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.

Lessons from Canada. Don't legalize assisted suicide.

This article was published by HOPE Australia on October 18.

Candice Lewis

Candice Lewis is a 25 year old Canadian woman who happens to have cerebral palsy.

In September 2016 Candice went to the emergency room at Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital in St. Anthony after having seizures.

Dr. Aaron Heroux told her she was very sick and likely to die soon. He offered her assisted suicide.

The doctor also proposed assisted suicide for Candice to her mother Sheila Elson.

This offer was repeated despite both Candice and her mother making it clear that this was not an option Candice would consider. Dr Heroux told Sheila she was being selfish by not encouraging her daughter to choose assisted suicide.

Candice describes how bad it made her feel that a doctor was offering her assisted suicide.

More than twelve months later Candice has recovered well and her health is much improved.

Candice hasn’t been having any seizures, is now able to feed herself, walk with assistance, use her iPad. She is more alert, energetic and communicative.

She was able to walk down the aisle as a bridesmaid at her sister’s wedding in August 2017. She is doing what she loves most, painting and being with her family.

Candice and her mother Sheila have been interviewed by Kevin Dunn, who is producing a film on euthanasia and assisted suicide called Fatal Flaws. The interview can be viewed here.

There are several take home lessons from Candice’s experience:

• Doctors can get the prognosis wrong. Candice was told she was dying but is flourishing twelve months later. A wrong prognosis can lead to assisted suicide or euthanasia. A life can be thrown away needlessly;
• People with a disability already suffer discrimination in health care. When assisted suicide and euthanasia are legal, people with a disability are more at risk of being offered death as a solution because doctors and others consider that they would be better off dead;
• Once doctors are authorised by the law to provide assisted suicide and euthanasia some of them will feel empowered to offer it to anyone they think would be better off dead. This undermines patients’ trust in doctors and can cause great distress.

Legalising assisted suicide and euthanasia puts people at risk of being wrongfully killed due to errors in prognosis or discrimination. It subverts the nature of the medical profession and destroys trust in doctors.

• Fatal Flaws Film: Candice was pressured to die by euthanasia.
• Candice was pressured to die by euthanasia in Canada.

Fatal Flaws Film: The Candice Lewis interview. Candice was pressured to die by assisted death.

By Kevin Dunn

Director of the film Fatal Flaws

Wherever you stand on the issue, it’s impossible to ignore the cultural shift in attitude towards euthanasia and assisted suicide. What was once considered murder under the law is now being accepted as medical ‘treatment’ in many countries. However, even the most ardent promoters of these laws are now saying the ‘genie is out of the bottle’ and are severely questioning where these laws have taken society.

In this first sneak preview, we travelled to St. Anthony, Newfoundland, Canada to interview 25 year old Candice Lewis and her mother Sheila Elson. Here they tell me how, during an emergency hospital stay, doctors pressured Candice into an assisted death. One year later, Candice – who lives with Cerebral Palsy – is back doing what she loves most, painting and being with her family.

• Doctors pressured this woman to die by euthanasia. One year later she is much better.

We’ve all heard the tragic and much publicized stories of people who died by an assisted death. Tragic indeed. However, Fatal Flaws will focus on stories seldom heard in mainstream media: testimonies from those whose lives have been dramatically affected by a culture that sees ‘killing’ as a form of ‘caring.’ To be clear, the pro-euthanasia lobby cringes when I use words like ‘murder’ or ‘killing’ in my interviews. One group asked me not to use the term ‘assisted suicide’ as it might offend. One national broadcaster didn’t want me using the term ‘euthanasia’. However, I prefer to stay away from euphemisms when dealing with such important issues as life and death. Especially after hearing stories such as Candice’s.

Doctors pressured this woman to die by euthanasia. One year later she is much better.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Candice Lewis

Last month Candice Lewis's mother received a disappointing response from the local hospital after sending an official complaint about being pressured by doctors who wanted Candice to die by euthanasia.

Mother upset after doctor urged her to approve assisted suicide for her daughter with disabilities.

An article by Stephen Roberts that was published in the Northern Pen newspaper  on August 28 explained that Candice is doing much better after receiving excellent care from a hospital in St John's Newfoundland. The article reported:

According to her mom, Sheila Elson, Candice hasn’t been having any seizures, is now able to feed herself, walk with assistance, use her iPad, and is more alert, energetic and communicative since her stay in St. John’s. 

“She’s back to about where she was five or six years ago,” says Elson. 

