made it because they said my mother was depressed, but she was not depressed.

Narrator: Lionel Roosemont lives in Belgium. His daughter Tikvah has lived with a significant brain conditions from birth. It's hard to believe but people often ask why he hasn't euthanized his daughter.

Lionel: Our children were there when people were telling us to have euthanasia with her. And my daughter who was thirteen at the time, she said: "they do not have the right to say that." She was very angry but she was right.

She's a joy for everyone of our family members. We cannot image her being gone, impossible.

Narrator: Dr Boudewijn Chabot, sometimes called the pioneer of euthanasia in the Netherlands sees a real culture shift as people with psychological illnesses are now being euthanized.

Boudewijn: We do slide down with demented brain diseases and psychiatric cases. But on the whole you have to see it in perspective. These are two groups together are 200 of the 6000, that's small, that's always the arguement the review committee says - don't worry Mr Chabot it's only 200 cases, so that's the way they re-assure the public. But I say look at the steep rise in seven years.

Gerbert: Will this also apply to patients with psychiatric disorders, will this also apply to patients with alzheimer's disease, will this even apply to patients with advanced alzheimer's disease, will this apply to babies, will this apply to children?

Narrator: Indeed the Netherlands is now considering the expansion of euthanasia to children. Many people are sounding the alarm bells with the concern that this is one step too far.

Lionel: Tikvah has been a testimony to us. If today you go through Belgium, you will not see many young children that have a handicap because they were not left to be alive.

More articles on this topic:

• The Netherlands government intends to extend euthanasia to children but not to people who are tired of living (Link).
• The Dutch government wants to avoid the debate by permitting child euthanasia without changing the law (Link).
• *Sign and share the Petition opposing child euthanasia in the Netherlands (Link).

Pressured to die by assisted death.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Candice Lewis

Candice Lewis recently died a natural death.

In August 2016, Candice Lewis, who was 25, while receiving treatment at the hospital was pressured by a doctor to "request" an assisted death.

No one questions that Candice was very sick at the time, but as Candice's mother told CBC news, the doctor pressured her to request physician-assisted death. The article stated:

"His words were 'assisted suicide death was legal in Canada,'" she told CBC. "I was shocked, and said, 'Well, I'm not really interested,' and he told me I was being selfish."

Kevin Dunn interviewed Candice and her mother Sheila for the Fatal Flaws film. (Link to purchase Fatal Flaws) During the interview Sheila said:

Not once did she say to them, "I want to end my life." The doctor came in the next day after he told me about assisted suicide, stuck his face down in Candice's and said, "Do you know how sick you are?" When I got his eye contact we went out in the hallway and I told him, "Don't you ever pull something like that again."

How many situations, similar to Candice Lewis have occurred in Canada and either died by lethal injection or were so shocked by the experience of being pressured that they will not speak about it?

I have received emails and calls about people being pressured to die by MAiD. Recently I received this email from a care-giver stating:

Several weeks ago, in the space of a two week time period, I was made aware of four instances in which nursing staff [in hospitals] ... seemed to be initiating discussion of MAiD with family/friends, and, in the last instance, a patient, without any apparent prior reference to MAiD on the part of the patient.

During my Vancouver Island speaking tour, a man told a group how his mother, who required dialysis, was urged by healthcare "professionals" to ask for MAiD (euthanasia). He said that if he had not spoken to his mother, she may have died by euthanasia.

At the next talk a woman came up afterwards and shared that her father, who had significant health issues, was urged by healthcare "professionals" on several occasions to consider MAiD (euthanasia).

It appears that many doctors and nurses are urging patients to ask for MAiD.

This type of pressure, at the most vulnerable time in a person's life, will lead some people, who would never have otherwise considered death by lethal injection, an option. In fact, it is likely that many people have died by euthanasia after being urged by a doctor or a nurse to do so.

If you have a story or a concern, please share it. Knowledge and awareness will help others to resist euthanasia when they are pressured.

I urge you to be involved in the lives of those who you know and care for. When someone is pressured by a doctor or nurse to ask for an assisted death, you can make a difference in their lives by saying - NO, I care for you, I will not abandon you. 

