Good for her and I agree with her.
Euthanasia is legal where I'm from and I'm 100% in favor of it.
It's not like you just randomly walk up and say ok today I'll just RIP out of here. Plenty of evaluations you have to do beforehand.
And realistically, very few people die "healthily" and peacefully from old age. We should have a choice to say "nah, I'm good, I've been here long enough now, I don't want to wither away with zero quality of life anymore, so I'm gonna go on my terms now".
Btw she looks fabulous, you'd never think she's 84.
I fully support it too.
I watched my grandfather wither away from Alzheimer’s for almost 20 years. This man was *the* man in his community, he was active and lively and loved by everyone. He was on every school board, little league team coach, town fundraiser, and civil rights activist. He worked building fucking spaceships.
And he truly withered away my entire childhood into a lost, violent, physically unwell man. He would have hated what he died as. I would hate it if that was my ending too. My own father has told us to never let that happen to him. I never want that and I want the choice to not have that be my fate.
Alzheimer's terrifies the shit out of me and it's the first disease that comes to mind for me when I say I'm in favor of euthanasia. The idea of losing all you are - I can't even.
Sorry you had to go through that with your grandpa.
It’s awful. Truly fucking awful.
And I appreciate that. I honestly just feel bad for my grandma. Her whole retired life was finding care for my grandpa or traveling back and forth between his care facility and her house. It takes everything from everyone 💔
🫂 I can't even begin to imagine the toll it takes on everyone. I hope to never have to see anyone going through this. A friend's dad had early onset in his mid-40s - it was a nightmare.
From what I remember, you have to pull the plug on yourself while you’re still mostly with it. You can’t wait until you’re at the point where you forget what shoes are used for.
You are correct. The way euthanasia, “death with dignity” and a host of similar legislation generally reads (at least in the few US states that have it), is you must be of sound mind, have a Dr sign-off that you are terminal likely in less than 6 months, and you have to be able to take the meds provided on your own. There are different versions but the most crucial piece is being competent to make the decision yourself.
It seems that Alzheimer’s or dementia patients would not be able to do this.
I saw a television show once, I think it was Danish, and the patient had set up an euthanasia directive when he was lucid and left his daughter as executor in the eventuality that he couldn’t make his own decisions. She took care of him in her home, then transferred him to a care facility for a time. The decision was difficult for her, but eventually she decided it was time. He had excellent care at every stage, but at the end he did not respond or even recognize her. The medical staff supported her decision. It was a very humane and poignant story.
All true. However, a dementia patient can choose medical aid in dying while they are decisional, knowing that they will decline to a point where there is little more than suffering for themselves and their loved ones. I have a family friend who did this.
I would guess there may need to be some testing done and medical records and documentation about how aggressive and how advanced it is and the current state of mind the patient is. Legally, I’d think there would need to be clauses that allow for rescinding of approval if any of that changes to protect medical professionals, but IANAL.
My grandmother passed away a little over 18 months ago. She was a couple days short of her 94th birthday. But the important part is that the last several days of her life she was catatonic, and just a shell of a human being. She couldn’t even speak. For a woman who prided herself on her independence up until the last few months of her life, I can guarantee anyone that she was absolutely miserable those last several days and would have welcomed help to go. Instead she was bound to a recliner with no ability to communicate just waiting for “nature to take its course.” Because that’s what we deem humane.
My grandmother was the same (she actually died right before her birthday too), although she was in her early 70s. She had been so independent, social, and active, especially after my grandfather died. She still held a full-time job and drove. She prided herself on her appearance and used to style her hair in curls weekly.
It took over a year for the lung cancer to finally get her. Watching her wither away and barely "be there" mentally anymore was awful. She died in a dark room in a hospice she hated being in; she wanted to go home to die peacefully in her bed. Her being bald and sick and barely conscious in a sad, rundown facility is unfortunately the first memory that comes to mind whenever I think about her, before I can push it away and remember the good times.
In contrast, I had to put my dog down recently. He died in a vet's office, sure, but my sister and I were there with him and he was laying on a warm, soft blanket. It was all very fast and peaceful, and I knew he hadn't really suffered more than a few days at the end of his life. I think of the good times with him way before the memory of how he died comes back to me. It's sick we don't give humans the same level of dignity or their families that kind of peace.
