{"id":4883,"date":"2020-05-08T14:28:48","date_gmt":"2020-05-08T14:28:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.tvndy.ca\/?p=4883"},"modified":"2020-11-16T11:27:16","modified_gmt":"2020-11-16T16:27:16","slug":"webcast-archive-maid-during-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2020\/05\/webcast-archive-maid-during-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Webcast Archive: MAiD during the pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, we will not present our webcast, due to technical problems caused by heavy internet usage. However we are providing the text as a bulletin to offer up-to-date information about assisted suicide, euthanasia and ending-of-life practices for the disability community.<\/p>\n<p><b>MAiD DURING THE PANDEMIC<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the early steps taken to combat the Coronavirus pandemic was cancelling or postponing elective medical procedures; operations that don\u2019t need to be done immediately to save a person\u2019s life or health, or where putting off surgery won\u2019t make the condition worse. An <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7107008\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">article<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the journal of Patient Safety in Surgery (published March 31) listed five priority levels for medical procedures:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cEmergent\u201d operations, like removing a bowel blockage, an emergency C-Section, or repairing a blood vessel, that need to be done within an hour;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cUrgent\u201d procedures include removing an appendix, setting open fractures (where the bone breaks through the skin), or stabilizing nerve or spinal-cord injuries which must be done within 24 hours.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cUrgent-Elective\u201d procedures are those that should be done within two weeks, and include heart and lung operations, skin grafts, and setting broken bones.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cElective-Essential\u201d surgeries include biopsies and cancer removal, non-urgent heart valve replacement, hernia repair and hysterectomy which need to be done within three months.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Elective-discretionary operations are those that can wait three months or more and include cosmetic surgery, sports medicine, sterilization, weight-loss surgery and joint replacements.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where would assisted suicide and euthanasia (AS &amp; E) fall on the scale of required versus elective procedures?\u00a0 Unlike the \u201cemergent\u201d and \u201curgent\u201d treatments, Medical assistance in dying (MAiD) does not save lives or maintain a person\u2019s health, so it would be in the \u201celective\u201d group.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even euthanasia providers seem to admit that MAiD isn\u2019t necessary to ease pain. The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/camapcanada.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Formatted-Final-MAiD-in-Covid.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">COVID-19 guidance<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> issued by the Canadian Association of MAiD Assessors and Providers (CAMAP) state that \u201cMAiD procedures are generally elective.\u201d The CAMAP guidelines caution against delaying MAiD, not due to concerns about pain, but because \u201cpostponement of a MAiD procedure could result in the person not receiving MAiD due to loss of capacity or death.\u201d CAMAP points out that MAiD will probably be unnecessary for people with COVID-19 \u201cbecause, ideally, these patients will readily receive palliative care and sedation, and have a peaceful death,\u201d These are surprisingly honest admissions from people who promote AS &amp; E.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While some providers <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/canada\/article-medical-assistance-in-dying-services-being-cancelled-in-ottawa\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stopped doing euthanasia<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in March, one network serving the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ottawacitizen.com\/news\/local-news\/medical-assistance-in-dying-program-resumes-after-pause-for-covid-19\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ottawa region<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> resumed after a week, while others referred people to different facilities. Media reports (probably triggered by a press release from Dying with Dignity) claim that demand for MAiD has increased\u00a0 and that there have been some <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/politics\/pandemic-covid-coronavirus-medically-assisted-death-maid-1.5548058\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">access problems<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shortages of personal protective equipment, and outbreaks of COVID-19 in facilities where people who want euthanasia are located have made it difficult to, in the words of the CAMAP, \u201censure the safety of medical and nursing staff is of \u201cparamount importance.\u201d (\u201cThe safety of patients and their loved ones is a priority.\u201d)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A possible shortage of drugs is causing worry, but not affecting access to AS &amp; E.\u00a0 The sedatives used in the euthanasia procedure are the same as those that enable someone to use a ventilator via an inserted breathing tube. With the high demand by people with COVID-19, and no Canadian companies producing the drugs, some doctors fear there won\u2019t be enough for providing euthanasia. So far, doctors have made up the shortfall by cutting back on the number of back-up doses they bring with them to perform euthanasia.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eligibility assessments must be done via video or phone, rather than in-person. \u201cIdeally both assessments should be carried out using telemedicine\u201d according to the CAMAP guidelines.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Quarantine conditions have put limits on who can be present at the euthanasia, and require that those people be screened for possible COVID-19 exposure, whether the procedure is done at a health-care facility or at the person\u2019s home.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because not all hospice or palliative care units allow MAiD, the usual practice of transferring the person to another facility has been limited during the pandemic.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One thing that hasn\u2019t changed during the pandemic; the media continue in their role as cheerleaders for AS &amp; E, relying on Dying with Dignity as an important source for information about the practice, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/radio\/checkup\/covid-seniors-medically-assisted-dying-1.5537299\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">glamourising euthanasia<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If a public health emergency requires that elective procedures be cancelled, why has MAiD continued?\u00a0 If even MAiD providers admit that euthanasia is an elective procedure, why has MAiD continued during this pandemic?\u00a0 If we are trying to save as many lives as possible, it\u2019s a scandal that MAiD has continued.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n   ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\n<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nThis week, we ask the question: &#8220;if elective procedures are suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, why has euthanasia continued?&#8221;\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2020\/05\/webcast-archive-maid-during-the-pandemic\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Webcast Archive: MAiD during the pandemic&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2020\/05\/webcast-archive-maid-during-the-pandemic\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Webcast Archive: MAiD during the pandemic&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":[354,735,776,95,923,731,805,99,94,727,97,62,98,101,468],"class_list":["post-4883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-webcast-archive","tag-autonomy","tag-choice","tag-covid","tag-dignity","tag-end-of-life-en-2","tag-hospice","tag-maid","tag-medical-aid-in-dying","tag-medical-assistance-in-dying","tag-nursing-home","tag-pain","tag-palliative-care","tag-suffering","tag-suicide","tag-terminal","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4883","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=4883"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4884,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4883\/revisions\/4884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}