The expansion of Canada’s Death Medical Assistance Act (MAiD) has already hurt the most vulnerable people in the country and will continue to do so unless it is reformed, critics of the law say.
Alex Shadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition Canada, said there are many recent examples that illustrate this point. He cites the case of a woman who said she had been suffering from COVID for a long time.
“She realized she could no longer live in the house because she could not work. She could not afford it. I am,” she says. Schadenberg, author of the book Exposing Vulnerable People to Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide.
Another case, he said, is that of a chronically disabled woman in Victoria, B.C. who turned to MAiD because of inadequate health care.
“She has not been able to get treatment for her symptoms. So she is going to America for treatment, but she doesn’t have enough money for it. But she has been approved for euthanasia.” He said.
The laws surrounding MAiD in Canada have been amended and expanded many times since the procedure was legalized in 2016.
Originally, the entitlement applied to people suffering from serious conditions, illnesses, or disabilities that could not be reversed by treatment.
The law also states that only if a patient is in “unbearable physical or mental distress that cannot be alleviated under circumstances the patient deems acceptable” and if the patient’s death is “reasonably foreseeable” Said the patient could apply.
Additionally, the application had to be approved by at least two physicians.
In 2021, the federal government passed Bill C-7. law Remove the requirement that a patient be fatal or terminally ill to be eligible.
of March 2023patients whose only serious medical condition is mental illness are also eligible for MAiD.
The world’s ‘most lenient’ assisted suicide law
Ramona Coelho, a family physician in London, Ontario, who treats many patients with disabilities, is a strong opponent of Canada’s expanding MAiD legislation.
Coelho told The Epoch Times about Ernest McNeill, 71, who was hospitalized after a fall. He was isolated from his family for a long time due to his COVID-19 restrictions and contracted infectious diarrhea while in the hospital.
“The staff made very inappropriate comments about him,” Coehlo said, adding McNeill was “very sad about it and he was in a lot of pain.”
“Someone is [hospital] the team put forward an idea [of] dying medical assistance [and] He qualified and told him all about it,” she said.
Medical staff quickly diagnosed McNeil with a severe bronchitis called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
“But he trusted them,” said Coehlo. “So he basically accepted his death on the basis of a diagnosis of COPD, but he was acutely ill and feeling terrible.”
House Special Joint Address Committee Regarding the May 2022 MAiD, Coelho questioned whether McNeill was coerced into accepting the MAiD.
“Has his MAiD been raised because he was a victim of age discrimination resulting in his admission being longer than expected?” Coelho“Did he choose MAiD because the acute care team made him feel terrible? His family believes so.”
Canada’s assisted suicide law It stipulates that the patient must start their own MAiD application to enable the MAiD application. Careless suggestions by medical professionals are illegal.
“No one should encourage MAiD as a means of saving money or dealing with staffing shortages,” Dignity With Dignity Canada told the Epoch Times in an email. Approval has strict criteria and safeguards as required by law.”
In July, Coelho paper The London Free Press calls Canada’s MAiD law “the world’s most permissive euthanasia and assisted suicide law.”
She said several UN officials had warned the Canadian government that “our MAiD law will lead to human rights violations.”
“I feel that the MAiD regime is really dangerous.” Coelho told the commission.
“You can get help just by applying.”
Schadenberg picked up Roger Foley’s story from London, Ontario. He was offered his MAiD unsolicited by hospital staff in his early 40s, and was even told that he would pay exorbitant hospital bills if he remained in the hospital for an extended period of time.
“He needs round-the-clock care,” he said. Schadenberg. “And the hospital said, ‘Well, pay $1,500 a day to stay here, or we’ll euthanize you.’ You have a choice.
Suffering from an incurable brain disorder and virtually paralyzed, Foley recorded an audio clip of a medical worker at a hospital serving MAiD, CTV news 2018.
“How are you doing, Rog? Do you feel like you want to hurt yourself or something?” asked a worker at the London Health Science Centre. “If you want to end your life, just apply to get help.”
Another worker told Foley that staying in the hospital would cost him “over $1,500 a day.”
Foley Her initial desire to refuse MAiD and receive home care was eventually granted.However Shadenberg told Foley.The story of MAiD is another example of how MAiD caused healthcare professionals to “abandon” patients.
“You’re in a terrible situation and instead of getting treatment…euthanasia is the only realistic option you can apply for and get,” he said.
‘Vulnerable Canadians at risk’
Recently, a complaint was made public by VA officials recommending MAiD for veterans seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and brain injury.
Anonymous veteran said global news The recommendation was completely unsolicited, and he “felt betrayed and disgusted by the proposal”.
Conservative MP Garnett Genuis said the case showed the inevitable consequences of Canada’s MAiD legislation.
“This is for all the politicians who said the lack of safeguards doesn’t matter,” Genuis said. twitter“You have been warned. Repeat.”
Conservative MP Michael cooper called it “another case of abuse under the liberal MAID regime”, adding that “vulnerable Canadians are at risk”.
Health Canada told the Epoch Times in an email that Canada has “high hurdles to access to MAID” through “eligibility criteria” and “safeguards” set by law.
“Just as a person with a physical illness must be in an advanced state of degeneration arising from an incurable disease, suffering severely to receive MAID, a severe disease that has resisted multiple treatments and interventions. “Only people with long-term mental illness in Canada will receive MAID. They will not be considered eligible for MAID,” said a Health Canada spokesperson.
Assisted suicide rates in Canada have risen steadily since legalization. Health Canada’sThird Annual Report on Dying Medical Assistance in Canada” shows that 10,064 MAiD instances have been delivered since 2021, a 32.4% increase compared to 2020.
This was the largest number of MAiD cases in a year in Canada’s history. The previous numbers were 1,018 in 2016, 2,838 in 2017, 4,480 in 2018, 5,661 in 2019, and 7,603 in 2020.
The 10,064 MAiD deaths in 2021 accounted for 3.3% of all deaths in Canada that year.
“Whether it continues at its current pace or slows down, it continues to rise,” Mr. Schadenberg said.
Ontario has seen more than 1,800 deaths from January to June 2022. Since MAiD was legalized in his 2016, Ontario has seen more than 11,600 of his deaths from the procedure.
“In fact, MAiD is already the sixth leading cause of death in Canada,” said Schadenberg. “So it goes much higher than that? The answer is yes.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
follow
Peter Wilson is a reporter based in Ontario, Canada.