Euthanasia is not the answer.

Candice Lewis has died a natural death RIP. Candice made a difference in the world.

Alex Schadenberg

Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Yesterday, Candice Lewis died a natural death. Candice made a difference in the world. (Link to her obituary)

We first learned about Candice and her mom Sheila in July 2017 when CBC Newfoundland published an article concerning the complaint by Sheila about Candice being pressured to ask for Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) while she was receiving medical treatment in August 2016. (Link)

An in-depth article was written by Stephen Roberts, for the Northern Pen concerning the complaint letter that Sheila, sent to the hospital. It stated:

Elson wrote that Heroux had taken her out into the hallway by Lewis’s hospital room to discuss physician-assisted death and advise her the option was legal in Canada. 

She alleges the doctor said he supported physician-assisted death for Lewis. 

“This left me dumbfounded and I told him it was something I did not want to consider,” she said.
She contends the doctor suggested she was being selfish and that she told him that she didn’t believe Lewis was able to fully comprehend what was being suggested. 

She says Lewis could hear the conversation from her room and it was causing emotional distress for them both. 

“I am still very concerned about this, it is always on my mind. I am emotionally exhausted. I see that it has been also very stressful for Candice and one of my main reasons for writing this letter is that I don’t want any other family to have to go through this,” Elson wrote.

We learned more in August 2017 when Roberts wrote a follow up article for the Northern Pen indicating that Candice's health had improved (Link).

Candice and Kevin

Kevin Dunn then visited Candice and Sheila for the filming of the Fatal Flaws film. After returning from Newfoundland we published this article and film clip.

Yesterday Kevin published a tribute to Candice on his blog (Link).

Since that time, Kevin and I have continued communicating with Candice and Sheila. They have made a difference in the lives of so many.

How many cases, similar to Candice Lewis have occurred in Canada and either died by lethal injection or were so shocked by the experience of being pressured that they have not spoken about it? Thank you Candice for sharing your story.

My deepest condolences go to Sheila and the family. Sheila loved and cared for her daughter Candice. Sheila told me that her heart is broken. 

Candice lived her life and will be remembered for how she helped to change the world.

There is no effective oversight of assisted suicide laws.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Assisted suicide laws work by giving a doctor, the power to decide that a person qualifies to die by lethal drugs. The same doctor is given the right in law to prescribe lethal drugs, and finally the same doctor, after the death, submits a report to the relevant authorities. This self-reporting system is designed to protect doctors who are willing to cause the death of a patient.

Dr William Toffler, a physician in Oregon where assisted suicide is legal, explains, in the Fatal Flaws film, how the Oregon assisted suicide law works.

My job as a doctor is to alleviate their suffering its not to be a vending machine when they when they make a good rational argument that they would be better off dead.

Its like being a lawyer for the defense and a lawyer for the prosecution in the same court room. Am I arguing for the health and well-being to extend life as long as is reasonable or am I advocating for their early demise because after all their going to die anyhow? And then, by the way, if you don't think that's a conflict of interest I'm also the Judge to decide which arguement is the best. If your not bothered by that I'm also the executioner.

There are about 200 doctors in the State of Oregon who believe they can keep all that conflict of interest straight. Its a dilusion.

Say no to assisted suicide. 

Order the Fatal Flaws film from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (Link).

Fatal Flaws film received awards. Purchase today.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director 

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

We are pleased to announce two more International film festival awards for the Fatal Flaws film - "Outstanding Social Issue Doc: Docs Without Borders Film Festival 2019" and "Official Selection: Great Lakes International Film Festival 2019."

The Fatal Flaws film has won awards at the Life Fest Film Festival, the Reel to Reel Film Festival, the International Christian Film Festival, the Great Lakes International Film Festival and the Docs Without Borders Film Festival.

Fatal Flaws continues to be screened and it continues to change the way people view assisted death.

Fatal Flaws features personal stories from people who oppose assisted suicide and interviews with euthanasia proponents in the Netherlands and the United States.

