Assisted suicide offered to homeless people in Canada

[gnarlynarwhal]

I came across an article online about this earlier today and I’m shocked this is seen as acceptable by so many people in Canada. It’s advertised on the tv over there as if it’s a perfectly acceptable thing to do. The National Post is claiming that one third of Canadians think that it’s perfectly acceptable to approve medical assistance in dying ‘MAID’ to healthy people purely because they are impoverished. I find it really saddening.

These are the kinds of reasons I would oppose assisted suicide. Yet I don’t think I will ever get over the horror of watching a beloved parent dying naturally in hospital.

I think this is a topic that needs an absolute case by case approach and nuance. Prue Leith did an excellent documentary on ch4 recently with her son who is anti. She is pro. They went to Canada and saw examples of the best practice and worrying social factors being brought in.
Having nursed a friend through final stage cancer who cried every time she woke up because she didn't want to, I am in favour if it, but agree there will always be a danger of it being used wrongly and we need to have grown up discussions about it, not blanket assertions either way.

The Tories would be wetting themselves with excitement. Imagine. They could actually get rid of all the poor people 🙄

Agree.

I'm totally against it. Whilst, in theory I can understand people feeling so desperate or having such a poor quality of life, that they wish to do it and feel like they should be able to make that decision for themselves. In reality I fear it is a system which would very quickly become open to abuse and a widening of the criteria.

Well, the opposite of state sanctioned and assisted suicide is not “being forced to carry on”, is it? 🤔

Here is an article which presents the same information in a much less alarmist way, for example. Instead of "NEARLY A THIRD!!!!" it says "Less than a third". And the overall tone is about there being a divided view whereas the article linked in the OP seems to suggest everyone is just fine with it.

https://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/canadians-remain-divided-about-medical-assistance-in-dying-poll-finds-6949611

Christ! I bet there’d be a nice little check box for them to harvest donate their organs too!
Of course no one should be advocating assisted death because of homelessness/poverty, what’s the world coming to?!

I grew up in poverty, I certainly didn’t want my mum, my siblings and I putting down! And as a PP mentioned I’ve also had a bought of depression, definitely wasn’t in the right frame of mind to decide I’d be better off dead. I would never have the life and family I have now and that is unthinkable.

How could anyone think that someone else’s life is worth so little that although they’re perfectly healthy just because they’re having a shit time in life that they should be dead instead 🤯

I’m in Canada, certainly not seen any TV ads, the Gauthier story is twisted and I sense this one is as well.

Assisted suicide needs to be medical reasons. Not social problems.

I totally agree with this.

And you seriously can't see any issues with that? Any downstream consequences? Any unintended side effects?

Belgium allows euthanasia and I think its rules are fairly sensible. In essence:

• The patient must be legally competent and conscious at the moment of making the request.
• The patient must request euthanasia on two separate occasions, in writing.
• The patient must be suffering from an incurable disease or mental illness, and have no other treatment options.
• The patient must be experiencing unbearable suffering, either physically or psychologically.

Being homeless, or depressed wouldn't fit these criteria, thank goodness

OFGS, a minority say it's a good idea if people want it, it's not being pushed as mandatory - it's an idea that's being floated in an opinion poll!

This is terrible. 'They shoot horses don't they?'

It used to be that suicides were labelled as " of unsound mind" when cause of death was determined and I do genuinely think that someone's mental health must be compromised in some way to want to die if there's no good reason.

It's the thin end of the wedge....ooo, let's make life so shit for groups of people that we don't care for that they'll want to do it voluntarily.🙄

I used to be 100% in favour, but Canada is doing an incredible job of convincing me that I could not have been more wrong.

Canada is a cesspit right now. Doesn't help that Trudeau is prime minister. I used to live in Canada and DH is a born and raised Canadian. Honestly, the way Canada has gone downhill so fast makes me so glad we had our DD here and not there. You couldn't pay me to go back!! When I worked in downtown Toronto, I regularly saw commuters come out Union Station and then literally step OVER homeless people on the street. Disgusting behaviour. It's got even worse now 😞

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-services-benefits/medical-assistance-dying.html
the guidelines

This. All under the monstrous Trudeau. I was told right here on MN that it was all Twitter nonsense when I mentioned this, note they’re also trying to allow teenagers to use MAiD too. I also spoke of the man in is fifties who says he’s a woman and is allowed to compete in swimming competitions and change with teenage girls. Also that multiple First Nations communities STILL live under boil water advisories with no end in sight. All these dismissed as unimportant Twitter hype too.

I was in a relationship with a Man who is First Nation Canadian, living and working in the UK. He used to call Canada “God’s Country!” whenever he spoke of it. He is in despair at the state of it now.

Well, it doesn't really exist, does it?

Same as in the UK, it's only token gestures as there isn't the budget for anything more.

I tried to look for info on how the poll takers were recruited, it wasn't available anywhere. It just said 1000 respondents matched demographically to Canada as a whole using census data.

But for example it would probably make a difference to how people respond if you had recruited participants from say mumsnet vs reddit.

I guess it's so much easier to watch the mother you dearly loved, die slowly and painfully for weeks due to the shit "palliative" care we have in Scotland

There should be a minimum age and exceptions below this made only for people with terminal illness.

This is how I feel about it too.

This article is clearly slanted. They've taken bits of info and woven it together to make it sound like Canadians want to off anyone not contributing to society. Its inaccurate and sad to see so many people unable to read critically and see the piece for the propaganda it is.

I'm in favour of assisted dying if a person has a terminal illness, confirmed by at least 2 doctors.

I don't agree with how it's being taken to the nth degree like in Canada.

Mental illness is not a terminal illness. With the right support it can be alleviated. Homelessness can be alleviated too, again with the right support. So is it (sorry, TW and possibly insensitive) a cost issue why Canada isn't helping it's citizens with their problems?

I remember seeing the suicide booths in "Futurama" and being shocked, but how far away is Canada from that kind of attitude?