After a two-week hospital stay, Candice, along with her mother, walked her sister Glennis down the aisle at her wedding in Dildo in August. 

She’s been able to do all this despite the fact that in 2016, doctors suggested that Candice might be dying. 

In September of that year, a doctor at Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital in St. Anthony had also suggested to Elson that physician-assisted death could be an option for Candice. 

What is satisfying her these days is her daughter’s health. Since returning to St. Anthony earlier this month, Candice hasn’t required a visit to the hospital. 

Elson believes Candice’s condition has improved because she is now on fewer medications.

Legalizing euthanasia (MAiD) gives physicians the right in law to lethally inject their patients. The doctors attitude toward Candice's "quality of life" were based on negative and discriminatory attitudes towards the lives of people with disabilities. The doctors thought that Candice was better off dead.

Disability rights leaders respond to doctor who urged mother to approve euthanasia for daughter with disabilities.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.

Candice with her mother.

Disability rights leaders and the Newfoundland government Minister responsible for disability issues are speaking out concerning the recent complaint by Sheila Elson after a doctor had urged her to approve assisted death for her 25-year-old daughter, Candice, with multiple disabilities.

Mother upset after doctor urged her to approve assisted suicide for her daughter with disabilities.

Toujours Vivant-Not Dead Yet Press Release: Disability Rights Activists Decry Newfoundland doctors suicide suggestion.

Peter Cowan, reporting for CBC News Newfoundland interviewed Emily Christy the head of the Newfoundland Coalition of Persons with Disabilities, who stated:

"I was shocked and terrified that this was actually happening in our province, and I think it's the biggest issue — and a point of concern around medical aid and dying that the disability community has," she said. 

Christy said Elson and Lewis both deserve an apology, and health care professionals need to be better informed about the rules around assisted dying

Sherry Gambin-Walsh

Sherry Gambin-Walsh, the government Minister responsible for disability issues told CBC News:

"It's not acceptable to government, it's not acceptable to the individual citizens, families or our society. Disability is not to be confused with suffering." 

For Gambin-Walsh, who also has a 21-year-old with complex disabilities, disability and suffering are two very different things.

"As a mom, I can't imagine. I would be appalled and disappointed, and I would have to collect my thoughts to determine how I was going to deal with it," she said of Elson's story. 

"Disability can not, and will not, be used in discussions about medical assistance in dying.

Toujours-Not Dead Yet distributed a Press Release today: Disability Rights Activists Decry Newfoundland doctors suicide suggestion.

Disability Rights Activists Decry Newfoundland Doctor’s Suicide Suggestion

Press Release - July 28, 2017

Download the Press Release (Link)

Canadian disability rights activists are dismayed to learn that a Newfoundland doctor suggested assisted suicide in lieu of treatment for a young woman with disabilities. Last November, 25-year-old Candice Lewis was hospitalized in St. Anthony, Newfoundland. The young woman has cerebral palsy and spina bifida, as well as a seizure disorder. A doctor suggested that Lewis receive assistance in ending her life, and called Lewis’ mother Sheila Elson “selfish” for refusing to consent. Lewis has since recovered.

Taylor Hyatt

Taylor Hyatt, policy analyst and outreach coordinator for Toujours Vivant-Not Dead Yet – a nonreligious and nonpartisan organization of people with disabilities who oppose assisted suicide – stated “The doctor’s words are appalling. Yet disabled Canadians saw this coming.”

She noted that this incident confirms the fears held by many of the effect of devaluation of the lives of people with disabilities. “Many people believe it’s better to be dead than disabled, this is the impetus behind the ‘death with dignity’ movement. The legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide are particularly dangerous for disabled people, who already face pressure to sign ‘do not resuscitate’ orders when we go into hospital. The safeguards in the current legislation will not prevent people from being wrongly killed,” said Hyatt. Bill C-14, which came into effect in 2016, legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide for those with “grievous and irremediable” medical conditions – including disabilities.

Candice Lewis

"Equally troubling is the fact that no one has spoken to Ms. Lewis about the situation.” said Hyatt. “Only her mother’s comments have been highlighted by media outlets, even though Ms. Lewis was reportedly distressed when she learned about the doctor’s remark. This is another example of how disabled voices continue to go unheard.”

Toujours Vivant-Not Dead Yet (TVNDY) is an organization by and for people with disabilities and our allies. Its goal is to inform, unify and give a voice to disabled people who oppose assisted suicide, euthanasia and other discriminatory end-of-life practices.