{"id":4891,"date":"2020-05-15T14:48:37","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T14:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.tvndy.ca\/?p=4891"},"modified":"2020-11-16T11:27:15","modified_gmt":"2020-11-16T16:27:15","slug":"webcast-archive-no-free-choice-jacques-campeau-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2020\/05\/webcast-archive-no-free-choice-jacques-campeau-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Webcast Archive: No Free Choice &#8211; Jacques Campeau"},"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>NO FREE CHOICE: JACQUES CAMPEAU<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In July of 2019 several Qu\u00e9bec <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/montreal\/right-to-assisted-dying-death-1.5207534\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">media<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> outlets <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.journaldemontreal.com\/2019\/07\/04\/il-se-suicide-faute-daide-medicale-a-mourir\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reported<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the suicide death of Jacques Campeau, who had Multiple Sclerosis. \u00a0 The stories focused on his family\u2019s anger over the fact that he was denied euthanasia several times because he was not at the \u201cend of life;\u201d the family brought his death to the attention of the media in order to put pressure on politicians and the courts to loosen this eligibility criteria.\u00a0 But details from the articles show that Mr. Campeau really needed help to live, not to die.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to his daughters, Mr. Campeau was \u201cincreasingly despondent and withdrawn\u201d and his wife said he had talked about suicide for a year. \u201cI would come home every evening afraid he had done it.\u201d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mssociety.ca\/about-ms\/symptoms?gclid=CjwKCAjwkun1BRAIEiwA2mJRWXf3ZSCiUN-PFrNDxDAXPxSa3QYvyd24xqAywmgNQvu8N5i6q-D-VRoCaPEQAvD_BwE\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Depression<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a well-known problem associated with MS, both as a reaction to flare-ups, and as part of the disease itself.\u00a0 It can be made worse by pain and fatigue that often come with MS.\u00a0 If Mr. Campeau was not being treated for depression, he was not getting the care he needed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The articles not only showed that Mr. Campeau had low self-esteem, but also reinforced those beliefs about people living with MS and other chronic diseases.\u00a0 According to the Journal de Montr\u00e9al, he told his family that he was nothing more than a digestive tract. The reporter described his \u00ab\u00a0suffering\u00a0\u00bb by saying he used a wheelchair and incontinence products, and \u201chadn\u2019t seen the light of day since November.\u201d His daughter said he had \u201cno quality of life,\u201d and that he was a \u201cprisoner of his body.\u201d\u00a0 Rather than asking if Mr. Campeau had received peer support or \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dignityincare.ca\/en\/toolkit.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dignity therapy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d to deal with his existential distress, the journalists repeated negative stereotypes of life with a disability as a fate worse than death.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Media reports suggested Mr. Campeau was losing autonomy, but there was no mention of in-home assistance.\u00a0 His daughter told of receiving a call at work \u201ctelling her [Mr. Campeau] had fallen at home and had been lying on the floor for two hours, waiting to call when he knew she was on break.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mr. Campeau\u2019s family expressed disappointment over not getting a chance to say good-bye.\u00a0 \u201cWe would have preferred to have a last moment with him &#8230; to have a dinner with him, tell him that we love him. We would have liked to talk to him before he did this.&#8221; They believe a planned death would have met their need for closure.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The only other sources cited by the journalists were spokespeople for \u201cDying with Dignity\u201d and a pro-euthanasia doctor. The reporters included a link to the family\u2019s petition to change the \u201cend-of-life\u201d eligibility criterion. The articles did not quote people living with MS or experts in palliative care or suicide prevention.\u00a0 The Journal de Montr\u00e9al included information on how to obtain MAiD and the suicide prevention telephone number.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tragedy here is not that Mr. Campeau didn\u2019t die by euthanasia, or even that he committed suicide.\u00a0 The tragedy is that those who surrounded him seemed to think that MS, a chronic illness that includes flare-up and remission, was a terminal illness, and that his life was not worth living because of his disability. The tragedy lies in the fact that he did not have the services and supports he needed to adapt to his changing condition, feel good about himself, maintain his independence, and get peer counseling and suicide prevention services that could have improved the quality of his life, and ultimately saved it.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>TWO APPROACHES TO PANDEMIC POLICY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/Documents\/Issues\/Disability\/COVID-19_and_The_Rights_of_Persons_with_Disabilities.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">United Nations<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and Canada\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/public-health\/services\/publications\/diseases-conditions\/vulnerable-populations-covid-19.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Public Health agency<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> both recently issued position statements on protecting old, ill and disabled people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though they may have similar goals, the two documents are very different.