{"id":4432,"date":"2019-09-12T20:57:13","date_gmt":"2019-09-12T20:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/?p=4432"},"modified":"2019-09-12T21:45:02","modified_gmt":"2019-09-12T21:45:02","slug":"press-release-analysis-quebec-superior-court-decision-ignores-disability-discrimination-follows-medical-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2019\/09\/press-release-analysis-quebec-superior-court-decision-ignores-disability-discrimination-follows-medical-model\/","title":{"rendered":"PRESS RELEASE: ANALYSIS – QU\u00c9BEC SUPERIOR COURT DECISION IGNORES DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION, FOLLOWS MEDICAL MODEL"},"content":{"rendered":"

Download the press release in .docx format:\u00a0TruchonDecisionPressRelEN190912<\/a><\/p>\n

September 12, 2019<\/p>\n

ANALYSIS:\u00a0 QU\u00c9BEC SUPERIOR COURT DECISION IGNORES DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION, FOLLOWS MEDICAL MODEL<\/strong><\/p>\n

The recent decision of the Quebec Superior Court in the Truchon\/Gladu case blatantly disregards the effect of disability discrimination in shaping the quality of life of the plaintiffs, said Amy Hasbrouck, director of Toujours Vivant-Not Dead Yet, a project of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe judge\u2019s description of the plaintiff\u2019s situation invoked pity, but ignored the role of discriminatory public policy in depriving M. Truchon and Mme. Gladu of choice in where and how they live.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe court erroneously blames M. Truchon\u2019s lack of independence on his disability. But the fact is that he could live independently but for policies that favour institutional care over consumer-directed community-based services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hasbrouck also pointed to the court\u2019s confidence in the ability of physicians to assess not just medical eligibility, but also decision-making capacity and the presence of social or economic pressure that might influence the MAiD request.\u00a0 She says this reliance on the \u201cmedical model\u201d of disability, which sites the \u201cproblem\u201d of disability with the individual while ignoring society\u2019s responsibility to accommodate the full range of humanity, is a setback for the disability rights movement.<\/p>\n

Dr. Heidi Janz, Chair of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities Ending-of-Life Ethics Committee, concurred with Hasbrouck\u2019s assessment. \u201cThis decision at once mirrors and amplifies the persistent and growing ableism that we see in Canadian society in general, and in the medical profession in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n

Janz explains that studies consistently show that physicians routinely equate the presence of disability with a low quality of life. \u201cThus, as we\u2019ve seen in this case, it is the disability itself, rather than the lack of supports which would enable people with disabilities to live independently and flourish, that is considered a fate worse than death.\u201d<\/p>\n

The decision of the court was rendered in the case of two people with life-long disabilities who challenged eligibility criteria in the Qu\u00e9bec and federal MAiD laws requiring the person to be at the \u201cend of life\u201d (Qu\u00e9bec) or that their natural death be \u201creasonably foreseeable\u201d (federal).\u00a0 Jean Truchon and Nicole Gladu had been deemed ineligible for euthanasia In Qu\u00e9bec because they were not at the \u201cend of life\u201d nor were their deaths \u201creasonably foreseeable.\u201d\u00a0 The Superior Court decision was released on September 11, and found the challenged eligibility criteria unconstitutional.\u00a0 The court suspended its judgment for six months to give Parliament and Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s National Assembly time to modify the statutes, but allowed an exception to permit M. Truchon and Mme. Gladu to be euthanized.<\/p>\n

The court failed to question why pain management techniques were ineffective for the plaintiffs, nor the fact that palliative care is often\u00a0 unavailable or inadequate.<\/p>\n

The Court applies the \u201cpresumption of competence\u201d to the plaintiffs\u2019 request for euthanasia, whereas in general, the wish to die expressed by a non-disabled person is proof of suicidality, if not incompetence.\u00a0 TVNDY believes this is a discriminatory double standard that limits access to suicide prevention services for people with disabilities.<\/p>\n

The court distinguishes the plaintiffs by their physical limitations, poorly-managed pain, and their dependance.\u00a0 Though all of these factors are directly related to disability, they are caused by inadequate medical care, discriminatory social policies, and negative views of disability.<\/p>\n

Toujours Vivant-Not Dead Yet is a project of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities that focuses on ending-of-life issues.<\/p>\n

-30-<\/p>\n

Contact:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0 Amy Hasbrouck 450-921-3057 \/\u00a0tigrlily61@gmail.com<\/a>
\nTaylor Hyatt\u00a0 613-408-2906 \/\u00a0tdhyatt@live.ca<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\n
\nOur press release on the\u00a0Quebec Superior Court’s decision in the Truchon\/Gladu case.\n<\/div>\n
Continue reading “PRESS RELEASE: ANALYSIS – QU\u00c9BEC SUPERIOR COURT DECISION IGNORES DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION, FOLLOWS MEDICAL MODEL”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Continue reading “PRESS RELEASE: ANALYSIS – QU\u00c9BEC SUPERIOR COURT DECISION IGNORES DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION, FOLLOWS MEDICAL MODEL”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[583,579,129,53,499,582],"class_list":["post-4432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-gladu-en","tag-heidi-janz-en","tag-press-release","tag-quebec-en","tag-reasonably-foreseeable","tag-truchon-en","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4432","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=4432"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4443,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4432\/revisions\/4443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}