Friday, January 15, 2016

First euthanasia death in Québec.

By Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

This is a very sad announcement. According to the media, Québec had its first euthanasia death in the the national capital region. Québec has defined euthanasia as a form of healthcare. 

The article by Simon Boivin that was published in LaPresse reported (google translated):
"There was a request that was made and where end of life care was provided, have gone to the end," says Annie Ouellet, spokesperson CIUSSS Capitale-Nationale. "And there is a second application that is being evaluated." 
In the case of the patient to whom the protocol was applied in full, the assisted dying has not been given at home, but in an establishment of CIUSSS, added the spokesman.

...The person must be of age, able to consent to care, suffering from a serious and incurable illness and experiencing constant and unbearable physical and psychological suffering.

Only a doctor has the right to inject a lethal dose to a patient, after having obtained the independent opinion of a second doctor in meeting the conditions to be met.A doctor can refuse to offer assistance to die, but the institution that hiring should meet the demand of the patient.
EPC urges the doctors to treat patients with excellent pain and symptom management and not lethal injection.

On December 1, Québec Superior Court Justice Michel Pinsonneault correctly prevented the Québec euthanasia law from coming into effect until the federal government amended the Criminal Code provisions prohibiting euthanasia. On December 22, the Quebec Court of Appeal overturned the Pinsoneault decision.


Joanne St Pierre said...

Unfortunately the black tsunami has begun in the killing fields of a Canadian province...Hitler would be quite pleased as his battle continues without him. This is the real personification of evil and an extremely deadly experiment in destroying the belief in this country that we have always supported the dignity and sanctity of life.

HEIL HITLER!!!!!!!!!!

Tamara Borley said...

This is not awful. Why would you allow your terminally ill family member to suffer for possibly another 10 years. Why would you want to see them in pain and agony and allow them to remain that way. How is it fair? If they cant take anymore or cant fight anymore and they choose to end it that's their right. I think as long as its controlled properly it is a good thing. I know if I was ill to the point of laying in a bed having people wipe my ass constantly I would want out.

Ak Rhodes said...

Tamara: You know your family member is going to suffer for 10 years? Tell me the lottery numbers!! And it is unethical for someone to be in agony, so that medical ignorance should be dealt with first and foremost. If they can't go on, how do you know someone didn't plant that thought in their head? And how do you account for steering and mental illness? By definition - yours - someone in agony can't be thinking straight...

Anonymous said...

I understand what you are saying and no i would never want a loved one to suffer and die in agony. However it has been statistically proven in Belgium that there are no rules or regulations that can prevent abuse following approval of this law. Assisted suicide goes against our constitutional rights in this country and it is my strong belief that euthanasia and/or assisted suicide is not health care and should not be included in our public health system thereby forcing health care professionals to kill their patients. The only answer is excellent pain management and palliative care across the life span. Euthanasia is death care, not health care!!!!!imho.

Cdnkid said...

In the case of my Mother who passed with throat cancer, they did put the idea of giving up in her head...At the hospital in Calgary in 1996 a group of University students were allowed to come in and interview my Mother about her thoughts on euthanasia as she was nearing the end of her life(late October-she passed away in mid December)- definitely without my permission... She went downhill very quickly after that and I will always feel they were partially responsible for that terrible downturn in her mental state and lack of will to live...
Kathleen Foster

Jule Koch said...

Tamara, it is impossible to kill someone without doing violence to them. If it is inhumane to kill a convicted criminal by injecting them with poisonous drugs, why is it humane to do exactly the same thing to a sick person?
Would you still think it's great to kill a sick person if some other method was used, such as shooting, stabbing or beheading? They're all quicker and cheaper than poisoning. How can murder and suicide be the solution to suffering? Would you protect a sick family member if a criminal broke into their home and wanted to kill them? Or would you say, "OK, you'll be putting them out of their misery, so go ahead"?
We have never killed suffering people before. Why have we started killing people now?
The justice system no longer executes people but now the health care system has started to execute people and appointed doctors as the executioners. The state is not our friend when it grabs the right to kill us.
Joanne St. Pierre is right on. We judged the Germans too harshly. We judged Jim Jones too harshly - he only killed 900 people. Canada has drunk the Kool Aid and will soon be killing thousands.

Robin Yates said...

I think that my doctors here in B. C. CANADA tried to kill me. A federal judge has looked at the evidence and also thinks the same.So far the authorities are doing nothing about it, as far as I know. This is why I think doctors can not be given any more power that they already have.