{"id":4108,"date":"2019-03-01T17:09:31","date_gmt":"2019-03-01T17:09:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/?p=4108"},"modified":"2019-03-01T17:09:31","modified_gmt":"2019-03-01T17:09:31","slug":"webcast-archive-the-disability-day-of-mourning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2019\/03\/webcast-archive-the-disability-day-of-mourning\/","title":{"rendered":"Webcast archive: The Disability Day of Mourning"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1180\" height=\"664\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kxhME1YXZHo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" 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>The Disability Day of Mourning<\/li>\n<li>Update on the Cadotte case<\/li>\n<li>Remembering Carrie-Ann Lucas and Katherine Araniello<\/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>THE DISABILITY DAY OF MOURNING<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Every year on March 1<sup>st<\/sup>, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/autisticadvocacy.org\/projects\/community\/mourning\/\">Autistic Self-Advocacy Network<\/a>\u00a0(ASAN), Not Dead Yet, and other organizations hold\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/autisticadvocacy.org\/2019\/02\/2019-day-of-mourning-vigil-sites\/\">vigils<\/a>\u00a0for the Disability Day of Mourning, to remember and honour disabled people who have been killed by their parents, relatives and caregivers. The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/disability-memorial.org\/\">Day of Mourning<\/a>\u00a0website lists more than 1,000 disabled people who have been killed by caregivers, including 650 people killed over the past five years.<\/li>\n<li>Legal authorities and mainstream media often attribute these deaths to the \u201chardships\u201d faced by loved ones, which are blamed on the person\u2019s disability.\u00a0 The public\u2019s sympathy is directed toward the (nondisabled) caregiver, rather than the disabled person who died. The Day of Mourning is meant to put the focus back onto the disabled person, to counteract the apathy of the legal system and the media, and remind the public that the deaths of disabled people are not \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2019\/01\/press-release-deaths-of-ineligible-people-with-disabilities-are-not-acceptable-losses\/\">acceptable losses<\/a>.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Given TVNDY\u2019s focus on life-ending measures that have an excessive impact on disabled people, we thought we\u2019d talk about the differences between public reactions to assisted suicides versus when disabled people are killed by loved ones.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>The Tragedy<\/strong><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li>Murders of disabled people are described by the media as tragedies \u2026 for \u201cdesperate\u201d caregivers, rather than the person who lost their life. News accounts quote neighbors and friends who express relief that the caregiver is \u201cfreed from the tremendous burden\u201d and responsibility of caring for their disabled charge.<\/li>\n<li>In the case of assisted suicide, the \u201ctragedy\u201d is the illness or disability which \u201cruins\u201d a person\u2019s life, or cuts it short. \u00a0Whether or not the person has physical pain, they \u201csuffer\u201d with a disability. Upon becoming disabled, a person is no longer perceived to be \u201cfully themselves.\u201d Assisted suicides aren\u2019t thought of as tragedies because the person got what they asked for.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>In the Limelight<\/strong><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li>Perpetrators often evade moral and legal blame, and get media attention, by claiming they acted out of mercy.\u00a0 The media respond by publishing tributes to the \u201chardworking, stressed\u201d parents and caregivers. The person who was killed is an afterthought at best; at worst they\u2019re regarded as a burden that has been removed from their family and society.<\/li>\n<li>The people we hear about who die by assisted suicide have thrust themselves into the media spotlight, as part of their efforts to have laws changed. If they\u2019re not already well-known (like\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/toronto\/sars-doctor-donald-low-s-posthumous-plea-for-assisted-suicide-1.1866332\">Dr. Donald Low<\/a>) they become celebrities, like\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2014\/nov\/03\/terminally-ill-oregon-death-with-dignity-brittany-maynard\">Brittany Maynard<\/a>\u00a0in the U.S. or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2018\/11\/webcast-archive-audrey-parker\/\">Audrey Parker<\/a>\u00a0here in Canada. The media attention they receive focuses on the negative aspects of their condition \u2013 many of which can be lessened with the right supports \u2013 and the supposed \u201cneed\u201d for death because they see it as the only possible relief.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Besides the in-person vigils to be held across Canada and the US, ASAN will sponsor a virtual vigil tonight,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/AutisticadvocacyOrg\/live?fbclid=IwAR30-kSRb682K3Dy8LqUhQsaMoRhGIniunWPSpKnu707qwMbyGG3xV3PaQc\">broadcast on YouTube<\/a>. The event also has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/466395480560834\/\">a Facebook page<\/a>\u00a0with links for those who are interested in learning more about the Day of Mourning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>UPDATE ON THE CADOTTE CASE<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Michel Cadotte\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/montrealgazette.com\/news\/michel-cadotte-found-guilty-of-manslaughter-in-death-of-ailing-wife\">has been found guilty of manslaughter<\/a>\u00a0in the 2017 killing of Jocelyne Lizotte. Mr. Cadotte suffocated his wife with a pillow, claiming that he could no longer bear to witness her \u201csuffering\u201d with Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/li>\n<li>Upon hearing the verdict, Mr. Cadotte stated \u201cI feel better. I\u2019ll mourn now.\u201d\u00a0 The sentencing phase of the trial will begin next week.<\/li>\n<li>Mr. Cadotte\u2019s lawyer, Elfriede Duclervil, argued the killing was \u201can impulsive act\u201d. Caring for Ms. Lizotte caused an unbearable amount of \u201cdepression, exhaustion and stress\u201d for her husband. The prosecution said there was no evidence of mental illness, but that Cadotte took \u201cLizotte\u2019s fate into his own hands when she was at her most vulnerable,\u201d with full knowledge of his actions.