{"id":4514,"date":"2017-05-25T15:34:17","date_gmt":"2017-05-25T19:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/?p=4514"},"modified":"2018-05-29T15:40:01","modified_gmt":"2018-05-29T19:40:01","slug":"vol-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/vol-18\/","title":{"rendered":"Vol. 18"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Q u i - v\u00a0i v e \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Living With Dignity Newsletter<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0 Vol. 18<\/span><\/div>\n
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\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span>A Word from the Director<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the previous newsletter, I spoke of the need to question the underlying motives behind deaths by euthanasia so as to avoid falling into the trap of an analysis based solely on impersonal figures. By happy coincidence, May ended with the revelations of a Canadian study<\/a> that specifically examined the reasons behind euthanasia cases<\/a> in four major hospitals in the Toronto area.<\/p>\n

The results of the study demonstrate that the main factor behind euthanasia deaths<\/a> relates to existential distress<\/strong>. Indeed, the primary reason given by patients concerned the loss of autonomy\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 and not the unbearable pain that was conveniently sold to us from the beginning. Other reasons included fear of becoming a burden to those around them, fear of losing one's dignity, or the fact of no longer appreciating one's life.<\/p>\n

In other words, the Canadian picture continues a portrait well known in other parts of the world<\/a>, in which the same motives are evoked to request assisted suicide. This pattern also confirms what we already knew: euthanasia is primarily a question of how we relate to others and how society views vulnerable people. Moreover, when loss of autonomy is evoked as an indignity that deserves death, we should first see it as a petty social judgment that affects all persons who suffer from a disability or a serious illness. Furthermore, we have the duty to fight this pernicious and intolerable verdict.<\/p>\n

Besides, Dr. Yves Robert, secretary of the Coll\u00e8ge des m\u00e9decins<\/em>, recently published a letter<\/a> in which he expressed his concern at the emergence of \"speech demanding a form of death \u00e0 la carte.\" Among other things, he rebelled\u00a0against opinion leaders and media chroniclers\u00a0who denounce euthanasia refusals as a form of exclusion, by asking a crucial question about the logical sequence of events: \"Why and to what extent should new criteria be introduced when, no matter the criteria for access to PAD, there will always be some excluded by definition?\u201d<\/p>\n

On this point, and at the risk of repeating myself, I recall that this is the logic inherent in all laws on euthanasia as they sell induced death as a blessing and as an adequate response to suffering. In the face of this real ideological scourge, we must continue to promote a benevolent and inclusive vision that values \u200b\u200bthose who are made vulnerable by sickness, old age, or disability by giving them the means to live with dignity\u00a0and to be accompanied and comforted until their last breath.<\/p>\n

On our side, be assured that Living with Dignity<\/em> will continue to make the voices heard of those who want to build a caring society rather than one that facilitates the death of those who are needing help. We count on your support<\/a>,\u00a0and we encourage you to participate in the debate by calling open lines, writing to journalists, or contacting your MPs<\/a>, and by writing your comments under articles that defend our vision.<\/p>\n

I thank you in advance for your support.<\/p>\n

In solidarity,<\/p>\n

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______________________________<\/p>\n

Aubert MARTIN, executive director, Living with Dignity<\/p>\n

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News in Quebec<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n