Fatal Flaws was screened in Guernsey (UK) while their legislature was debating an assisted suicide bill. One of the sponsors of the bill attended the Fatal Flaws screening. The next day he stated in the legislature that he changed his mind after watching Fatal Flaws. The Guernsey assisted suicide bill was defeated by a 24 to 14 vote.

The Fatal Flaws pamphlet is based on the main stories in the film. The pamphlet is excellent for distribution at a screening. (Inside of the pamphlet) (outside of the pamphlet).

Purchase the DVD or pamphlets (includes taxes and shipping): All orders can be made online (Link).

• DVD: $15 each + tax.
• Pamphlets: $25 for 100 + tax.

Further Discounts: All orders can be made online (Link).

• With any Fatal Flaws order, order The Euthanasia Deception  documentary for $20.

Further bulk orders are available upon request.

Order the Fatal Flaws DVD with pamphlets online, or email:  info@epcc.ca or call EPC toll free at: 1-877-439-3348 or mail your cheque to:

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition - Box 25033 London, Ontario N6C 6A8

The Fatal Flaws Film will change the way the culture views assisted death.

Kevin Dunn: A Tale of Two Films

By Kevin Dunn

Kevin Dunn in Guernsey

If someone told me that one day I would be travelling around the world to speak on euthanasia and assisted suicide I would have been hard pressed to believe them. I mean, who in their right mind would want to talk about death as a calling?
 
For most of my career, I was either in front of the camera entertaining —or behind it, producing films on things like dinosaurs, spies, entrepreneurs or modern history. However, as I began inching towards the age of 50 (I’m a young 54 as I write this) the subject matter for my films took a seismic shift towards social justice issues - and in particular, laws that imply that some lives are not worth living.

As I write this, I’m flying home from my 20th talk of 2019 - this time in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I call it my “Prophets of Hope” tour because I honestly believe that is where the solution lies. Each of us has to become a prophet of hope - a reason for someone’s tomorrow - especially in light of laws that tell others to give up on hope. For some reason, despite dire warnings from jurisdictions experienced with the cultural effects of euthanasia and assisted suicide, countries and states continue to enact laws that allow doctors to provide lethal injections or drugs to citizens who ‘qualify’ under certain criteria. What was once deemed unthinkable is now an option — and in many ways has become a subtle obligation —as fear of future suffering, losing autonomy or becoming a burden are among the top reasons why people request it.

In my recent film Fatal Flaws: Legalizing Assisted Death, I asked Dutch journalist Gerbert Van Loenen if there was anyone covering the other side of the euthanasia debate. He emphatically responded - ‘I’m afraid no one’. I found this especially alarming because the boundaries of the euthanasia law in the Netherlands are expanding to the point where even people who are ‘tired of life’ might get access to a lethal dose - legally - in the near future. I mean how could things have gone off the rails so badly that a civilized country would actually consider legalizing suicide for what would otherwise be diagnosed as depression and despair? Is it not bad enough that people are now asking for euthanasia at the first diagnosis of terminal illnesses? Where was the media in all of this? Journalists have not been doing their job. This is what inspired me to do more.
 

Alex Schadenberg & Kevin Dunn

Thankfully there are a handful of people who have been doing this issue justice - and one in particular for the past two decades: my friend Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition — a position he’s held for the past 20 years. Everywhere I speak, anytime I mention his name, Alex is known and respected. Even those who disagree with him have good things to say about his candour.

In November of 2015, I received an email from Alex asking me to create an information video which would educate people on these issues. He wanted to expose the risks associated with turning these previously criminal acts into some form of health care. Alex has been ringing the alarm bells since 1999, aware that the Kevorkian ideology was slowly trickling across the US border into Canada - and of the subtle but deadly introduction of language that was changing the act of murder into mercy killing; and assisted suicide into something called death with dignity.

With funding from the EPC, the information video quickly grew into a major documentary called The Euthanasia Deception produced by EPC and DunnMedia. The film took my crew and I through Belgium and various places in Canada where we found a plethora of underrepresented people who were waiting to tell their story on how these laws had deceived them. Patients, family members, medical professionals and ethicists all weighed in to paint a very grim picture of assisted dying laws.

