{"id":2595,"date":"2018-03-16T18:10:07","date_gmt":"2018-03-16T18:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tvndy.ca\/?p=2595\/"},"modified":"2018-10-24T16:55:44","modified_gmt":"2018-10-24T16:55:44","slug":"webcast-archive-lawsuit-stereotypes-and-prisons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2018\/03\/webcast-archive-lawsuit-stereotypes-and-prisons\/","title":{"rendered":"Webcast archive: Lawsuit, stereotypes, and prisons"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1180\" height=\"664\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OSNI190N43E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In this episode of\u00a0<em>Euthanasia &amp; Disability<\/em>, Amy Hasbrouck, Christian Debray and Taylor Hyatt discuss:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>News flash! An Ontario man files lawsuit demanding self-directed home care instead of assisted suicide<\/li>\n<li>Disability, stereotypes and assisted suicide \u2013 part 2<\/li>\n<li>Assisted suicide and euthanasia in Canadian prisons<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Please note that this text is only a script and that our webcast contains additional commentary.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NEWS FLASH! AN ONTARIO MAN FILES LAWSUIT DEMANDING SELF-DIRECTED HOME CARE INSTEAD OF ASSISTED SUICIDE<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>CTV News is reporting that a 42-year-old London, Ontario man, Roger Foley, has filed suit in Ontario Superior Court against the attorneys general of Ontario and Canada, as well as several health and social service agencies, asking for self-directed home-care services.\u00a0 Foley was hospitalized two years ago after home health aides furnished by providers contracted by the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) endangered his life and health on multiple occasions.\u00a0 His application to Ontario\u2019s Self-Directed Personal Support Services program was denied, and administrative delays have stalled the appeal of his denial.<\/li>\n<li>The complaint claims that the Victoria Hospital and the LHIN \u201cviolated Mr. Foley\u2019s Charter rights to life, liberty and security of the person when they met with Mr. Foley to discuss contemporaneously forced discharge or [Medical Assistance in Dying] as Options for him without providing Mr. Foley with any support for a safe and available self-directed assisted care option that would substantially alleviate his irremediable and intolerable suffering.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>For more information, visit\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/assistedlife.ca\/\">http:\/\/assistedlife.ca<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>DISABILITY, STEREOTYPES, AND ASSISTED SUICIDE<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Today, we\u2019re continuing our discussion on disability and stereotypes, by looking at the effect of stereotypes on assisted suicide and euthanasia (AS\/E). Last week, we examined common media images of disabled people, as dependent, bitter and self-pitying, evil, freakish or as \u201csuper cripples\u201d. In their 2007\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.academia.edu\/22463309\/Victims_and_Victors_Representation_of_Physical_Disability_on_the_Silver_Screen\">article<\/a>\u00a0examining 18 films where the central character has a disability, Rhonda S. Black and Lori Pretes add the \u201cbetter dead than disabled\u201d stereotype to that list.<\/li>\n<li>Movies like \u201cMe Before You\u201d and \u201cMillion-Dollar Baby\u201d show characters rejecting their newly-acquired disability identity. In these alternate universes, there is no such thing as independent living, accessible environments, disability rights, or other disabled people who are satisfied with their lives. \u201cA cure\u201d or \u201cdeath\u201d are the only acceptable options.<\/li>\n<li>Since a cure is not possible, the newly disabled person can only \u201cescape\u201d the \u201chorror\u201d of disability through death. Anyone who tries to discourage their self-destruction is considered a busybody who \u201ccannot possibly understand\u201d the character\u2019s \u201chopeless\u201d situation.<\/li>\n<li>These films portray disability as causing \u201cdependence, misery, and deprivation of autonomy,\u201d whereas these problems are really caused by public policies, prejudice and external barriers. Without necessary emotional support and other resources, suicide is shown as a reasonable response to disability, even though it\u2019s still shocking enough to attract viewers.<\/li>\n<li>When these characters choose to die, they are held up as examples of courage and determination. They\u2019re (supposedly) making a free choice, with no obstacles or constraints; using their willpower to overrule those who oppose their decision for selfish or arbitrary reasons.<\/li>\n<li>News coverage of people who want to end their lives \u2013 like Gloria Taylor (\u201cfeisty and determined,\u201d \u201cheroic\u201d), Brittany Maynard, and Jerika Bolen \u2013 looks similar to these fictional scenarios. \u00a0Ms. Maynard was called \u201ccourageous,\u201d and Ms. Bolen\u2019s hopes for \u201cfreedom\u201d were widely publicized. The \u201cbetter dead than disabled\u201d stereotype is a variation on \u201cinspiration porn\u201d with a touch of tragedy. Instead of being praised for ordinary activities like grocery shopping, disabled people seeking death become heroes by fighting a cruel society that won\u2019t allow a peaceful end to their suffering.<\/li>\n<li>Sometimes AS\/E is portrayed as a sacrifice for loved ones, to relieve them of the burden of care and witnessing the person\u2019s decline. There are a couple of problems with this:\n<ul>\n<li>Ending one\u2019s life should not be considered an intentional act of kindness toward another.<\/li>\n<li>Giving control over the conditions of their death to some people opens the door to coercion of others.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>There are many myths about medical killing sold by the \u201cbetter dead than disabled\u201d stereotype.\u00a0 People are not \u201cforced\u201d to continue living; whether AS\/E is legal or not, disabled people can (and do) commit suicide. The \u201cbetter dead than disabled\u201d person says \u201cmy existence is unbearable, so I\u2019m taking control of my life.