Monthly Archives: April 2017

ROME Like the two groups of Canadian bishops that preceded them, the bishops of Ontario said their meeting with Pope Francis was time spent with a brother bishop with similar joys and challenges in his pastoral work.

The 21 Ontario bishops making their ad limina visits to the Vatican spent almost two hours talking with Pope Francis April 25. The visits ad limina apostolorum to the threshold of the apostles are a combination of a pilgrimage to the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul and meetings with the main Vatican offices to exchange information, insights and ideas.

The meeting with Francis was an informal exchange of concerns and signs of hope and at least one joke told by the popethat Bishop Ronald Fabbro of London and Bishop Douglas Crosby of Hamilton declined to share with Catholic News Service.

But it was funny, they said.

The serious matters discussed during the meeting ranged from Canadian Catholic Church relations with the countrys indigenous communities to immigration and from the persecution of Christians around the world to the introduction of medically assisted suicide in Canada.

RELATED:Australian bishops: Assisted suicide is the opposite of health care

Crosby, who is president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the Ontario group spoke particularly about members concerns that proposed Ontario laws and policies surrounding euthanasia currently offer no real guarantees of the freedom of doctors and nurses to conscientiously object to actively helping a person die. The proposals also do not offer conscience guarantees to Catholic hospitals and health care providers.

Francis, the bishop said, agreed with our concern and encouraged the bishops in their fight for conscience rights.

It is a pressing issue for us, added Fabbro, president of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario.

In a separate interview with CNS, Cardinal Thomas Collins of Toronto also described the conscience provisions surrounding legalized euthanasia as the most urgent issue we are dealing with.

The Canadian Supreme Court ruled unanimously in 2015 that people who are grievously and irremediably ill have a right to medical assistance in dying. Canadian provinces then had to draft laws to implement the decision.

Because the court decision was unanimous, the cardinal said, it will not be easy to overturn. In the meantime, the bishops of Ontario are working hard to get conscience protections into provincial norms, educating the faithful and providing material and moral support to Catholic health care providers to improve access to palliative care so that the seriously ill are not subject to constant unbearable pain.

The cardinal characterized the visits with the various Vatican offices as very free-flowing conversations on almost every imaginable topic of concern to both the local and universal church. Its not like, What is the No. 1 burning issue?'

Speaking just an hour after leaving the pontiff, Collins said, Hes a wonderful man, a very loving, pastoral person. What you see is what you get. Hes very kind and very prayerful. Its always a high point of the ad limina to meet the pope.

The ad limina visit, Fabbro said, is built around the pilgrimage to the tombs of the apostles, praying to the apostles to intercede for us as bishops in our ministry as their successors. Making that prayer in Rome emphasizes that connection in a unique way.

In some ways, Crosby said, the ad limina does for a bishop what the bishop does for the diocese in trying to make the parishes aware that they are not independent units, that we belong to a bigger group of people, the community is much larger.

Meeting with the pope and Roman Curia officials highlights that the church is very big indeed.

Asked what he was taking away from his meeting with the pope, Crosby immediately said, rosaries and pointed to a large envelope of rosaries blessed by Francis.

Fabbro said his takeaway was an encouragement to keep prayer and the proclamation of the Gospel the heart of my ministry.

Francis spoke of the importance of evangelization and how nowadays you arent preaching to force people into the church, but you want to attract them to the message, Crosby said.

As I was listening to him I thought he has a very attractive personality. He is not loud. He is calm-thinking. The way he explains things is simple. You have a sense that he has a good understanding of humanity. And hes a light. Hes a light to us.

Go here to see the original:

Ontario bishops share concerns with pope, focus on euthanasia - Crux: Covering all things Catholic

MercatorNet

Euthanasia is a 'sideshow' in end-of-life care, says leading US bioethicist MercatorNet The Medical Journal of Australia has just published a commissioned paper on euthanasia and assisted suicide by one of America's leading bioethicists, Dr Ezekiel Emanuel. Emanuel is not a palaeo-conservative. A brother of Obama's former chief-of-staff, ...

See the article here:

Euthanasia is a 'sideshow' in end-of-life care, says leading US bioethicist - MercatorNet

This is a personal blog, filled with personal opinions, and its not that funny.Skip to the one about CPD if you fancy a chuckle, and, as ever, if you strongly object to an opinion of mine, bear in mind it was probably implanted by space aliens, so its not my fault.

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Were so lucky to have this, the elderly woman says as she signs the form, trying to smile. I had to watch my mother

She pauses, because she doesnt want to think about that any more. She ruffles the fur on her companions head, and gives in to the tears.

Not for you, she says, looking down. We wont let you suffer any more.

I wonder how many of you have heard variations on this during a euthanasia consultation? I find it happens often so many people have lost relatives or friends in clearly upsetting ways. I know Ive watched someone fade away, and its something Ill never forget.

A large number of people spontaneously offer the sentiment above that were lucky to be able to end suffering in the way we can with our pets.

