{"id":4931,"date":"2017-08-25T10:06:41","date_gmt":"2017-08-25T14:06:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/?p=4931"},"modified":"2018-05-29T15:40:24","modified_gmt":"2018-05-29T19:40:24","slug":"vol-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/vol-21\/","title":{"rendered":"Vol. 21"},"content":{"rendered":"

Q u i - v\u00a0i v e \u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/h1>\n

We are currently experiencing some technical problems with our server. We apologize if the format of our newsletter is not as usual. We thank you for your understanding.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Living With Dignity Newsletter<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 Vol. 21<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A Word from the Director<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the last month of the summer has come to an end, there are many indications that this fall will be hot with respect to the issue of euthanasia in Quebec<\/a>.<\/p>\n

August ended with the official opening of the Superior Court lawsuit<\/a> in which two people suffering from a disability are challenging the federal and provincial laws to eliminate the \u201cend of life\u201d and \u201creasonably foreseeable death\u201d criteria.<\/p>\n

At that first meeting, Living with Dignity<\/em> and the Physicians\u2019 Alliance Against Euthanasia<\/em> told the court of their intention to file a formal request to be included in the list of intervenors in the case<\/a>. If their application is accepted, the two organizations will be able to provide the Court with their expertise on the ethical, medical, and social issues surrounding euthanasia and assisted suicide, with the aim of opposing the expansion of the criteria of the law.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, this request to extend the laws of Quebec and Canada in perfect continuity with the trends observed elsewhere in the world. Indeed, we can observe that the very logic of euthanasia continually generates demands for continuous extension. In that respect, as is already the case in the Netherlands<\/a> where a bill has been tabled for this purpose, Belgium is now considering the possibility of extending euthanasia<\/a> to people who have \u201cthe feeling of having accomplished their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thus, this is where culminate \u2013 until now \u2013 the successive extensions of laws that open the door to death on request. Over time, \u201cexceptional measures for exceptional cases<\/a>\u201d end up being offered to healthy people who simply have the \u201cfault\u201d of being old. And in the meanwhile, statistics are exceeding forecasts<\/a>, abuses are accumulating<\/a>, and \u201csafeguard\u201d are collapsing one after the other \u2013 already, there is pressure to \u201csimplify the paperwork and ease the obligation of seeking a second opinion from an objective and independent doctor<\/a>\u201d .<\/p>\n

And while all eyes are obsessively fixed on death as a medical solution to suffering<\/a>, and while accusing fingers<\/a> point at people who refuse to see it as a gesture of legitimate compassion, society as a whole misses many essential questions.<\/p>\n

Instead of asking why someone would refuse death to a suffering person, would it not be more beautiful and respectful to ask ourselves why this person came to want to die? Instead of helping people kill themselves, should we not ask where society failed to be able to accompany them properly? Faced with people's suffering, our most pressing concern should not be to ask ourselves what we could do to make each person feel desired, that everyone has access to all the good care available nowadays and that everyone can take part in the collective life, regardless of their physical condition?<\/p>\n

Rest assured that Living with Dignity<\/em> will continue to ask these crucial questions that are at the heart of the belief we share with people who want to build a caring society rather than a society that only thinks about facilitating death to people who need help.<\/p>\n

We count on your support and encourage you to participate in the debates by calling open lines, writing to reporters, contacting your MP<\/a> and writing your comments under the articles that defend our vision.<\/p>\n

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

In solidarity,<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

______________________________<\/p>\n

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

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News in Quebec<\/strong><\/p>\n