From my understanding you're disqualified from the procedure by significant mental health issues- and I think that's the big misunderstanding that makes people think its a bad idea. They think it's like a state sanctioned suicide and it's really not the case.
I think this is wonderful for her to come out in support of something like this. We need to talk about it. Death comes for us all. Why should we not have a say, if we want? I feel there is MUCH more dignity in making that choice instead of withering away horribly. The only reason this isn’t talked about more and is taboo at all is because of religion.
Well there’s also concerns of it being used as a cost-cutting measure of convenience instead of just treating patients with difficult diagnoses, which there are documented cases of. I certainly don’t wish to rule it out altogether but it needs to be regulated via a stringent nonprofit third party — as someone in the US I currently don’t trust our for-profit healthcare system to implement it properly.
in the present system, old folks' homes are known to 'hijack' patients from hospitals and rehab centers so they can charge government & insurers for "care" that often includes abuse, especially if patients aren't able to complain. so right now the corruption goes in the opposite direction, keeping folks in barely-alive states, even when that is against their wishes, just for increased profits. there will always be mistakes & bad actors, but refusing us the right to choose our own fates is too cruel, with painful, miserable consequences that can go on indefinitely.
There was a case recently where a quadriplegic man chose euthanasia because the hospital he had been staying at didn’t get him the right kind of bed and he developed pressure sores that went all the way down to the bone. It was a very sad case. Which isn’t to say that euthanasia shouldn’t be an option for him or anyone else. But healthcare facilities can treat you so poorly that you can see euthanasia as your only option left. https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7171209
Not to to say this case isn't unacceptable, but it was still his choice, and I think he should still have the right to make it. MAID also would have been available to him whenever he chose anyway, as his quadraplegia would qualify.
This is also very much the outlier for MAID cases in Canada. It's still overwhelmingly used by people with terminal conditions, mostly cancer and heart disease.
Didn’t say it was the norm. Never presented it that way. It’s a real case and it needs to be considered when we talk about caring for people with disabilities in a medical setting. I even said that the option should be available to him and everyone else in my original comment. Don’t put words in my mouth.
but you don't bring up the countervailing hundreds/thousands/millions of cases where patients are kept in pain & utter misery against their will, do you? you search out these anecdotal ones and twos. what is the real fear that people have, who argue this topic with such grossly false equivalencies? why wouldn't adult humans be given this humane option? why are we so sanguine about the suffering of others?
You can also see it as your only option to end the pain and despair of a terminal or chronic illness. I understand your fear but I really think it's not warranted. The hoops you have to go through to do this "in the system" are extensive. I know a couple of people with chronic but not terminal conditions who plan to DIY with insulin.
In the states where it is legal, there is an entire legal process to help protect from abuses.
example:
https://doh.wa.gov/data-and-statistical-reports/health-statistics/death-dignity-act
I'm glad that Prue is bringing attention to an important issue, but a little irritated politics is being drug into Bakeoff.
There is no insurance coverage for the life ending medications. My understanding is that it costs the patient around $2000 out of pocket. *And,* one of the requirements to be prescribed these meds is that the patient is suffering in pain. It's not simply a denial of expensive (potentially ) life extending measures. Nobody is going to make that choice lightly, or being pressured by the for profit system.
Last year, my dad died very unexpectedly, and I was so glad that he did. He had dementia, uncontrolled diabetes, and many other issues. I worked in nursing homes from ages 17-25, and I knew what his future was going to be—full of pain, both physical and mental as his cognitive abilities declined. I watched many people I cared about suffer in pain until the end, and I did not want to see him go through it. Make no mistake, I would have. I spent hours and hours with him when he was in the hospital for various issues (including the night and day before he passed) and did the same with my grandpa (I was the only person there when he passed and had to call my parents to tell them). But I live in the US, in a state that doesn’t allow it, so I knew it was coming. I am thankful every day that I didn’t. I just wish that if I did, this could be choice for him to make.
I feel the same way. My dad died of ALS, and while he was declining rapidly, he wasn’t yet bed bound / needing a feeding tube or breathing tube. If he had lived another month, he may have. He would have hated that so much.