Now, its true theyre a self-selecting population by definition, people coming to have their pets euthanised are people who dont object to euthanasia on ethical grounds. But agreeing with the principle of pet euthanasia doesnt mean people should automatically agree with the principle of human euthanasia, although I would say (subjectively) the majority of them do. How many of you have had people whisper to you conspiratorially in the aftermath, for example: I wish we had this for us, too?

For what its worth, heres what I feel: sometimes, theres nothing left in life but to suffer and die. Its not pretty, but its true, and it applies to humans as well as animals this is because we, too, are animals.

Were unique among the animals in a number of ways, mainly because of our large brains. One of these ways is, arguably, our capacity to suffer. If someone tells us our death is imminent and inevitable, and that were going to suffer every moment until then, our overactive imaginations will furnish us with a good idea of exactly what that will be like, adding a new dimension to the misery.

Another way we are unique is we can agree we do not wish to suffer in that way, and can ask for it to be brought to an end, although this is not something that can be done for humans in this country (both active euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal under English law). Many of our patients will have a better end to their lives than you or I will.

Now, Im not entirely naive. Human euthanasia isnt nearly as simple as pet euthanasia, for various reasons:

The sheer complexity of our lives means human euthanasia brings with it a whole range of ethical issues that muddy the waters. I acknowledge that, and understand it, but complexity is no reason to sidestep the issue.

As ever with me, it comes down to suffering.

I have dedicated my life (or, at least, the part of it that doesnt play games, read books or watch TV) to relieving suffering, in any way I can. Humans suffer as much, arguably more, than most of the animals I deal with, including when the time comes to die.

I hear a lot about the sanctity of human life when I look into these issues, but this is a confusing phrase to me. Firstly, its often inconsistently applied, because some human lives appear much more sacred than others. Secondly, I cant see why human life is more sacred than any other, except I happen to be human and have something of a vested interest in it being so.

Regardless, nothing absolutely nothing is sacred to me about pain, fear, misery and death.

I suppose I have to ask myself a hard question, given the possibility for abuse of human euthanasia: what if someone is euthanised who would have recovered?

Thats a tricky one for me. I use the same argument in reverse for my opposition to the death penalty what if someone is executed who wasnt guilty? History shows this is what happens with executions, and theres no reason to suspect that, every so often, someone would be euthanised who wouldnt have died otherwise, and may have had many years of happy life ahead of them.

Statistically, given the number of animal patients I have euthanised, its likely some of them would have recovered, too.

The look in peoples eyes when they say theyve had to watch a relative die always leads me to think about my own experience. I think of all the suffering out there, the terrible ends to otherwise wonderful lives, and can only say that yes, I believe it would be worth losing a small percentage of people, who otherwise would have lived, to end the suffering of thousands more.

Were very quick to say we have no right to play God, but we dont seem to have the same compunction about going to war, which strikes me as a very similar thing.

My patients have the right to die without suffering. Why dont we?

See the original post:

Human euthanasia - vet times

OTTAWA A government-funded home-care agency serving the Ottawa area is facilitating end-of-life services for people seeking to be euthanized in their home.

According to its web site, the Champlain Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) provides eligible in-home patients information about assisted dying, referrals to physicians who will administer the lethal drugs, nursing aid and other support. It will also provide syringes and non-pharmaceutical supplies required for the procedure.

In Ontario, CCAC is a government agency that provides a range of in-home services to seniors and others to help them live independently at home or help them move into a long-term care facility.

In addition to the Champlain CCAC, others in Ontario, as well as similar agencies across Canada, are providing assisted dying services, according to Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.

They not only help people get home care or get into nursing homes, they are helping them get lethal injections, Schadenberg said. Its being considered an obligation on their part because they receive government money.

People who would normally not be involved with such things at all are now involved in killing people or promoting it. A lot of people are shocked. They thought they never would have to be directly involved and are now finding they have to do so.

Living With Dignity executive director Aubert Martin said similar initiatives are taking shape around Montreal and Quebec City.

Its not as organized as it seems to be in Ontario, he said.

Martin called it quite shocking that among services Quebec provides for euthanasia is a physician on call who can be paged to provide the service within 24 hours. The doctor is there not to help them adjust their pain medication but to answer their request to die, he said.

Introducing euthanasia into palliative care and home care means people are less reassured than they were before, he said. They wont have access to proper pain treatment because of fear.

Teresa Buonafede of Orangeville, Ont., relies on CCAC personal support workers (PSWs) to care for her mother who has Alzheimers disease.

I am horrified that the Community Care Access Centre and personal support workers could in fact be pushing their clients and their families to sign up for home deaths and to actually assist in these deaths, Buonafede said. That would not be care and that would not be support.

How can we trust these organizations with the care of our family members? she asked. What will happen when family members are pitted against each other? I fear for the elderly and disabled, who could have a great rapport with their PSWs but will slowly be convinced in their old age or in their infirmity that killing them is one of the services they provide and that they should seriously look into.

Maria Pirrone of Ottawa, who was the primary care giver for both her late mother and late mother-in-law, received assistance from CCAC and said she is worried that PSWs dont understand the impact and severity of their getting involved.

