{"id":2604,"date":"2018-03-30T15:43:38","date_gmt":"2018-03-30T15:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/?p=2604"},"modified":"2018-10-24T16:10:51","modified_gmt":"2018-10-24T16:10:51","slug":"webcast-archive-how-assisted-suicide-and-euthanasia-are-changing-how-we-think-part-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2018\/03\/webcast-archive-how-assisted-suicide-and-euthanasia-are-changing-how-we-think-part-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Webcast archive: How assisted suicide and euthanasia are changing how we think \u2013 Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1180\" height=\"664\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vUZrveSYSeQ?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 and Christian Debray discuss:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How assisted suicide and euthanasia are changing how we think \u2013 Part I<\/li>\n<li>Refusing treatment, food and fluids can qualify a person for AS\/E<\/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>HOW ASSISTED SUICIDE AND EUTHANASIA ARE CHANGING THE WAY WE THINK \u2013 PART I<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Over the past couple of months, Taylor and Amy have been thinking about doing a webcast about the ways in which the legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia (AS\/E) has changed the way we think.\u00a0 Then, lo and behold! at a conference last weekend, Aubert Martin of Living with Dignity included that theme as part of his presentation.\u00a0 So with Aubert\u2019s help, let\u2019s take a look at some of the new ways of thinking that have come from the adoption of AS\/E.<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cAssisted suicide is suicide (with assistance),\u201d becomes \u201cAssisted suicide isn\u2019t suicide.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 One of the recent trends we\u2019ve noticed from the suicide prevention community is their adopting the position of AS\/E promoters, that \u201cassisted suicide\u201d isn\u2019t really suicide.\u00a0 Advocates of medical killing have been pushing this change in definition for 20 years.\u00a0 They started with \u201csoftening\u201d the language, using terms such as \u201cdeath with dignity\u201d and \u201caid in dying,\u201d instead of assisted suicide and euthanasia.\u00a0 They claim \u201cassisted suicide\u201d doesn\u2019t apply because the person is already dying.\u00a0 But that doesn\u2019t take into account the many people with non-terminal disabilities who are eligible for AS\/E (even where it\u2019s only supposed to apply to people with terminal illness).\n<ul>\n<li>In other words, they claim assisted suicide is not suicide because it\u2019s only for ill and disabled people.\u00a0 The Canadian Centre for Suicide prevention has an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.suicideinfo.ca\/resource\/suicide-physician-assisted-death\/\">infographic<\/a>\u00a0about the differences between suicide and \u201cmedical aid in dying.\u201d\u00a0 But the differences they describe either don\u2019t exist, or they stem from the belief that it\u2019s better to be dead than disabled.\u00a0 According to the infographic:\n<ul>\n<li>Suicidal people don\u2019t want to die, they want the pain to end \/ People who ask for euthanasia \u201cwant to hasten death, they want the suffering in dying to end.\u201d\n<ul>\n<li>This does not apply to people with non-terminal disabilities<\/li>\n<li>The reasons people ask for AS\/E mostly relate to loss of autonomy and existential distress, not physical pain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Suicides are \u201coften impulsive, violent, and carried out alone\u201d \/ euthanasia is \u201cplanned, peaceful, and carried out in the presence of loved ones.\u201d\n<ul>\n<li>The only reason euthanasia is \u201cplanned and peaceful\u201d is because it\u2019s approved by the person\u2019s family and society, based on the belief that it\u2019s better to be dead than disabled.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Suicides \u201cleave loved ones with devastating grief\u201d \/ euthanasia is \u201ca deliberate process including everyone involved.\u201d\n<ul>\n<li>The reactions of loved ones are (again) based on their beliefs about the quality of life with a disability.<\/li>\n<li>Also, comparing the emotional response of loved ones with a \u201cdeliberate process\u201d is comparing apples to oranges.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Suicides \u201chappen much more often than\u201d AS\/E \/ euthanasia is \u201crelatively infrequent.