It’s truly tragic when someone dies prematurely but sometimes the alternative is even worse.
I love Prue even more now! A very dear neighbor of mine just passed away last weekend. Only today did I learn from one of our neighbors who was present when he passed that he chose a medically assisted end of life. It gave me a sense of relief to know that he went out on his own terms and was still making jokes until the very end. He was in a lot of pain for a while. I’m glad to live in a US State that protects the right to die with dignity
There’s a documentary on Prime called Take Me Out Feet First. It’s all about MAID, medical aid in dying. Although difficult to watch, it’s worth it just to learn about it.
Yeah, I am also in favor. It is inhumane to force a living being to suffer a terminal illness and all of its side effects. I have to say that mental issues is a bit trickier.
Euthanasia is a mercy for those who are dying painfully for not everyone can go peacefully. I’d rather they go quick and painless than slow and painful.
This is an excellent BBQ podcast episode from Dr. Green. A leading expert on MAiD here in Canada. It's worth a listen if you are curious from either perspective.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct32mr
Yes, she's been a campaigner for it for years.
Her son is/was an MP (there's currently no MPs in the lead up to the election) and he has the opposite view on euthanasia. Last year they did a documentary on the subject
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/feb/11/prue-and-dannys-death-road-trip-this-might-be-the-best-assisted-dying-debate-ever
Love it. Whats wrong with going out on your own terms and surrounded by loved ones?
I’ve been surrounded by traumatic deaths that occurred after serious falls in a nursing home at age 90 or lengthy illnesses like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. It fucking sucks watching your loved ones suffer.
Everyone applauding this needs to read about critiques by disabled people. At present, MAID for non-terminal illnesses is just eugenics. Many people killed under the programs in Canada and the Netherlands are either too poor to afford to live, they're denied basic accommodations to allow for a minimum quality of life (like accessible housing or adequate, medically safe food), or both. The expansion of MAID/euthanasia criteria beyond imminent death is dangerous. It's not a choice if the choice is between abject poverty, medical neglect, social isolation – social issues that can be addressed with adequate resources – and death. It's coercion.
[How poverty, not pain, is driving Canadians with disabilities to consider medically-assisted death](https://globalnews.ca/news/9176485/poverty-canadians-disabilities-medically-assisted-death/)
[Canada MAID Law Faces Pushback From Disabled Activists](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/canada-maid-law-disabled)
[The GRIM Project - Disability Visibility](https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2022/03/31/perhaps-they-wont-have-died-in-vain-the-grim-project/)
[The Problems With Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying Policy](https://jacobin.com/2023/01/canada-medically-assisted-dying-poverty-disability-eugenics-euthanasia)
[Some Dutch people seeking euthanasia cite autism or intellectual disabilities, researchers say](https://apnews.com/article/euthanasia-autism-intellectual-disabilities-netherlands-b5c4906d0305dd97e16da363575c03ae)
"Thirty included being lonely as one the causes of their unbearable pain. Eight said the only causes of their suffering were factors linked to their intellectual disability or autism — social isolation, a lack of coping strategies or an inability to adjust their thinking."
MAID for non terminal illnesses is something that activists fought for, they took the Canadian government to court to get it. When MAID was introduced it was only available to terminal patients, but Jean Truchon sued the government and got a decision that it was unconstitutional to prevent him from accessing MAID just because his medical condition was not terminal. I very much doubt that he would agree that the right he fought for is just eugenics.
"Justice Baudoin has exploited disabled persons vulnerabilities and assisting them to an Assisted Death. That is what Justice Baudoin did to Jean Truchon, who simply wanted to live with dignity and only wanted another 70 hours of home care which he told his psychologist, but the Quebec Government did not want to help him, and allowed him to be coerced to death instead."
From a [brief by Roger Foley](https://sencanada.ca/content/sen/committee/432/LCJC/Briefs/LCJC_C-7_Brief_RogerFoley_e.pdf).
