After the death of her husband, Maureen Pickering moved to the Caressant Care nursing home in Woodstock, before dying on March 28, 2014. Her last moments are now under scrutiny with police alleging she and seven other elderly people didn’t die naturally, but were drugged to death by a registered nurse.
Each dying patient has their own context and belief frame for their “suffering.” Each case has its own mix of causes, and things that make it worse or better. When we fully understand what’s going on, it is rare that suffering can’t be greatly palliated. It then follows that the perceived need to end life to alleviate suffering is a very rare occurrence.
Continue Reading → With assisted suicide, context is everything
Thanks to a referral from a compassionate ER nurse, Francis Young ended up at the West Island Palliative Care Residence, a hospice in Kirkland, Que., that has a reputation as one of Canada’s best – a model for how end-of-life care should be delivered.
Continue Reading → ‘I know I’m going to have a good death’: Why palliative care matters
Sometimes, terminal illness diagnoses are mistakes. Acting on a misdiagnosis by choosing the irreversible act of euthanasia or assisted suicide remains a real possibility that proponents of euthanasia must take into consideration.
Continue Reading → Push for euthanasia ignores misdiagnosis
The ink is barely dry on Canada’s expansive right to euthanasia and there is already much talk of expanding the killing to new categories–such as children.
Continue Reading → Never Enough Euthanasia in Canada