\u201d But in fact, the person must give control to legislators to establish criteria for who is eligible, to doctors to decide if they fit the eligibility criteria, to a pharmacist to dispense the drug, and (in the case of euthanasia) to another doctor to provide the lethal injection.<\/li>\n<li>The \u201cBetter off dead\u201d stereotype carries warped expectations,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/toronto\/sars-doctor-donald-low-s-posthumous-plea-for-assisted-suicide-1.1866332\">as summarized by Donald Low<\/a>\u00a0in his posthumous plea for legalization of AS\/E, when he said \u201cYou drink a cocktail and you fall asleep and you do this in the presence of your family.\u201d\n<ul>\n<li>AS\/E does not guarantee that death will be peaceful and free of complications.<\/li>\n<li>It does not mean that family and friends will be present in your last moments, and that the atmosphere will be loving and harmonious.<\/li>\n<li>Dying by lethal injection is not \u201cdrifting off to sleep.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Like \u201cdeath with dignity,\u201d these are euphemisms meant to hide the reality of AS\/E. Besides being cheesy and sentimental, saying the procedure leads to \u201csleep\u201d is just not true. Death is permanent. The person won\u2019t be able to feel the release promised by AS\/E promoters because they won\u2019t exist to feel anything.<\/li>\n<li>Another stereotype emerges from news accounts of \u201cdevoted\u201d elderly spouses who die within hours of each other, the loving husband who releases his wife from a painful illness by helping her to die, murder-suicide, or suicide pacts, all offered as the pinnacle of romantic love. \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC2685270\/\">Researchers have found<\/a>\u00a0that behind such events often lurks a history of domestic violence, and romantic portrayals in the press can encourage suicide contagion.<\/li>\n<li>We pointed out last week that stereotypes exist in part to maintain the social order.\u00a0 We are now facing an evolving social order where the quality of life with a disability is diminished by poverty, isolation and forced institutionalization, then labeled as unbearable. Activists who challenge this system (like J.J. Hanson) are not recognized for their efforts.\u00a0 Anyone who lives with a disability or illness after having been \u201cnormal\u201d risks being called \u201cundignified.\u201d\u00a0 On the other hand, people who seek death are praised and celebrated (like Brittany Maynard) as a new kind of hero who acknowledge that they are \u201cbetter dead than disabled.\u201d\u00a0 What does that say about our society?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>CBC STORY ON ASSISTED SUICIDE IN CANADIAN PRISONS<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>At the end of February, CBC News published a story on access to assisted suicide in Canadian prisons, after an inmate in a federal prison became the first to die by euthanasia. Applications made by three more people have been approved. \u00a0None of the responses to the story have come from a disability rights point of view, though, so we thought we should discuss it.<\/li>\n<li>Ivan Zinger, an investigator for Correctional Services Canada, the body overseeing Canada\u2019s federal prisons, wrote a letter to the organization\u2019s acting commissioner, saying that guidelines allowing assisted suicide in prisons \u201c[breach] the system&#8217;s legal and ethical obligations.\u201d He proposed that terminally ill prisoners should instead \u201cbe given conditional release on \u2018humanitarian and compassionate\u2019 grounds.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Disability rights advocates often talk about institutions restricting the freedoms of disabled residents. Usually, we\u2019re referring to nursing homes, where meals, showers, and bedtimes are scheduled for the good of the facility. Prisons are worse \u2013 besides the lack of accessibility, inmates are treated as less than human. Although palliative care is supposed to be available in prison, the reality often doesn\u2019t meet even basic standards.\u00a0 Services are provided too late to be useful, loved ones\u2019 visits are limited, and medical professionals often hesitate to give adequate pain medication.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Adelina\u00a0Iftene, a prison law expert at Dalhousie University, worries that some people will choose assisted suicide as an escape from these horrible conditions. She noted that a person cannot fully consent to assisted suicide if they are \u201cpressured\u201d by external circumstances (an argument we\u2019ve heard somewhere before).<\/li>\n<li>We can\u2019t leave out the fact that people of color and indigenous people are overrepresented in Canada\u2019s prison system, due to the many effects of systemic racism. As well, prison has become the go-to \u201cresidential option\u201d for people with psychiatric disabilities because mental health resources are scarce and underfunded. Assisted suicide does nothing to address these combined forms of discrimination and oppression. Instead, it\u2019s another sign of inhumane treatment being ignored.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n   ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\n<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nThis week, we discuss the Ontario man who filed a lawsuit for self-directed personal assistance, disability stereotypes, and euthanasia in Canadian prisons.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2018\/03\/webcast-archive-lawsuit-stereotypes-and-prisons\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Webcast archive: Lawsuit, stereotypes, and prisons&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2018\/03\/webcast-archive-lawsuit-stereotypes-and-prisons\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Webcast archive: Lawsuit, stereotypes, and prisons&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92],"tags":[208,121,243,196,244,118],"class_list":["post-2595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-webcast-archive","tag-cbc","tag-euthanasia-disability","tag-prison","tag-roger-foley","tag-stereotype","tag-webcast","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2595"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3448,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2595\/revisions\/3448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}