THE SLIPPERY SLOPE IS VERY REAL.
Around the world people are being emotionally blackmailed into believing that Euthanasia is ‘compassionate’ and that it helps people to ‘Die with Dignity.’ The unstated corollary is that a natural death — or dying with palliative care — is neither dignified nor compassionate.
Terms like ‘unbearable suffering’ are used to make us feel guilty, despite the fact that physical pain is an infrequent reason causing people to request Euthanasia. The statistics from Oregon show that most requests arise from some existential crisis: “The most frequently reported end-of-life concerns were loss of autonomy (87%), decreasing ability to participate in activities that made life enjoyable (90%), and loss of dignity (72%. ) Proper palliation can almost always help physical pain and can do a lot to resolve many existential crises.
The Dying with Dignity Act 2020 — An Bille um Bás Dínitiúil, 2020 — is before Oireachtas Éireann right now. If anyone in Ireland is still naïve enough to think that there is no slippery slope please look at what is happening in Canada and the Netherlands. (More information in my reviews of An Bille um Bás Dínitiúil, 2020 and Euthanasia in Canada.)
In 2015, only six years ago, the Supreme Court of Canada legalized Voluntary Euthanasia. Parliament enacted it as law 2016 through Bill C-14 and it is now euphemistically called ‘Medical Assistance in Dying’ [MAiD]. (Part of the con job is the frequent use of euphemism to soften the reality of the direct and intentional killing of sick people.)
In 2019 a lower court in Canada — the Québec Superior Court — ruled that MAiD/Voluntary Euthanasia cannot be limited to people whose natural death is "reasonably foreseeable." Bill C-7 was drafted to enact that amendment into the criminal code and is now before Parliament. The unelected Senate added a clause to C-7 intending to allow voluntary euthanasia to be administered with consent provided in a ‘Prior Directive’ or ‘Advanced Directive.’ (Through an Advanced Directive a person can consent ahead of time so when they become incompetent, their wishes are clear — in this case to receive “Voluntary” Euthanasia. Advanced directives were specifically excluded by the Supreme Court of Canada when they ruling that a person must be competent at the time of administration of Euthanasia so they are capable of withdrawing any previous consent.) That clause has since been removed by the House of Commons but the Bill must return to the Senate for further review and possible reinstatement.
What is even more serious is that as written, Bill C-7 will allow euthanasia within 18-24 months for people suffering solely from a mental illness. This is the death of all suicide prevention for depression and mental illnesses in Canada. Please listen to the 4-minute video below and imagine what would happen in the future to someone like Lia if this law is enacted.
“I’m the future version of myself who survived to tell you this.”
Garifalia (Lia) Milousis. (http://www.TellMeToStay.ca/)
One related, very offensive case occurred in the Netherlands in 2016. A doctor decided that the prior directive of an 80-year-old woman who had wished to die “when the time was right” should be enacted. First, she attempted to sedate the elderly woman by slipping medication into her coffee. The lady woke up, resisted the attempts to kill her and said “NO” several times. The doctor then asked the family to hold her down while she administered the fatal medication. It was no surprise to most observers when Judge Mariette Renckens ruled in 2019 that, "all requirements of the euthanasia legislation" had been met…
MAiD has even become a regular ‘therapeutic option’ in Canada. In 2018, 42-year-old Roger Foley from Ontario wanted to live at home despite his serious, neuro-degenerative disease. He was admitted back to hospital when he found the home-care provided was inadequate. He recorded being offered Euthanasia as an alternative to a forced discharge or being billed $1,800 per day for the hospital stay. (MAiD under coercion is illegal.) Disability rights groups have condemned Bill C-7 because it will devalue the life of every disabled person — like Roger — who will come under increasing societal pressures to end their life prematurely.
In 2018 The Council of Canadian Academies published 3 reports on specific scenarios put to them by the government:
· The State of Knowledge on Medical Assistance in Dying Where a Mental Disorder is the Sole Underlying Medical Condition;
· The State of Knowledge on Advance Requests for Medical Assistance in Dying;
· The State of Knowledge on Medical Assistance in Dying for Mature Minors.
Clearly, two of these issues are already being drafted into law so the next big push will be to legalize euthanasia for “Mature Minors.” (Adolescents and children down to ~12 years of age.) Then the push will be for Infanticide and euthanasia of children under 12 years of age as is legal in the Netherlands. Euthanasia is part of the coordinated attack at every stage of Human Development.
Taking one’s own life — or being killed by some other person — cannot be ‘dignified,’ especially when the choice to do so is precipitated by an existential crisis or a lack of self-worth.
Be careful what you wish for, Ireland.
Kevin is a UCD grad & a rural Family Physician in Alberta, Canada.
You can follow him on Twitter @kevinhay77 (Please, be careful on Anti-Social Media.)
Shocking.