The “Face of Assisted Death in Canada”

Since so-called Medical Aid in Dying was legalized in Canada, those with severe medical conditions have been increasingly in danger. Care is becoming harder to find, while the option to die is quick, cheap, and always available.

One woman recently told her story on Twitter, 

I am the face of [assisted-death] in Canada. As a 42-year-old woman with a rare complication of lupus [and] iatrogenic injuries, I will only cost the “system”.  I want to live but can’t get the care I need [and] have been approved for MAiD.

This is what opponents of MAiD warned of all along. The so-called “right” to die with dignity quickly becomes a “duty” to die, as vulnerable people are crushed beneath economic, social, and medical pressures.  

In fact, according to demographer Lyman Stone, “Canada euthanized more people last month than the sum total of every Canadian wartime casualty since 1946.” Increasingly, those most at risk are losing the ability to choose. 

Copyright 2024 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.

One Year Ago: Arkansas House Rejected Bad End-of-Life Legislation

One year ago today the Arkansas House Representatives rejected two bad pieces of end-of-life legislation.

The first was H.B. 1685.

This bad bill would have let healthcare workers who are not physicians work through end-of-life decisions with patients and family members.

It did not require healthcare workers making these decisions to have appropriate training in end-of-life care.

The bill also would have made it easier to deny a dying person food or water.

H.B. 1685 received 31 votes. Fifty-five representatives voted against it.

The second was H.B. 1686

This bad bill would have let healthcare workers who are not physicians complete Physician Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms.

It would have removed an important provision in state law that says a POLST form is not intended to replace an advance directive.

It inadvertently would have prevented consulting physicians — such as palliative care physicians — from completing POLST forms with patients.

H.B. 1686 received 38 votes. Forty-eight representatives voted against it.

Both bills were opposed by several different groups, including:

  • National Right to Life
  • Arkansas Right to Life
  • Euthanasia Prevention Coalition USA
  • Family Council
  • Northwest Arkansas Respect Life
  • Arkansas Advocates for Nursing Home Residents

As we keep saying, being pro-life means believing that human life is sacred from conception until natural death.

It means treating human life with respect at every stage of development.

Just like abortion, euthanasia and assisted-suicide are murder, and they violate the sanctity of human life.

Murders at VA Hospital Show Why Oversight is Important in Healthcare Facilities

On Tuesday a former nursing assistant at a VA hospital in West Virginia received seven life sentences for a series of murders she carried out at the hospital in 2017 and 2018.

USA Today writes,

During a hearing Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Thomas Kleeh called Reta Mays, 46, a monster of the “worst kind. You are the monster no one sees coming.” He delivered a life sentence for each murder victim, plus 20 years for an eighth victim she tried to kill. . . .

Mays is not eligible for probation for the seven life sentences, Kleeh said. She was ordered to pay restitution to the victims’ families.

The victims ranged in age from 81 to 96 and served in the Army, Navy and Air Force during World War II and wars in Korea and Vietnam. They died at the hands of the same person, at the same place, in the same way.

According to the article, Mays killed her victims by giving them lethal doses of insulin.

The Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reportedly conducted an investigation after the murders came to light, concluding that “serious, pervasive, and deep-rooted clinical and administrative failures” at the hospital allowed the murders to go undetected for nearly a year.

“While responsibility for these criminal acts clearly lies with Ms. Mays, the OIG found inattention and missed opportunities at several junctures, which, if handled differently, might have allowed earlier detection of Ms. Mays’ actions or possibly averted them altogether,” the inspector general’s office concluded.

The murders and the inspector general’s office report illustrate why oversight is so crucial in hospitals, nursing homes, and similar facilities.

Earlier this year the Arkansas House of Representatives defeated H.B. 1685 and H.B. 1686.

These bills would have made it easier to deny food and water to people who are dying; would have made it easier to take patients off life support; and would have made it possible for healthcare workers other than doctors to make decisions about end-of-life care without appropriate training.

There also were concerns that the bills would have reduced oversight in healthcare facilities and made it easier for nursing homes to hide abuse and neglect.

That’s why groups like National Right to Life, Arkansas Right to Life, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition USA, Family Council, Northwest Arkansas Respect Life, Arkansas Advocates for Nursing Home Residents and others opposed these bills.

This story from West Virginia is a chilling reminder of what can happen when healthcare facilities don’t have appropriate safeguards in place. It’s also a reminder of why states need strong laws that protect patients — especially vulnerable patients near the end of life.