\u201d\n<ul>\n<li>This is not true in the Netherlands<\/li>\n<li>The numbers of AS\/E are increasing so fast they will probably catch up to and pass suicide figures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>On the other hand, the causes of suicide listed by \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/webservice.mediresource.com\/xslt\/conditions.aspx?disease_id=206\">Mediresource<\/a>\u201d are similar to those associated with AS\/E (as listed in the Belgium annual report for 2017).\n<ul>\n<li>Unbearable emotional or physical pain \/ same;<\/li>\n<li>Mental illnesses: depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, psychosis \/ Same, plus anguish, anorexia and existential distress;<\/li>\n<li>Loss of hope or desire to live \/ despair, fatigue of living;<\/li>\n<li>Difficulties maintaining personal relationships with friends and family \/ solitude, fear of losing social contacts;<\/li>\n<li>Significant losses: bereavement, termination of an important relationship, loss of employment \/ Same, plus grief over loss of autonomy and physical function;<\/li>\n<li>Loss of self-esteem, negative thoughts about one\u2019s own worth \/ Same;<\/li>\n<li>Substance abuse \/ same;<\/li>\n<li>Family history of suicide \/ viewing idealized media portrayals of AS\/E.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>And it follows that if AS\/E isn\u2019t suicide, then Suicide prevention measures aren\u2019t applied to people who ask for AS\/E.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Suicide is bad, assisted suicide is good.<\/strong>\u00a0 A related change is that suicide that is not assisted by a doctor is now labeled as especially horrible or tragic.\u00a0 According to this line of thinking, AS\/E is the only civilized alternative to intolerable suffering (which is assumed if you have a disability) or a violent and messy suicide.<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cPraised for the courage to live\u201d becomes \u201cpraised for the courage to die.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 In a recent webcast we talked about another way that AS\/E has changed our thinking.\u00a0 It used to be that we celebrated disabled people for their \u201ccourage to go on living,\u201d despite their disabilities. \u00a0Legalization has spawned a new disabled hero, who has the \u201ccourage\u201d and \u201cdetermination\u201d to get a doctor to kill them. \u00a0As we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, people like Dr. Donald Low, Brittany Maynard and Gloria Taylor were praised for their advocacy in favour of assisted suicide.\u00a0 Yet people like J.J. Hansen and Maggie Karner, both of whom had the same kind of brain tumour as Brittany Maynard, received hardly a mention in the press or on social media, because they struggled to live, not die.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Safeguards become \u201cbarriers to access<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 There are two kinds of safeguards in AS\/E laws, eligibility criteria and procedural safeguards.\n<ul>\n<li>The eligibility criteria relate to who qualifies for AS\/E.\u00a0 These include:\n<ul>\n<li>age,<\/li>\n<li>residency,<\/li>\n<li>the ability to make decisions,<\/li>\n<li>the presence of a disability or illness,<\/li>\n<li>the seriousness of that illness,<\/li>\n<li>whether the person\u2019s condition has substantially worsened, and\/or if the person is at the terminal stage (or death is \u201creasonably foreseeable\u201d), and<\/li>\n<li>if the person is \u201csuffering\u201d (as defined by the person).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The procedural safeguards are mandates placed on the medical practitioners to make sure that the AS\/E process is carried out correctly.\u00a0 All of the procedural safeguards are measured via subjective standards (\u201cEnsure,\u201d \u201cbe of the opinion,\u201d \u201cbe satisfied\u201d) rather than objective ones; no factual proof is required.\u00a0 The doctor or nurse must:\n<ul>\n<li><em>Be of the opinion<\/em>\u00a0that the person meets all eligibility criteria<\/li>\n<li>Provide a\u00a0<em>reliable<\/em>\u00a0means of communication for people with communication disabilities (but not\u00a0<em>impartial<\/em>\u00a0nor\u00a0<em>effective<\/em>).<\/li>\n<li><em>Ensure that<\/em>\u00a0the person has been informed of their health status, prognosis, and what treatments are available, (palliative care is supposed to be mentioned, though there\u2019s no requirement that it be provided).