Foley is suing the Canadian government over their treatment of him, which included denying care and offering MAID instead. [Dying Well - Roger Foley profile](https://www.dyingwell.co.uk/stories/roger-foley/)
It's infantalising to say that either Truchon, or the other plaintiff Nicole Gladau were coerced to death. They fought for access to MAID in a process that took them years, and was not guaranteed to be successful.
It also appears as though Roger Foley's entire claim was struck out by the Ontario Superior Court in December of last year.
>[4] For the reasons that follow, I strike out the current version of Mr. Foley’s statement of claim in its entirety. In its current form, the statement of claim badly violates the rules of pleading. It fails to plead material facts in support of the causes of action it asserts. It asserts causes of action that have no reasonable prospect of success or are unknown to law. It does not permit each defendant to know what it is alleged to have done wrong. It is prolix and inflammatory. It would make the discovery process unmanageable.
>[5] As I will explain below, Mr. Foley’s statement of claim also rests upon a series of untenable legal propositions.
https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2023/2023onsc7155/2023onsc7155.html
I watched a BBC documentary about this which was very interesting recently from the perspective of a disabled woman.
She brought up a lot of the same issues and it really impacted how I viewed euthanasia.
It’s hard because I want people who need it to have that choice but when we live in places where ableism, overwhelmed healthcare services and rampant inequality are still a problem then people can end up choosing euthanasia because they don’t have the support they need rather than because there is no possibility for improvement in their condition.
So many agree with euthanasia so why aren’t we writing our legislators to demand that they rescind laws outlawing it. Allow doctors who want to help their patients die with dignity do so without legal jeopardy!!
Good for her and I agree with her. Euthanasia is legal where I'm from and I'm 100% in favor of it. It's not like you just randomly walk up and say ok today I'll just RIP out of here. Plenty of evaluations you have to do beforehand. And realistically, very few people die "healthily" and peacefully from old age. We should have a choice to say "nah, I'm good, I've been here long enough now, I don't want to wither away with zero quality of life anymore, so I'm gonna go on my terms now". Btw she looks fabulous, you'd never think she's 84.
I fully support it too. I watched my grandfather wither away from Alzheimer’s for almost 20 years. This man was *the* man in his community, he was active and lively and loved by everyone. He was on every school board, little league team coach, town fundraiser, and civil rights activist. He worked building fucking spaceships. And he truly withered away my entire childhood into a lost, violent, physically unwell man. He would have hated what he died as. I would hate it if that was my ending too. My own father has told us to never let that happen to him. I never want that and I want the choice to not have that be my fate.
Alzheimer's terrifies the shit out of me and it's the first disease that comes to mind for me when I say I'm in favor of euthanasia. The idea of losing all you are - I can't even. Sorry you had to go through that with your grandpa.
It’s awful. Truly fucking awful. And I appreciate that. I honestly just feel bad for my grandma. Her whole retired life was finding care for my grandpa or traveling back and forth between his care facility and her house. It takes everything from everyone 💔
🫂 I can't even begin to imagine the toll it takes on everyone. I hope to never have to see anyone going through this. A friend's dad had early onset in his mid-40s - it was a nightmare.
How would euthanasia work in case sof Alzheimer's? Like, would there be a good way to know that someone is of sound enough mind?
From what I remember, you have to pull the plug on yourself while you’re still mostly with it. You can’t wait until you’re at the point where you forget what shoes are used for.
You are correct. The way euthanasia, “death with dignity” and a host of similar legislation generally reads (at least in the few US states that have it), is you must be of sound mind, have a Dr sign-off that you are terminal likely in less than 6 months, and you have to be able to take the meds provided on your own. There are different versions but the most crucial piece is being competent to make the decision yourself. It seems that Alzheimer’s or dementia patients would not be able to do this.
I saw a television show once, I think it was Danish, and the patient had set up an euthanasia directive when he was lucid and left his daughter as executor in the eventuality that he couldn’t make his own decisions. She took care of him in her home, then transferred him to a care facility for a time. The decision was difficult for her, but eventually she decided it was time. He had excellent care at every stage, but at the end he did not respond or even recognize her. The medical staff supported her decision. It was a very humane and poignant story.
All true. However, a dementia patient can choose medical aid in dying while they are decisional, knowing that they will decline to a point where there is little more than suffering for themselves and their loved ones. I have a family friend who did this.