Im concerned for the patients, she said. When a person is in a lot of pain, or extremely fatigued, they will say things. That doesnt mean thats what they really want.

Schadenberg said theres a need to set up safe places where people know they will not be abandoned to lethal injection.

This is all shocking, he said.

He noted that a few Catholic institutions are not participating in assisted dying, as well as some individual hospices.

We are not denying anyone rights; we are protecting people at a vulnerable time in their lives, he said.

The rest is here:

Home care agencies forced into becoming euthanasia facilitators - The Catholic Register

Sometimes the decision to euthanize a horse and end suffering is clearly obvious.

This can occur when a horse has a severe injury or an unrelenting and non-responsive illness such as laminitis or colic. However, all circumstances are not so straightforward and many times horse owners are confronted with situations of illness, injury or aging that slowly taints the quality of a horses life.

Such scenarios have become increasingly common within an aging equine population. Horse owners faced with the dilemma regarding the timely euthanasia of their beloved equine companion often agonize and anguish about the decision in an attempt to do their best to make a wise and timely choice to put their horse down. Given the affection that develops between the owner and horse, these experiences affect many horse owners in intensely emotional ways. The decision to euthanize the horse is equally taxing whether the horse is a sport champion or a childs pony.

Veterinarians can act as a guide, informing and educating owners about their animals conditions and present available options. Ultimately however, the decision rests with the horses guardian. Certainly there are written guidelines outlining animal suffering and pain, yet quality of life is perceptual. Horses, as sentient beings, have varying abilities to tolerate illness and pain as well. Clear decision-making is further blurred by advances in medical treatment and costs, for this often compounds the emotional burden of owners who want to know that they have done everything they possibly could for their equine companion.

No one really knows for sure the answer to the question, When is the time right? Mindfully looking at the horse itself will bring the most genuine of answers regarding the horses quality of life.

Can the horse move and/or does the horse move comfortably? Movement is inherent to the nature of a horse and thus intimately linked with its quality of life. Horses that no longer share in the companionship of other horses while eating and moving together, and grooming one another distress mentally and physically. Eventually they separate themselves from others and no longer engage in the movement of life.

The next questions to ask are, Does the horse eat well? and, Can the horse maintain an appropriate body weight throughout all the seasons? Often aged horses that are dentally challenged can no longer maintain their body condition well enough to remain comfortable when the winter season arrives. A moderate body condition is necessary to stave off the bitter cold of winter. These horses generally show their struggle with weight loss in the late winter/early spring.

If they make it through to spring they temporarily seem to rebound making a recovery when green grass returns. Although appropriate dental care and dietary management can be of value to these horses they often gradually fail over time. Not all horses rationed to special diets are content about these changes. Horse owners aware of such a declining pattern may elect to euthanize their horse on a beautiful fall day after a good summers life, sparing the horse the hardship of another winter season.

The next question, although more subjective in its answers is equally valid. Has the horses approach and attitude to life changed? As the horses body becomes weary with chronic illness such as laminitis, arthritis, or heaves, the horse itself becomes dull, disinterested, and indifferent to the happenings surrounding it.

Does the horse require caretaking and financial commitments that are beyond the owners capabilities and bank account? This is not a question of judgment, but one of high pragmatic and practical relevance. Financial and caretaking responsibilities that become burdens can have far-reaching consequences for the family and the animal.

When the decision to euthanize a horse is made, the next question is, Do you want to be present when the euthanasia is done? Despite the humane methods being used, euthanasia of a horse can be a difficult and disturbing experience to witness. The most common method of euthanasia is via lethal injection of barbiturate anesthetic. Generally the horse is sedated with a tranquilizer prior to lethal injection. The process is similar to placing the horse under anesthesia as the barbiturate overdose induces a coma-like state of the brain. When the nerve centre that controls breathing stops functioning so does breathing. Another method of euthanasia that is considered humane if it is performed correctly is a penetrating captive bolt or gunshot by a highly trained individual.

The final question to consider is, What will be done with the horses body? Many owners prefer to have their horse buried on the farm. In most circumstances arrangements will need to be made with a backhoe operator to dig the necessary hole. On-farm burials need to comply with appropriateness of zoning or municipality ordinances. In some areas, the option may be available to have the carcass rendered. Presently cremation of such a large carcass is difficult and generally unavailable.

Under the stewardship of nature a horses fate is clearly determined. When human beings become stewards and guardians of horses, much of their care and fate is determined from our perspective. All aspects of their care, including euthanasia are best done in honour of their dignity and quality of life.

Read more from the original source:

Horse euthanasia: making 'the' decision - Manitoba Co-operator

KXAN.com

Texas company issues recall after finding euthanasia drug in pet food KXAN.com The samples came back positive for penobarbital, a drug used in euthanasia. The company issued a nationwide recall and is retrieving the remaining cans from retailers. If pet parents have cans with either of those lot numbers in their possession, they ...

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Texas company issues recall after finding euthanasia drug in pet food - KXAN.com