Purchase the Fatal Flaws film (Link).
Purchase the Euthanasia Deception documentary (Link).

Just months after releasing The Euthanasia Deception, Alex and I heard about a strange phenomenon in the Netherlands called “Euthanasia Week”: an annual event of conferences, films and media interviews all geared at extolling the ‘virtue’ of Holland’s euthanasia law. This became one of the focal points for our next film, Fatal Flaws . It is now being screened and distributed internationally and won numerous awards.

Both films speak with authority because we hear stories from victims directly. As a filmmaker I know how important this is. I’ve seen first hand how the assisted death philosophy defines the person by their illness. This is absurd. We should never be defined by what malady assails us. We are defined by our worth as a created human being, deserving of the best care, the best pain management, the kind of dignity that says “I will walk with you and fight for you to the end - I will never abandon you by ending your life prematurely. As Mark Davis Pickup aptly noted in The Euthanasia Deception, “We should never judge tomorrow based on the fears of today.” Mark has lived with Multiple Sclerosis for over 30 years.

Margreet Van der Valk's mother

I am formalizing plans for a speaking tour in Australia in August. It would seem the land down under is quickly falling prey to the culture of abandonment which we have sadly embraced here in North America and in parts of Europe. I share the stories of those who bravely came forward on camera to tell me how these laws have taken them or their loved ones to the brink of death. Sadly, some are not living anymore - like 29 year old Aurelia Brouwers whose life was cut short by euthanasia for psychiatric reasons; Tom Mortier’s mother who was euthanized for depression; and Margreet Van der Valk’s mother who was euthanized without request . I carry these heartbreaking stories with me everywhere I speak.

At the end of my talks, people always ask me for one practical thing they can do to stem the tide. Yes, we must step up to inform our politicians and medical professionals of what these laws imply. Sharing these films are a great start. However we must do more. We must challenge ourselves daily to become a prophet of hope: the reason for someone’s tomorrow. It could be as simple as visiting elderly parents, volunteering to drive someone to the hospital or playing Scrabble for an hour with a senior in a nursing home. These are ways we inspire hope in others so they don’t reach for these laws.

It’s been quite a journey creating these films along with with Alex Schadenberg - a true Prophet of Hope for our times. Thanks, too for inspiring me to take this ‘show on the road’ and inspire others. You can be sure I’ll be toasting your 20th - perhaps from some Irish pub in the land down under!

Kevin Dunn can be reached through his Website: www.KevinDunn.info

Stopping Assisted Suicide in Your State

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition is co-organizing a Campaign Training Session on Friday, January 25 and Conference on Saturday, January 26.

These events will be at the Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Midtown hotel in Albuquerque New Mexico. 

Book your hotel room by calling: 505-312-9842.

The Training Session on Friday, January 25 will go from 1:00 - 5:00 pm followed by a screening of the film -  Fatal Flaws at 7:00 pm with Kevin Dunn, the producer of the film.

The Conference on Saturday, January 26 will run from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm. 

* We have added an impressive International speaker. Fabian Stahle, the Swedish researcher who uncovered the definition of terminal used by the Oregon Health Authority which extends assisted suicide to non-terminal persons. 

The cost to attend the Training Session is $35. The cost to attend the Symposium is $50. The cost to attend both events is $80. 

You can also watch the Conference simulcast with access code for $30.

Register online or download the  registration form  (fillable in Adobe Acrobat).

Speakers include:

Hon Nick Goiran, Member of Parliament from Western Australia. Nick authored the minority report opposing the legalization of assisted suicide in Western Australia.

Diane Coleman, President & CEO of the disability rights group Not Dead Yet. Diane is a leading voice opposing assisted suicide for more than 25 years.

Alexandra Snyder

Amy Hasbrouck, Founder of Toujours Vivant – Not Dead Yet and the President of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition. Amy is also a trained lawyer.

Alexandra Snyder, Executive Director of Life Legal Defense Foundation and the lead lawyer in the challenge to the California assisted suicide law.

Kevin Yuill, Professor of History at the University of Sunderland, UK. He is the author of - Assisted Suicide: The Liberal Humanist Case Against Legalization.