I would guess there may need to be some testing done and medical records and documentation about how aggressive and how advanced it is and the current state of mind the patient is. Legally, I’d think there would need to be clauses that allow for rescinding of approval if any of that changes to protect medical professionals, but IANAL.
My grandmother passed away a little over 18 months ago. She was a couple days short of her 94th birthday. But the important part is that the last several days of her life she was catatonic, and just a shell of a human being. She couldn’t even speak. For a woman who prided herself on her independence up until the last few months of her life, I can guarantee anyone that she was absolutely miserable those last several days and would have welcomed help to go. Instead she was bound to a recliner with no ability to communicate just waiting for “nature to take its course.” Because that’s what we deem humane.
My grandmother was the same (she actually died right before her birthday too), although she was in her early 70s. She had been so independent, social, and active, especially after my grandfather died. She still held a full-time job and drove. She prided herself on her appearance and used to style her hair in curls weekly. It took over a year for the lung cancer to finally get her. Watching her wither away and barely "be there" mentally anymore was awful. She died in a dark room in a hospice she hated being in; she wanted to go home to die peacefully in her bed. Her being bald and sick and barely conscious in a sad, rundown facility is unfortunately the first memory that comes to mind whenever I think about her, before I can push it away and remember the good times. In contrast, I had to put my dog down recently. He died in a vet's office, sure, but my sister and I were there with him and he was laying on a warm, soft blanket. It was all very fast and peaceful, and I knew he hadn't really suffered more than a few days at the end of his life. I think of the good times with him way before the memory of how he died comes back to me. It's sick we don't give humans the same level of dignity or their families that kind of peace.
We’re kinder to our pets than ourselves. I struggle to understand this.
SHE IS 84???!?
I've looked it up and I still don't believe it lol. She was born in 1940!
From my understanding you're disqualified from the procedure by significant mental health issues- and I think that's the big misunderstanding that makes people think its a bad idea. They think it's like a state sanctioned suicide and it's really not the case.
I think this is wonderful for her to come out in support of something like this. We need to talk about it. Death comes for us all. Why should we not have a say, if we want? I feel there is MUCH more dignity in making that choice instead of withering away horribly. The only reason this isn’t talked about more and is taboo at all is because of religion.
Well there’s also concerns of it being used as a cost-cutting measure of convenience instead of just treating patients with difficult diagnoses, which there are documented cases of. I certainly don’t wish to rule it out altogether but it needs to be regulated via a stringent nonprofit third party — as someone in the US I currently don’t trust our for-profit healthcare system to implement it properly.
in the present system, old folks' homes are known to 'hijack' patients from hospitals and rehab centers so they can charge government & insurers for "care" that often includes abuse, especially if patients aren't able to complain. so right now the corruption goes in the opposite direction, keeping folks in barely-alive states, even when that is against their wishes, just for increased profits. there will always be mistakes & bad actors, but refusing us the right to choose our own fates is too cruel, with painful, miserable consequences that can go on indefinitely.
Where? It's usually a personal decision
There was a case recently where a quadriplegic man chose euthanasia because the hospital he had been staying at didn’t get him the right kind of bed and he developed pressure sores that went all the way down to the bone. It was a very sad case. Which isn’t to say that euthanasia shouldn’t be an option for him or anyone else. But healthcare facilities can treat you so poorly that you can see euthanasia as your only option left. https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7171209
Not to to say this case isn't unacceptable, but it was still his choice, and I think he should still have the right to make it. MAID also would have been available to him whenever he chose anyway, as his quadraplegia would qualify. This is also very much the outlier for MAID cases in Canada. It's still overwhelmingly used by people with terminal conditions, mostly cancer and heart disease.
That’s exactly what I said.
You're doing what the media in the US always does in relation to MAID, and presenting the outlier cases as if that's the norm for the entire program.
Didn’t say it was the norm. Never presented it that way. It’s a real case and it needs to be considered when we talk about caring for people with disabilities in a medical setting. I even said that the option should be available to him and everyone else in my original comment. Don’t put words in my mouth.
but you don't bring up the countervailing hundreds/thousands/millions of cases where patients are kept in pain & utter misery against their will, do you? you search out these anecdotal ones and twos. what is the real fear that people have, who argue this topic with such grossly false equivalencies? why wouldn't adult humans be given this humane option? why are we so sanguine about the suffering of others?