<\/li>\n<li><em>Ensure that<\/em>\u00a0the person is informed that they can withdraw their request at any time,<\/li>\n<li><em>Ensure that<\/em>\u00a0the person\u2019s choice is informed and voluntary,<\/li>\n<li><em>Be satisfied<\/em>\u00a0that the request form is completed, signed and witnessed,<\/li>\n<li><em>Ensure that<\/em>\u00a0a second (independent) medical professional agrees that the person meets the eligibility criteria,<\/li>\n<li><em>Ensure that<\/em>\u00a0ten days have passed, (unless they grant an exemption),<\/li>\n<li><em>Ensure that<\/em>\u00a0the person gives express consent just before administering the lethal injection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Promoters of AS\/E call these safeguards \u201cstrict,\u201d \u201cstringent,\u201d and \u201cstrong.\u201d\u00a0 Opponents point out the many ways in which they are easily and routinely circumvented in places where assisted suicide is legal.<\/li>\n<li>In line with the evolving view that AS\/E should be a \u201cright,\u201d AS\/E promoters complain that safeguards create unjust barriers to access for people who want to die.\u00a0 They pretend that without AS\/E, these people are condemned,\u00a0<em>by law<\/em>, to continue living, and therefore, suffering.\u00a0 What AS\/E promoters are actually demanding is a\u00a0<em>particular kind of<\/em>\u00a0suicide.\u00a0 And every step in the process of achieving that goal is identified as a barrier, regardless of its usefulness in protecting people and preventing abuse.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Next week we\u2019ll talk about some other ways that AS\/E has changed the way we think about death and dying.\u00a0 If you have ideas or suggestions, please feel free to email us at info@tv-ndy.ca<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>REFUSING TREATMENT, FOOD AND FLUIDS CAN QUALIFY A PERSON FOR AS\/E<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia has decided that a woman who refused medical treatment, food and fluids was correctly deemed eligible for euthanasia.<\/li>\n<li>Ms. S. was a 56-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis when she was deemed ineligible for AS\/E in June of 2016 by Dr. Ellen Wiebe because her death was not \u201creasonably foreseeable.\u201d\u00a0 Following an email exchange in December, 2016 and January, 2017, Ms. S. re-applied for AS\/E on March 3 of 2017, having stopped medical treatment, eating and drinking for two weeks.\u00a0 At that time, Dr. Wiebe, another physician and a home-care nurse agreed that her \u201csignificant malnutrition and dehydration were inconsistent with continuing survival.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>The BC Coroner expressed concern that Ms. S\u2019 decision to refuse potentially effective treatment contributed to the serious nature of her disease and the decline in her condition.<\/li>\n<li>The College of physicians cited the section of bill C-14 that states the person must experience \u201cphysical or psychological suffering that is intolerable \u2026 and that cannot be relieved under conditions that they consider acceptable.\u201d\u00a0 It said \u201ca patient cannot be forced to take treatment they do not consider acceptable \u2026 \u201c<\/li>\n<li>This is the first written approval we\u2019ve seen for the practice of refusing treatment, starving and dehydrating oneself in order to become eligible for AS\/E.\u00a0 Count on this decision to be used to support other people whose death is not \u201creasonably foreseeable\u201d to make themselves eligible for AS\/E.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n   ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\n<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nThis week, we&#8217;re looking at how society&#8217;s thinking has changed with the introduction of assisted suicide, as well as refusal of treatment affecting eligibility.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2018\/03\/webcast-archive-how-assisted-suicide-and-euthanasia-are-changing-how-we-think-part-i\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Webcast archive: How assisted suicide and euthanasia are changing how we think \u2013 Part I&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2018\/03\/webcast-archive-how-assisted-suicide-and-euthanasia-are-changing-how-we-think-part-i\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Webcast archive: How assisted suicide and euthanasia are changing how we think \u2013 Part I&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":[121,235,189,118],"class_list":["post-2604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-webcast-archive","tag-euthanasia-disability","tag-refusal-of-treatment","tag-suicide-prevention","tag-webcast","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604","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=2604"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3440,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604\/revisions\/3440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}