Canada wrestles with euthanasia for the mentally ill.

[Social Media]

As Canada prepares to expand its euthanasia law to include those with mental illness, some Canadians - including many of the country's doctors - question whether the country's assisted death programme has already moved too far, too fast.

Dr Madeline Li can recall the first patient she helped die, about one month after Canada first legalised euthanasia in 2016. "I remember just how surreal it was," she said.

A psychiatrist at Toronto's Princess Margaret Hospital, she recalled checking on her patient that day, asking if she had the right music and final meal, and if she was sure she wanted to go ahead. The patient, in her mid-60s and suffering from ovarian cancer, said she was.

[BritManToo]

They should have a national vote, with all those voting against agreeing to pay an extra tax to pay for the mentally ill they choose to live. Democracy with responsibility! 

[pgrahmm]

Dangerous ground, leaving the fate of people to the prevailing powers that be - to declare mental illness & euthanasia....

Any dissident or truck driver that's dissatisfied could be legally declared as mentally ill and "removed" or their assets seized (for their own good)....

Any group could be targeted - see WW2...

[Bluespunk]

3 hours ago, Black Ops said:

As Canada prepares to expand its euthanasia law to include those with mental illness

How can you be sure that someone with mental illness has made an informed decision when deciding on euthanasia or whether that decision is due to their mental illness?

[RuamRudy]

14 hours ago, BritManToo said:

They should have a national vote, with all those voting against agreeing to pay an extra tax to pay for the mentally ill they choose to live. Democracy with responsibility! 

Do you really want to live in a society where the decision on whether to support the most vulnerable is put to a plebiscite? 

[Hanaguma]

12 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

How can you be sure that someone with mental illness has made an informed decision when deciding on euthanasia or whether that decision is due to their mental illness?

That is the key point. Nail on the head. Can informed consent be given by people who are not fully functioning mentally?  There have been disturbing reports of military veterans suffering from PTSD who call government operated help-lines, only to be offered suicide as the solution to their ills.  In 2021, more than 10,000 assisted suicides were done- a big number for a small country. It makes cynical/paranoid people worry that this is being done at least in part to relieve the burden on the public health care system, and bureaucrats deciding who are or are not 'worthless eaters'.

 

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

[2009]

12 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

Dangerous ground, leaving the fate of people to the prevailing powers that be - to declare mental illness & euthanasia....

Any dissident or truck driver that's dissatisfied could be legally declared as mentally ill and "removed" or their assets seized (for their own good)....

Any group could be targeted - see WW2...

Well, I just got a document from the #1 hospital in Thailand saying I am not retarded so I guess I am safe, for now.

[gargamon]

22 minutes ago, 2009 said:

Well, I just got a document from the #1 hospital in Thailand saying I am not retarded so I guess I am safe, for now.

Maybe you should get a second opinion. ????

[pegman]

14 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

Dangerous ground, leaving the fate of people to the prevailing powers that be - to declare mental illness & euthanasia....

Any dissident or truck driver that's dissatisfied could be legally declared as mentally ill and "removed" or their assets seized (for their own good)....

Any group could be targeted - see WW2...

So better to let people die a slow death in agony? How about the BBC do some reporting in their own backyard concerning that? How many in their UK are in  excruciating pain waiting for the end to come? I live in Canada and this law was long overdue and is very popular. I've seen no huge debate taking place. Some religious crackpots maybe but like their whining about us having no abortion law no one in the mainstream pay any attention. Acceptable procedures are in place so that  no one is coerced into entering the system. As for the case officer that suggested this way out to veterans that person was tracked down and given the boot.  

[BritManToo]

3 hours ago, RuamRudy said:

Do you really want to live in a society where the decision on whether to support the most vulnerable is put to a plebiscite? 

I'm not Canadian, I don't live there and never will.

