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.

message deleted, as I didn't read all thread.

Me too. I used to admire Canada, what the hell has happened to it?

Having a mental illness does not automatically mean you can't make decisions

I've managed to find one of the articles.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/christine-gauthier-paralympian-euthanasia-canada-b2238319.html

The article is sensationalist.

At the very bottom, it states the figures come from 1000 people polled online over 2 days.

Given than Canada has over 38 million citizens, it seems hardly legal for them to state 'Canada thinks'....

That’s completely horrifying! This is the reason I oppose all legalised assisted dying because I don’t trust that it would be used in terminal cases when someone is in physical pain to ease their suffering and dignity. It seems to very rapidly ease into eugenics. Totally facist.

Yes, indeed. 😥

With a due respect for your loss why would anything be different in Canada? In your grief you wanted to die but ultimately you decided not to chose suicide.

In this article, some there are arguments as to whether MAID policies are to blame.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/11/canada-cases-right-to-die-laws

Another troubling case in Canada:

https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-toronto-7c631558a457188d2bd2b5cfd360a867

As a Canadian in the UK, I am embarrassed and ashamed but mostly perplexed. This has all come about from a liberal, ‘open’ #bekind, and conformist perspective. Started with assisted dying for the terminally ill, which has an argument, but someone, somewhere felt it could and should be available for mental health, not just physical health. That’s when the liberal thinking transformed into woolly and uncritical thinking. The literal epitome of good intentions paving the way to hell.

I've posted links to some of the articles I read. They seem to suggest that a terminal diagnosis is no longer required.

BTW: "may or may not have read"? You thought that I was making it up?

And, yet, the law remains as I stated it.

Ms Gauthier claimed that she had a letter, from her veteran affairs caseworker, offering to support her in an application for assisted suicide.

It turned out there was no such letter, so she then said it was an oral offer (there is no actual record of it, but perhaps it happened).

Even if there was an ‘offer’ exactly as she described, the person who allegedly made it was not a medical professional and would have had zero decision making authority.

Yes, you worked in mental health support services.

They only reach a portion of those that need them.

Until mental health support is available for everyone that needs it, it's not relevant to say that with help people can 'recover', because for many, many people, that help is not and will not be available.

The thing is though that once a person has committed suicide there is no going back. A person could be suicidal and a year later their life could be totally different.

I've had conversations with friends and family regarding assisted suicide - some healthy, some ill. Some have said they would assist if requested, and others have said they would accept assisted suicide in some situations if available. There is some overlap of the two, and also some who wouldn't use or assist.

Does that mean I can now say that assisted suicide is offered and requested within the UK?

I just meant that I have no idea what articles you’ve read.

And actually, I did mistate the law. Currently terminally ill people or people with a serious and incurable illness, disease or disability (but excluding people with mental health conditions) can seek medically assisted dying. It’s the exclusion of people with mental health conditions that is being removed after a successful legal challenge (though the mental health condition would need to be grievous and untreatable, so wouldn’t cover a bout of depression….although if someone was depressed for decades and medical professionals agreed it was untreatable, they might be able to argue eligibility).

The law ie bill C-14 was amended to allow people who are not terminally ill to choose death, but also any adult with a serious illness, disease or disability that causes suffering can seek help in dying.

The govt is looking to adding mental health conditions to the list of those who are eligible.

Here is an interesting article from the BMJ on MAiD.

Well, as with homelessness, the solution isn't to offer assisted dying because services are inadequate and, to be honest, I think some people's mental health just gradually improved irrespective of the services they were offered. (Obviously this doesn't happen with severe mental illnesses ).

Sorry, I’m not sure you understood my post - I think it’s abhorrent to be offering euthanasia to people seeking help for suicidal thoughts.

I'm not homeless and I'd take this option if it was available. I think it should be available to all for whatever reason they want. Why should you be forced to stay alive if you don't want to be?

You can be mentally ill but still have capacity though.

@Delpf it's wonderful that you recovered, but the fact of the matter is that very many people do not. The people who had an assisted suicide in the Netherlands for mental health reasons had all been suffering for as long as you did, or longer. Forcing someone into that is cruel and inhumane - rapists get shorter prison sentences. Why is it acceptable to make someone go through that when they do not want to, just because it makes the rest of us feel better? My cousin developed severe psychosis in his twenties and committed suicide in his late thirties. He jumped off a building, causing enormous trauma to the people who witnessed it. He had a family. This was before the advent of modern antipsychotics, which would probably have helped him, but he would have had to wait and suffer for another 15 years on top of the decade plus he had already endured - he and everyone around him. There has to be a time when, on a case by case basis and after rigorous assessment, someone is able to say 'enough'. To do otherwise is to beat people to death with the hope of recovery.

And to all those posters catastrophising about teenagers being able to walk into a clinic because they've fallen out with their friends - give over already. Nobody, nobody, nobody has EVER advocated for that. Stop it with the zero sum bullshit thinking and engage with the complexities of the issue.

Well said. So many morally superior people on this thread who I'm sure do nothing to help homeless in their own communities