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The U.N. document is divided into eight sections, relating to the impact of the pandemic on health care, people in institutions, community living, income and employment, education, domestic violence, homeless people, and prisoners with disabilities.\u00a0 Each section lays out the problem, suggests some \u201cpromising practices\u201d in different countries, recommends specific actions to be taken, and offers some resources.\u00a0 The policy recommendations include:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prohibit the denial of medical care on the basis of disability and identify and remove barriers to treatment;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Discharge and release persons with disabilities from institutions and promptly ensure provision of support in the community;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensure that personal support workers are exempted from stay-at-home restrictions;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Promote and coordinate the development of community support networks;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Increase existing disability benefits, including through advancing payments to cover extra costs.;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensure access to Internet for remote learning and ensure that software is accessible;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensure that [domestic violence] hotlines, emergency shelters and other forms of assistance are accessible to and include persons with disabilities;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reduce the prison population by releasing at-risk groups of prisoners, including persons with disabilities;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Explore different shelter options that provide physical distancing, and provide sanitation services on the streets,<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the same time, Canada&#8217;s public health agency published \u201cVulnerable Populations and COVID-19\u201d which is a very general set of guidelines that offers no new policy ideas.\u00a0 It describes who is vulnerable (beyond people with disabilities) and \u201chow organizations can support vulnerable populations during COVID-19 outbreaks\u201d (under a separate heading, the document gives \u201cSuggestions for supporting vulnerable populations during COVID-19 outbreaks\u201d). Recommendations are directed at managers of community organizations and include:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">keep up-to-date about the current situation in your community;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">contact local, provincial, territorial public health officials to get relevant COVID-19 information, resources and guidance;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">identify and plan how to continue providing the most critical services;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">partner with organizations that provide similar services to share resources and strategies;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">consider stockpiling general supplies and cleaning supplies;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">educate staff about ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19:<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">provide clear instructions about how to wash hands and cover coughs;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[modify] policies to allow sick clients to rest in shelters during the day;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">provide access to food, drinks and supplies, as possible<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">remind clients to fill or refill prescriptions, and necessary medical supplies<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">limit staff to a single facility, and limit the locations in the facility in which the employees work.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[do] not allow visits and non-essential on-site services to facilities;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">maintain a high level of vigilance to ensure that staff do not go to work with symptoms.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The U.N. document offers suggestions to change policies that endanger disabled people\u2019s lives. The Canada Public Health agency washes its hands (so to speak) of the effects of such policies by focusing on details.\u00a0 One possible reason for this difference is that the United Nations is an advocacy organization, not a government, and so can take stronger positions.\u00a0 But it would have been nice to see more solid and innovative recommendations come from the Government of Canada.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n   ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\n<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nThis week we look at the reasons Jacques Campeau&#8217;s choice to die was not free, and we compare two pandemic policies for people with disabilities.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2020\/05\/webcast-archive-no-free-choice-jacques-campeau-2\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Webcast Archive: No Free Choice &#8211; Jacques Campeau&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/2020\/05\/webcast-archive-no-free-choice-jacques-campeau-2\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Webcast Archive: No Free Choice &#8211; Jacques Campeau&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":[354,735,776,729,95,924,923,731,807,805,99,94,727,97,62,740,98,101,468,373],"class_list":["post-4891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-webcast-archive","tag-autonomy","tag-choice","tag-covid","tag-degenerative","tag-dignity","tag-disabled-en","tag-end-of-life-en-2","tag-hospice","tag-jacques-campeau","tag-maid","tag-medical-aid-in-dying","tag-medical-assistance-in-dying","tag-nursing-home","tag-pain","tag-palliative-care","tag-quality-of-life","tag-suffering","tag-suicide","tag-terminal","tag-vulnerable","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4891","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=4891"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4892,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4891\/revisions\/4892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvndy.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}