Vol. 4

 

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Q u i - v i v e   

  Living With Dignity Newsletter
  Vol. 4

A Word from the Director

February ended with the publication of the scandalous recommendations of the Special Joint Committee on physician assisted dying, in charge of "advising" the Federal government on the legalization of assisted suicide in Canada. Several alarming issues raised widespread indignation, even among supporters of assisted suicide (see example here >>).

Among others, the euthanasia of children by 2019, the requirement for doctors and institutions to be complicit despite their conscientious objection, euthanasia for people with psychological problems and the possibility of having recourse to assisted suicide without being at an end-of-life stage are all proposals showing the inevitable direction that is taken when the prohibition of homicide is removed.

This irresponsible report reminds us that we must continue to oppose the projects of these sorcerer's apprentices. And March promises to be busy, since the Liberal government is likely to table its bill to legalize assisted suicide in Canada.

I want to thank everyone who took the time to write me in the last month, whether it was to show your support, to give ideas, to share your experience in the trenches or to tell us about your own personal initiatives. I am always happy to read your ideas and to converse with you.

 

News in Quebec

  • February 16: the media report a dozen official euthanasia cases in Quebec since the entry into force of the law. Read article >>
  • February 29: a communication campaign is launched by the Government of Quebec on end of life care. Link to the message >>

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News in Canada

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Jump into the action during the month of March!

  • Support Vulnerable Persons Standard (NPV >>) by filling the boxes at the bottom of this page >>. This initiative aims to bring together all those who have at heart the protection of the most vulnerable among us. We encourage you to read the impressive letter by Jean Vanier published in the Globe and Mail: Read the letter >>
  • Sign the petition against euthanasia for psychiatric illness: sign the petition here >>
  • Support the Coalition for Healthcare and Conscience by entering your name and email in the boxes at the following address: http://www.canadiansforconscience.ca/
  • Send a postcard to members of Parliament in Ottawa by ordering free postcards available here >>
  • Send a personal letter (or the model already prepared for you) to the Minister of Health, the Minister of Justice and your local MP by clicking here >>
  • Start your own petition using this simple and effective model: see model here >>
  • Send a letter and / or email to MPs in Ottawa (see below a few points that you can recommend to the government to take account of your concerns in its Bill):

    • Suggested recommendations:

      • if the government legalizes "medical aid in dying", it should never be considered health care, and should remain an act only allowed in exceptional cases;
      • the protection of vulnerable people should always be more important than seeking broad accessibility to "medical aid in dying";
      • the new law should protect children by prohibiting "medical aid in dying" for minors within the meaning of the law (under age 18 in most provinces);
      • society should not accept that the condition of persons living with a disability be considered a sufficient reason for wanting to die;
      • it should be mandatory to record assisted suicide or euthanasia as the cause of death on death certificates, in order to ensure transparency (this is not the case in Quebec);
      • the new law should guarantee healthcare professionals their right to refuse any participation in "medical aid in dying", including no obligation to refer requests, which would make them accomplices in the act;
      • remind Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that a party line is undemocratic, especially for such a sensitive and controversial issue, that it concentrates power in his voice alone, and suppresses the voice of elected MPs and the population.

  • Where to send your letters / comments?

  • ​To send a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

Honourable Mr. Justin Trudeau

Prime Minister of Canada

80 Wellington Street

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

K1A 0A2

FILE ON ASSISTED SUICIDE AROUND THE WORLD: Warnings for Canada (English and French)

A saying in History reminds us that we must know the past to understand the present in order to predict certain features of the future. In this vein, we continue our portrait of the situation in countries that have already legalized euthanasia or assisted suicide:

  • Vulnerable: The Euthanasia Deception: Documentary promo of an educational outreach initiative from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition coming in June 2016 with moving and troubling testimonies on the euthanasia experience in Belgium: Watch video >> 
  • Pulling Back the Curtain on Assisted Suicide: The data from Oregon tells us that during the time assisted suicide has been legal (non-assisted) suicide rates have exploded: Watch video >> 
  • Testimony from an Oregon physician against assisted suicide. Watch video >>
  • Swiss reports jump in assisted suicide numbers: Swiss assisted suicide organisation attributes the rise to the steady increase in membership and the significant ageing of society. Read article >>
  • Study finds concerning trends among Dutch assisted suicide cases: Laws permitting assisted suicide may justify the right of even psychiatric patients to end their lives in theory, but the reality of implementing such programs is messy, a study of the Netherlands finds. Read article >>
  • En Suisse, les demandes de suicide assisté « ont explosé »: Lire l'article >>

Press Review (French and English)

  • Parliament must let doctors practise with a clear conscience. Read article >>
  • Assisted suicide: crime today, health care tomorrow?: “Assisted death” is not a constitutionally mandated service, as some have characterized it. To permit is not to mandate. Read article >>
  • A request for euthanasia is a failure of society: A person asking for euthanasia or assisted suicide represents a failure in the health system and society in general. Something went wrong somewhere. Read article >>
  • John Moore: I support assisted suicide, but what we’re proposing goes too far: a journalist who spent years campaigning for the right of doctor assisted death finds himself arguing against the very thing he asked for: Read article >>
  • Assisted dying report goes beyond scope, ignores evidence: essentially all disabilities can be included in the open-ended criteria for access. Read article >>
  • La destruction de l'interdit moral: comment les opposants à l'euthanasie ont été marginalisés, présentés médiatiquement comme des fondamentalistes religieux, traités avec un mélange de respect de façade et de condescendance profonde. Lire l'article >>
  • Trop de précipitation: Un débat moralement aussi délicat et épineux que l'aide médicale à mourir ne devrait pas se faire avec un fusil sur la tempe.  Lire l'article >>
  • Pourquoi les médecins ont des réticences: confusions et évidences sur la réalité du terrain. Lire l'article >> 
  • Le docteur qui a quitté l'hôpital: un projet de gériatrie sociale. Lire l'article >>

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Videos to watch (French and English)

  • Vulnerable: The Euthanasia Deception: Documentary promo of an educational outreach initiative from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition coming in June 2016 with moving and troubling testimonies on the euthanasia experience in Belgium: Watch video >> 
  • Jeanette’s Story: 15 Years Later: Oregon resident, Jeanette Hall, had less than a year to live, she asked her cancer doctor for the pills to commit suicide. Dr. Kenneth Stevens got to know her better and inspired her to consider treatment. The tumor just “melted away” and now -- 15 years later -- Jeanette says: “It’s great to be alive”. Watch video >> 
  • Pas l'euthanasie, mais les soins palliatifs: Bernard Lapointe, M.D, professeur agrégé, oncologie et médecine familiale, à la Faculté de médecine de l'Université McGill, titulaire de la Chaire de soins palliatifs Eric M. Flanders et chef des soins palliatifs à l'Hôpital général juif parle des problèmes et des paradoxes soulevés par l'arrivée de leuthanasie dans notre système de santé. Voir le vidéo >>

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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!
25
MAR
2016
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