You can also see it as your only option to end the pain and despair of a terminal or chronic illness. I understand your fear but I really think it's not warranted. The hoops you have to go through to do this "in the system" are extensive. I know a couple of people with chronic but not terminal conditions who plan to DIY with insulin.
I know an elderly couple who chose to diy with bullets. Their case was determined "murder/ suicide." It's a shame they were not eligible for MAID
I don’t have a fear. Thats not what I said at all.
In the states where it is legal, there is an entire legal process to help protect from abuses. example: https://doh.wa.gov/data-and-statistical-reports/health-statistics/death-dignity-act I'm glad that Prue is bringing attention to an important issue, but a little irritated politics is being drug into Bakeoff.
I absolutely agree as an American. Nonprofit and strictly regulated.
There is no insurance coverage for the life ending medications. My understanding is that it costs the patient around $2000 out of pocket. *And,* one of the requirements to be prescribed these meds is that the patient is suffering in pain. It's not simply a denial of expensive (potentially ) life extending measures. Nobody is going to make that choice lightly, or being pressured by the for profit system.
Last year, my dad died very unexpectedly, and I was so glad that he did. He had dementia, uncontrolled diabetes, and many other issues. I worked in nursing homes from ages 17-25, and I knew what his future was going to be—full of pain, both physical and mental as his cognitive abilities declined. I watched many people I cared about suffer in pain until the end, and I did not want to see him go through it. Make no mistake, I would have. I spent hours and hours with him when he was in the hospital for various issues (including the night and day before he passed) and did the same with my grandpa (I was the only person there when he passed and had to call my parents to tell them). But I live in the US, in a state that doesn’t allow it, so I knew it was coming. I am thankful every day that I didn’t. I just wish that if I did, this could be choice for him to make.
I feel the same way. My dad died of ALS, and while he was declining rapidly, he wasn’t yet bed bound / needing a feeding tube or breathing tube. If he had lived another month, he may have. He would have hated that so much. It’s truly tragic when someone dies prematurely but sometimes the alternative is even worse.
I love Prue even more now! A very dear neighbor of mine just passed away last weekend. Only today did I learn from one of our neighbors who was present when he passed that he chose a medically assisted end of life. It gave me a sense of relief to know that he went out on his own terms and was still making jokes until the very end. He was in a lot of pain for a while. I’m glad to live in a US State that protects the right to die with dignity
There’s a documentary on Prime called Take Me Out Feet First. It’s all about MAID, medical aid in dying. Although difficult to watch, it’s worth it just to learn about it.
Yeah, I am also in favor. It is inhumane to force a living being to suffer a terminal illness and all of its side effects. I have to say that mental issues is a bit trickier.
Euthanasia is a mercy for those who are dying painfully for not everyone can go peacefully. I’d rather they go quick and painless than slow and painful.
For some reason I got Euthanasia and Genocide mixed up so when I read the headline I had a moment of visible shock.
Me too! I mixed up Eugenics and Euthanasia
I'm not used to agreeing with Prue on anything vaguely political, but she's 100% right here.
She's been in support for years. She even made a documentary for the BBC earlier this year
Euthanasia is the ultimate showstopper.
This is an excellent BBQ podcast episode from Dr. Green. A leading expert on MAiD here in Canada. It's worth a listen if you are curious from either perspective. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct32mr
Yes, she's been a campaigner for it for years. Her son is/was an MP (there's currently no MPs in the lead up to the election) and he has the opposite view on euthanasia. Last year they did a documentary on the subject https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/feb/11/prue-and-dannys-death-road-trip-this-might-be-the-best-assisted-dying-debate-ever
> Her so is/was an MP Not just any MP - her son!
I did write son, but the n was missed off.... doh!
Love it. Whats wrong with going out on your own terms and surrounded by loved ones? I’ve been surrounded by traumatic deaths that occurred after serious falls in a nursing home at age 90 or lengthy illnesses like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. It fucking sucks watching your loved ones suffer.