Dr Annette Hanson

Annette Hanson, Forensic Psychiatrist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Hanson co-authored the article: Twelve Myths About Assisted Suicide and Medical Aid in Dying.

Fabian Stahle is the Swedish researcher who uncovered the Oregon Health Authority change in the definition of terminal. 

 
Catherine Glenn Foster, President and CEO of AUL and a lawyer. Catherine was the founding Executive Director of EPC-USA in 2016.

Nancy Elliott

Nancy Elliott, former New Hampshire State Representative and President of EPC-USA.

Margaret Dore, lawyer and President of Choice is an Illusion.

Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition. He is an author and has done speaking tours throughout the world.

Kevin Dunn, Producer of Fatal Flaws: Legalizing Assisted Death and The Euthanasia Deception. Kevin is an award-winning filmmaker who operates DunnMedia & Entertainment.

Register online or download the registration form.

‘Flawless’ Fatal Flaws Reviews from around the World

Fatal Flaws Ad in Guernsey

Kevin Dunn
Director - Fatal Flaws

As screenings of Fatal Flaws continue throughout the world, we’ve been overwhelmed by positive responses from high-profile individuals from both medical and legal professions internationally.

For instance the screening in Guernsey helped to defeat an assisted suicide proposal.

Purchase the DVD or pamphlets include taxes and shipping: All orders can be made online (Link).

• We recently added the Vimeo On-Demand Rental Release providing 48 hours access for $5 US (Link).

• DVD: $15.
• DVD: online download $30 US (Link).
• Pamphlets: $25 for 100.

You can purchase Fatal Flaws as a download through VIMEO ON DEMAND for $30 US. (Link).

The Fatal Flaws pamphlet is based on the stories in the film. The pamphlet is excellent for distribution at a screening. (Inside of the pamphlet) (outside of the pamphlet).

Further Discounts: All orders can be made online (Link).

• 1 DVD + 100 pamphlets for $75,
• With any Fatal Flaws order, get The Euthanasia Deception documentary for $20.

Further bulk orders are available upon request.

Order the Fatal Flaws DVD with pamphlets online, or email: info@epcc.ca or call EPC toll free at: 1-877-439-3348

As you consider a screening of Fatal Flaws in your area, we invite you to read what others are saying about the film:

“Slippery slope arguments have often been criticized as philosophically weak. There could be no stronger evidence for the reality the slippery slope than Fatal Flaws. As both a psychiatrist and a palliative care physician, I cannot overemphasize the importance of this film as a spiritual call, a moral message, a social statement and a clinical intervention. Kevin Dunn is a modern day Cassandra who has produced a film that describes what would be terrifying science fiction, were it not already social fact: the legalization of the termination of the lives of the vulnerable, isolated, marginalized, and anguished in state after state and country after country. Even more disturbing those deaths come at the hands of physicians whom for millennia have sworn to heal and not to harm. Through interviews with patients, families and experts, Dunn gives a neglected and urgently needed critique of the euphemistic masking of suicide as compassion and in so doing exposed the dark side of the gilded claim that the relief of suffering lies in the affirmation of hopelessness, the embrace of futility, and the betrayal of the historic goals of medicine.”

Cynthia Geppert MD, MA, MPH, MSB, DPS, MSJ, DFAPA, FCLP, Professor of Internal Medicine and Psychiatry, Director of Ethics Education ,University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Adjunct Professor of Bioethics Albany Medical College, USA

• Fatal Flaws film will change the way you view assisted death.

“Fatal Flaws is more than just a great documentary film. It is a clarion call to restore decency to the House of Medicine. For every doctor or patient who wants to understand the difference between medical killing and medically-responsible caring, this humane and sensitive film is a must-see.”

Ronald W. Pies, MD, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, and Lecturer on Bioethics, SUNY Upstate Medical University; Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts U. School of Medicine; Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, Psychiatric Times, USA.

"This is a brilliant film that should be compulsory viewing for busy legislators who haven’t time to do their own research into how euthanasia is changing death and dying in countries such as Canada and the Netherlands. Kevin Dunn interviews supporters and opponents of euthanasia and physician assisted suicide in a non-judgemental way and the responses he gets are extraordinary."

