Vol. 3

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Q u i - v i v e   

  Living With Dignity Newsletter
  Vol. 3

A Word from the Director

2016 has already begun - with all its share of opportunities and challenges - and news about euthanasia and assisted suicide is already overflowing. These days, the Special Joint Committee on Physician Assisted Death, created by the federal government, collects testimonies to allow Parliament to prepare a Bill. Unfortunately, it seems that it favours the intervention of individuals and organizations pleading in favour of euthanasia, making us fear a law that could give Canada the most permissive regime in the world, perhaps already opening the door to euthanasia for children.

Amid these waves, Living with Dignity continues its commitment to stand up against this "medical aid in dying" by multiplying initiatives to protect the population against the risks and abuses inherent in any law allowing assisted suicide.

In 2016, I have a wish: I would like to get to know you better. Not only to discover who our supporters are, but also to maximize our efforts by involving as many people as possible. I am sure that by pooling our experiences, our knowledge, our talents and our creativity, we can offer a truly appropriate answer to human suffering in order to thwart death on demand.

I look forward to knowing you!

 

News in Quebec

  • January 4: the Quebec Court of Appeal stated that the Criminal Code provisions that still prohibit "medical aid in dying" can not, by themselves, prevent the entry into force and implementation of euthanasia in Quebec since they were declared invalid by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Carter decision. Read more >>
  • January 14: media outlets report first official case of euthanasia in Quebec
  • January 15: the Supreme Court of Canada agrees to exempt Quebec from the four-month extension it granted the Federal government to adopt a law on assisted suicide. Thus, the Quebec euthanasia law, which came into force on December 10, 2015, is formally approved by the Supreme Court of Canada. Read more >>

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News in Canada

  • January 15: the Supreme Court of Canada gives the federal government a four-month extension (until June 2016) to formulate and pass legislation to comply with the Carter decision allowing assisted suicide in Canada . Read more >>

Our publications of the month

  • At least three cases of medical aid in dying: interviewed in this article, Aubert Martin states that each request for "medical aid in dying" is a social failure. Read more >>
BELGIUM FILE: Warnings for Canada (English and French)
The Quebec law was greatly inspired by the one adopted in Belgium in 2002, and Canada seems to be moving in the same direction. Here are some articles that account for the excesses of the Belgian law several years after its adoption, even though the leaders also sold their project by speaking of euthanasia for "exceptional cases".
  • Controversial case re-opens euthanasia debate in Belgium: young woman euthanized because of a broken relationship. Read article >>
  • 2000 Belgian Euthanasia Killings in 2015:The more a population accepts killing as an acceptable response to human suffering, the broader the categoriesfor which euthanasia becomes acceptable – and the more people are killed. Read the article >>
  • Suicide with the approval of society: A Belgian activist warns of the slippery slope as euthanasia becomes ‘normal’. Read article >>

Press Review (French and English)

  • A deadly form of normal: "Euthanasia? Assisted suicide? There’s an app for that"... This remark aptly underscores the rapidity with which discussion of what was called, not very long ago, mercy killing, has become normalized, even banal. Read article >>
  • I never thought this day would come: more than twenty years after my trip to The Hague, I was again being given access to protocols to end patients’ lives. Only, this time, it was in my own country. In my province. From my College. I never thought this day would come. And I am still chilled. Read article >>
  • L’objection d’âme et de conscience: le Dr Serge Daneault rappelle que nous aurions tort de penser que l’objection de conscience se fera à la légère. Lire l'article >>
  • Les médecins demandent le droit de refuser sans rediriger: l’Association médicale canadienne (AMC) affirme que les médecins devraient avoir le droit de refuser de prodiguer de "l’aide à mourir" à leurs patients, et qu'ils devraient aussi avoir le droit de refuser de rediriger vers un confrère mieux disposé à donner suite aux les patients qui demandent à mourir. Lire l'article >>
  • L'inquiétude entoure l'état des soins palliatifs au pays: des soins palliatifs de meilleure qualité auraient un impact sur le débat de l'aide médicale à mourir, selon plusieurs experts. « En manque de soins palliatifs, on se tourne vers la mort. S'il y avait plus de soins palliatifs, un meilleur accès aux soins et plus de médecins et de spécialistes, la récente décision de la Cour suprême du Canada deviendrait hors propos ». Lire l'article >>
  • Une personne âgée sur cinq sans ami proche: un signal d'alarme sur la vulnérabilité des personnes âgées alors que l'euthanasie qui s'installe au pays. Lire l'article >> 
  • Se faire soigner dans la dignité: l'histoire cauchemardesque d'un patient en fin de vie amène un journaliste - pourtant en faveur de l'euthanasie - à douter de la capacité de notre système de santé à gérer "l'aide médicale à mourir". Lire l'article >>
  • La dépression à l’ère de la loi sur l’aide médicale à mourir: des experts de la santé mentale craignent que la future loi sur l'aide médicale à mourir donne une option plus facile aux personnes atteintes de dépression qui pourraient alors choisir le suicide assisté au détriment des traitements conventionnels. Lire l'article >>

Videos to watch (French and English)

  • Allow Me To Die: Euthanasia in Belgium (52:33): the journeys of two people in the most liberal euthanasia laws in the world. (watch >>)
  • Fin de vie et dignité (6:20): témoignage émouvant du Dr Patrick Vinay, membre du CA de Vivre dans la dignité et expert en soins palliatifs (regarder >>)

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To make a donation is... to take action!
Our organization would not exist without the support of people who share our vision of human solidarity and our mission to promote good palliative care for all. With your contribution, we can act on your behalf by advocating in person (conferences, panels), in the media (interviews, articles, press releases), and on social networks (blogs, website, Facebook, Twitter).

Thus, by contributing, you are directly participating in defending future generations, especially vulnerable people, threatened by euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada.

Thank you for your active support!
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