Edited January 15, 2023 by BritManToo

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, pegman said:

So better to let people die a slow death in agony? How about the BBC do some reporting in their own backyard concerning that? How many in their UK are in  excruciating pain waiting for the end to come? I live in Canada and this law was long overdue and is very popular. I've seen no huge debate taking place. Some religious crackpots maybe but like their whining about us having no abortion law no one in the mainstream pay any attention. Acceptable procedures are in place so that  no one is coerced into entering the system. As for the case officer that suggested this way out to veterans that person was tracked down and given the boot.  

You should perhaps find out the facts about end of life care in the UK before posting such nonsense.

[CharlieH]

Troll comments removed.

[Chomper Higgot]

The central problem with this idea of euthanasia for the mentally ill is the logical fact that those suffering mental illness are not able to make sound mind decisions.

 

This then leads to the problem of others making the decision to end their life on the behalf of the patient.

 

The only possible way I see to avoid the problems that raises is the enactment of a living will, made while sound of mind, specifying end of life treatments.

 

Even there the person signing the will needs to be in possession of medical knowledge they almost certainly don’t have.

 

[Hanaguma]

3 hours ago, pegman said:

So better to let people die a slow death in agony? How about the BBC do some reporting in their own backyard concerning that? How many in their UK are in  excruciating pain waiting for the end to come? I live in Canada and this law was long overdue and is very popular. I've seen no huge debate taking place. Some religious crackpots maybe but like their whining about us having no abortion law no one in the mainstream pay any attention. Acceptable procedures are in place so that  no one is coerced into entering the system. As for the case officer that suggested this way out to veterans that person was tracked down and given the boot.  

I am with you in principle (fellow Canuckistanian here) but there have been cases where very inappropriate, to put it mildly, suggestions have been made to potential victims.  Doctors telling people "you DO know that your care is costing more than $1,500 a day...." and the like.  It is all too easy for people already made vulnerable by their situation to be pushed into hasty decisions.  The article I posted has some truly troubling cases.

 

Ten thousand people in a year is a LOT. 

[pegman]

19 hours ago, Hanaguma said:

I am with you in principle (fellow Canuckistanian here) but there have been cases where very inappropriate, to put it mildly, suggestions have been made to potential victims.  Doctors telling people "you DO know that your care is costing more than $1,500 a day...." and the like.  It is all too easy for people already made vulnerable by their situation to be pushed into hasty decisions.  The article I posted has some truly troubling cases.

 

Ten thousand people in a year is a LOT. 

Greetings from the Great White North, safeguards are in place.  My understanding is 2 doctors are required to sign off on each case. I find a few isolated instances were inappropriate comments may have been made  in the country of nearly 40m not very concerning.  With the ideological and Christian right looking under every rock for evidence to discredit the law I'm surprised more hasn't come to light.  What needs to be kept in mind is that this hasn't been in place all that many years. There obviously is much pent up demand. The one person  I know of that followed through with this was my daughter-in-law's aunt who suffered from Parkinson's disease for over two decades. Everything went as well as could be expected.  Her family was very grateful that her suffering had finally ended.  For as I'm concerned countries like the U.K. that don't have this procedure are just being plain cruel. 

[Chomper Higgot]

2 hours ago, pegman said:

Greetings from the Great White North, safeguards are in place.  My understanding is 2 doctors are required to sign off on each case. I find a few isolated instances were inappropriate comments may have been made  in the country of nearly 40m not very concerning.  With the ideological and Christian right looking under every rock for evidence to discredit the law I'm surprised more hasn't come to light.  What needs to be kept in mind is that this hasn't been in place all that many years. There obviously is much pent up demand. The one person  I know of that followed through with this was my daughter-in-law's aunt who suffered from Parkinson's disease for over two decades. Everything went as well as could be expected.  Her family was very grateful that her suffering had finally ended.  For as I'm concerned countries like the U.K. that don't have this procedure are just being plain cruel. 

“For as I'm concerned countries like the U.K. that don't have this procedure are just being plaincruel. ”

Once again, I suggest you get a better understanding of end of life care in the UK before posting such nonsense.