Professor the Baroness Sheila Hollins, House of Lords, Past President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK

• Order the Fatal Flaws film and pamphlets.

“Compelling, timely and moving. Physicians must see this film, especially those in training as the euthanasia movement is trying to redefine the ethics of medicine. ”

Steven S. Sharfstein, M.D., Former President The American Psychiatric Association, USA

“Fatal Flaws should be necessary watching for anyone considering the legalisation of medical assistance in dying.” 

David Albert Jones, Director of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, Oxford, UK

“Sobering and contemplative, Fatal Flaws is a must-see, regardless of one’s personal views about the rightness or wrongness of medical assisted death. The film challenges us to think critically about our individual and social responses to vulnerability and suffering, and, in particular, the re-shaping of the ‘house of medicine’ through the logic of law.” 

Mary J Shariff, Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba, Canada

“There are three words that should never have come together: “Physician Assisted Suicide”. This important film shines a critical light on the perverse reality that we are now training our medical students how to kill some of their patients. The medical arts of comfort and palliation are being supplanted by the seduction of euthanasia and the murky language of rights. We should all see this film and carefully weigh whether we really want our society to slide into a mire that extols medical murder.” 

John Maher MD FRCPC, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Ethics in Mental Health, President, Ontario Association for ACT & FACT, Canada. 

• Fatal Flaws: A must see film.
• Fatal Flaws: A must see doc on euthanasia and assisted suicide.

A hearty thanks to the above contributors for their positive and passionate reviews. 
Kevin Dunn, Director - Fatal Flaws

Music as Therapy in Assisted Dying?

By Kevin Dunn
Co-Producer of Fatal Flaws and the Euthanasia Deception documentary.

The effects of assisted dying laws on the culture continue to astound me. Recently, I spoke with a music therapist who was looking for my perspectives on Canada’s Medical Aid in Dying Law (MAiD) as I have just finished my second film on the subject. 

Kristen Morrow

Kristen Morrow, MTA is a conscientious objector who will be part of an upcoming forum in Vancouver, entitled “Responding to Change: Music Therapy Perspectives on Navigating Assisted Suicide” . Kristen will be presenting alongside another therapist who used music therapy in a MAiD procedure. Together they will discuss the ethical ramifications of their profession becoming more involved with this “new and controversial aspect of the healthcare system”. The session will be one of many presented at the Music Therapy Association of British Columbia’s annual conference. She says depending on the response to the forum, the conversation may move to a national level.

I suppose this resonated with me so powerfully because I am a musician myself. Music has always been an integral part of my life. I have always used this gift to bring joy, hope – and where I can, bring healing to others.

I want to say at the onset that my heart breaks for people whose circumstances have led them to a place where they feel that an assisted death is their only option. I’ve interviewed people in these situations. I have spoken to them just weeks before their euthanasia. I still grieve for their demise. It touches me to the very core.

The Canadian Music Therapy Association defines the profession as “a discipline in which credentialed professionals use music purposefully within therapeutic relationships to support development, health, and well-being.”

While I understand why music therapists want to have this discussion in light of our new law, I believe Kristen is rightly concerned about her profession’s complicity with the ideology of assisted dying. Like sedatives which are given to calm the patient before a lethal injection or medication, music therapy is now being proposed as a complimentary comfort and relaxation tool in the process. Some may take no issue with this. Others do. Kristen says she got into this profession to use music as a vehicle for healing and now she may be asked to use her gift to comfort – be complicit – in a suicide. An assisted suicide yes, but still suicide.

Let’s put aside various legal criteria for an assisted death for a moment. After all, it’s a moving target in most countries and the language is extremely broad and subjective. Canada is no exception. Incremental extensions and exceptions to the law are commonplace in various countries. Now, people non-terminal conditions (like blindness), chronic illness, mental illness, even children and babies are now ‘qualifying’ in some countries. Canada’s criteria continues to be challenged.