<\/li>\n<li>Quebec Superior Court Justice Helene Di Salvo advised jurors to \u201cjudge the act Mr. Cadotte committed, but also his state of mind at that precise moment [when Ms. Lizotte was killed].\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>REMEMBERING CARRIE-ANN LUCAS AND KATHERINE ARANIELLO<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Carrie Ann Lucas, a teacher, minister, lawyer, and disability rights activist, died on February 24 at the age of 47.\u00a0 Her health deteriorated following the denial by her insurance company of needed medications for an infection a year ago, which caused the loss of her voice. Diane Coleman, Not Dead Yet founder and executive director, called Carrie \u201cone of the sharpest minds in our movement.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Carrie founded Disabled Parents Rights to provide advocacy and legal representation to parents with disabilities, and herself adopted four disabled children.<\/li>\n<li>In addition to her activities with ADAPT, Carrie joined the board of Not Dead Yet in January of 2013.\u00a0 She\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/42896388@N02\/sets\/72157647519511048\/\">photographed<\/a>\u00a0the NDY protest at the World Federation of Right to Die Societies\u2019 September, 2014 meeting in Chicago. She supported the disability community\u2019s response to the film \u201cMe Before You\u201d by producing a video montage accompanying Johnny Crescendo\u2019s song \u201cNot Dead Yet.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>As a resident of Colorado she was a leader in opposing efforts to legalize assisted suicide there.\u00a0 She organized direct actions and testified before the state senate\u2019s Veterans and Military Affairs Committee about the proposed bill in 2016.\u00a0 In her testimony she stated:\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cI am a person with multiple disabilities.\u00a0 I have a progressive neuromuscular disease that has caused me to lose muscle function throughout my entire body. I have weakness in every muscle in my body, including my facial and eye muscles.\u00a0 My organs are affected, I have low vision, and I am very hard of hearing.\u00a0 I have a gastrostomy tube, and I am dependent on a ventilator to breathe.\u00a0 Without my ventilator, I don\u2019t have years to live.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have 6 months, 6 weeks, or 6 days, I have hours.\u00a0 I have a terminal condition \u2013 very much like ALS, and I would be covered by this bill.\u00a0 I understand the sponsors have said this bill is not for the disabled, but respectfully the sponsors are incorrect.\u00a0 This bill directly affects me, my family and my community.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cIf I were to become depressed, either situational depression, or major depression, and this bill passes, I could go to my doctor and ask for a lethal prescription.\u00a0 Because I have a disability, and because physicians are terrible at evaluating quality of life of people with disabilities, I would likely be given that lethal prescription, rather than be referred for mental health treatment.\u00a0 And if my doctor did not give me the lethal prescription, I could simply doctor shop until I found one who would. A woman in my situation but without my disabilities would not get a lethal prescription, and would most likely encounter a vigorous effort to ensure she did not take her life. That is disability discrimination.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Carrie also took a leadership role in the effort to save the life of 14-year-old Jerika Bolen.\u00a0 She pointed out the double standard of providing suicide prevention to some teenagers, but not others.<\/li>\n<li>You can read\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/notdeadyet.org\/2019\/02\/carrie-ann-lucas-dedicated-her-amazing-skills-to-save-lives.html\">NDY&#8217;s tribute<\/a>, and get more information about\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CarrieAnnLucasPersonal\/posts\/10217145330961609\">Carrie Ann Lucas<\/a>\u00a0at her blog:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.disabilitypride.com\/?fbclid=IwAR2AcTPACkDfrD3XhyDQG7speh1rJcJIZ1n-WI26zHCmdMSoLxbZJHYIYRA\">disabilitypride.com<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The disability community lost another stellar artist and advocate this week with the death of Katherine Araniello.\u00a0 Her life and art were beyond unapologetic.\u00a0 One friend called her \u201ca creative explosion, constantly using her art to provoke and challenge us.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Katherine was an author, performance artist, musician, filmmaker, visual artist, and pusher of envelopes.\u00a0 I \u201cmet\u201d Katherine through her music video \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-w72Flej8RQ\">Sick Bitch Blues<\/a>;\u201d a brilliant, dark, in-your-face affirmation of life.\u00a0 (Some people may find Katherine\u2019s work offensive, but no one will ever find it boring.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n   ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\n<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nThis week, we discuss the connection between disabled people killed by relatives vs. assisted suicide, and remember two brilliant advocates we lost this week.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2019\/03\/webcast-archive-the-disability-day-of-mourning\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Webcast archive: The Disability Day of Mourning&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2019\/03\/webcast-archive-the-disability-day-of-mourning\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Webcast archive: The Disability Day of Mourning&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":[416,451,431,487,488,121,286,444,479,118],"class_list":["post-4108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-webcast-archive","tag-audrey-parker","tag-autistic-self-advocacy-network","tag-brittany-maynard","tag-carrie-ann-lucas","tag-donald-low","tag-euthanasia-disability","tag-jocelyne-lizotte","tag-katherine-araniello","tag-michel-cadotte","tag-webcast","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4108","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=4108"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4113,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4108\/revisions\/4113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}