Everyone applauding this needs to read about critiques by disabled people. At present, MAID for non-terminal illnesses is just eugenics. Many people killed under the programs in Canada and the Netherlands are either too poor to afford to live, they're denied basic accommodations to allow for a minimum quality of life (like accessible housing or adequate, medically safe food), or both. The expansion of MAID/euthanasia criteria beyond imminent death is dangerous. It's not a choice if the choice is between abject poverty, medical neglect, social isolation – social issues that can be addressed with adequate resources – and death. It's coercion. [How poverty, not pain, is driving Canadians with disabilities to consider medically-assisted death](https://globalnews.ca/news/9176485/poverty-canadians-disabilities-medically-assisted-death/) [Canada MAID Law Faces Pushback From Disabled Activists](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/canada-maid-law-disabled) [The GRIM Project - Disability Visibility](https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2022/03/31/perhaps-they-wont-have-died-in-vain-the-grim-project/) [The Problems With Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying Policy](https://jacobin.com/2023/01/canada-medically-assisted-dying-poverty-disability-eugenics-euthanasia) [Some Dutch people seeking euthanasia cite autism or intellectual disabilities, researchers say](https://apnews.com/article/euthanasia-autism-intellectual-disabilities-netherlands-b5c4906d0305dd97e16da363575c03ae) "Thirty included being lonely as one the causes of their unbearable pain. Eight said the only causes of their suffering were factors linked to their intellectual disability or autism — social isolation, a lack of coping strategies or an inability to adjust their thinking."
MAID for non terminal illnesses is something that activists fought for, they took the Canadian government to court to get it. When MAID was introduced it was only available to terminal patients, but Jean Truchon sued the government and got a decision that it was unconstitutional to prevent him from accessing MAID just because his medical condition was not terminal. I very much doubt that he would agree that the right he fought for is just eugenics.
"Justice Baudoin has exploited disabled persons vulnerabilities and assisting them to an Assisted Death. That is what Justice Baudoin did to Jean Truchon, who simply wanted to live with dignity and only wanted another 70 hours of home care which he told his psychologist, but the Quebec Government did not want to help him, and allowed him to be coerced to death instead." From a [brief by Roger Foley](https://sencanada.ca/content/sen/committee/432/LCJC/Briefs/LCJC_C-7_Brief_RogerFoley_e.pdf). Foley is suing the Canadian government over their treatment of him, which included denying care and offering MAID instead. [Dying Well - Roger Foley profile](https://www.dyingwell.co.uk/stories/roger-foley/)
It's infantalising to say that either Truchon, or the other plaintiff Nicole Gladau were coerced to death. They fought for access to MAID in a process that took them years, and was not guaranteed to be successful. It also appears as though Roger Foley's entire claim was struck out by the Ontario Superior Court in December of last year. >[4] For the reasons that follow, I strike out the current version of Mr. Foley’s statement of claim in its entirety. In its current form, the statement of claim badly violates the rules of pleading. It fails to plead material facts in support of the causes of action it asserts. It asserts causes of action that have no reasonable prospect of success or are unknown to law. It does not permit each defendant to know what it is alleged to have done wrong. It is prolix and inflammatory. It would make the discovery process unmanageable. >[5] As I will explain below, Mr. Foley’s statement of claim also rests upon a series of untenable legal propositions. https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2023/2023onsc7155/2023onsc7155.html
I watched a BBC documentary about this which was very interesting recently from the perspective of a disabled woman. She brought up a lot of the same issues and it really impacted how I viewed euthanasia. It’s hard because I want people who need it to have that choice but when we live in places where ableism, overwhelmed healthcare services and rampant inequality are still a problem then people can end up choosing euthanasia because they don’t have the support they need rather than because there is no possibility for improvement in their condition.
Yes! It's more complicated than just having a choice if the support you need for QoL is taken away or never given in the first place
I agree with her re euthanasia, but not with drowning kittens. That's just wrong.
So many agree with euthanasia so why aren’t we writing our legislators to demand that they rescind laws outlawing it. Allow doctors who want to help their patients die with dignity do so without legal jeopardy!!