Another consideration is the ‘completed life’ bill in the Netherlands, where, if passed, would allow otherwise healthy people to ask for euthanasia if they feel their ‘life is complete’ or no longer worth living. Even the most staunch supporters of euthanasia feel the genie has left the bottle and are speaking out about this “worrisome culture shift”.

It seems to me that once society accepts that life is no longer worth living in certain situations – and that ethos has been enshrined in law, we are all left to deal with the fall out. The ripple effect continues for decades, perhaps centuries. Society’s vulnerable are the first to suffer. Patients demand their ‘right to die’ while doctors in Ontario are now forced to ‘do or refer’ — or risk losing their licence, violating their very right of freedom of conscience. How long before this applies to others who refuse to participate on grounds of conscience – nurses, nurse practitioners, support staff, pharmacists, psychologists — music therapists like Kristen?

Most baby boomers in North America will remember a time when the very idea of euthanasia for people was so foreign, so unthinkable that its very application was relegated to disturbing news stories or science fiction movies.

Soylent Green

When I heard more about music therapy being considered as part of the assisted death procedure, I couldn’t help but think of the scene in the post-apocalyptic, dystopian movie Soylent Green starring Charlton Heston. Depressed and disgusted by the depravity of the world, an elderly police analyst (played by Edward G. Robinson) enters a government clinic to obtain an assisted suicide. While registering, the clerk asks him what kind of music he would like to hear while as the procedure takes place. He asks for classical. Light classical. He asks that the music be be played for a full 20 minutes until he dies. Sure enough, when he enters the room, his requested music is played through the speakers and delightful imagery is projected on screens around him. As he lay on his pre-arranged death bed, two assistants, dressed like angels give him the drink that will end his life. The music intensifies until he succumbs to the lethal medication. While the actual plot of the movie is quite far-fetched, the atmosphere in which people are euthanized is quite chilling, especially in light of these modern day discussions and rapid extensions to the law. Coincidentally, the movie is set in the year 2022.

Kevin Dunn

During the filming of my film Fatal Flaws, my crew and I visited an actual ‘end of life clinic’ in the Netherlands. The clinic, which operates independently, is set up for people whose own GP will not grant their request for euthanasia. It’s not really a clinic per se, rather a consultation facility where, if the patient qualifies, doctors will travel to their home to carry out the euthanasia request. I was told by the director of the clinic that approximately one third of the patients who apply, end up qualifying for euthanasia.

Since the law was passed in Canada, over 3,000 people have chosen an assisted death. In 2018 alone, we are witnessing a 30% jump in MAiD procedures. This increase will no doubt have an effect on access and less restrictive laws. Sadly, this leaves many vulnerable people in an extremely precarious position. Depression, fear of loss of autonomy, fear of becoming a burden, the draining of finances are the top rationale which affect he choices people make in ending their lives early. I wonder. As more people and professions fall in line with this philosophy, how much more will the pressure be on any of us to ‘opt in’ when we are at the lowest point in our lives. And just like planning funerals, people who qualify for an assisted death are now planning not only who will surround them at the end – but what kind of atmosphere they wish while the procedure is taking place. One has to ask, where is all of this leading us?

Power of Music

In the painting entitled “Power of Music” by Louis Gallait we see a brother and sister resting before an old tomb. The brother is attempting to comfort his sibling by playing the violin, and she has fallen into a deep sleep, “oblivious of all grief, mental and physical”.

I can imagine what happens in the scene later on. The sister would have woken up, consoled and rejuvenated by the power of music. Alternatively, when music therapy is used as a comfort tool in euthanasia procedures, there is no hopeful conclusion. Only death.

I join my voice with Kristen when I say that pandora’s box in this case is wide open and that music therapy should never enter in. Rather, let us use this great gift of music – and our own gift of presence – to be the reason for someone’s tomorrow, no matter how challenging those ‘tomorrows’ may be.
 
Kevin Dunn is a respected Canadian filmmaker, guest speaker and president of DunnMedia. His recent work “Fatal Flaws: Legalizing Assisted Death” looks at the effects of these laws on the culture in four different countries. His first film on the subject is “The Euthanasia Deception” . He can be reached at www.dunnmedia.ca