Daily Archives: March 31, 2021

This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and is republished with permission.

Palliative care specialists fear health practitioners with as little as six hours online training could end up providing euthanasia for patients who would have wanted to live if they had proper care and pain relief.

Their concerns come as a new Ministry of Health survey reveals fewer than a third of health practitioners are prepared to participate in the assisted dying regime.

Palliative care specialists say that might mean euthanasia is unavailable in some areas and a small band of itinerant doctors with no connection to their patients may do the bulk of the cases.

READ MORE:* Med students become more opposed to euthanasia while at uni* Euthanasia referendum: End of Life Choice Act 'yes' vote creates 'complex' situation for doctors* Underpaid, underfunded, invisible: Palliative care in crisis* Euthanasia referendum: What do doctors think about assisted dying?

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Palliative care specialists fear health practitioners with as little as six hours online training could end up providing euthanasia for patients who would have wanted to live if they had proper care and pain relief.

Palliative Care professor Rod MacLeod said nearly every week that he spent working in hospice care he was approached by someone who wanted to end their life - but during his 32-year career all but one of those people changed their minds.

"I've had lots and lots of people ask me for assisted dying. But with palliative care provided those requests melt away."

He said that meant that under the euthanasia regime people who would have changed their minds could be put to death.

Palliative care specialists say most people skilled in end of life care don't want to be involved in euthanasia.

Dr Catherine D'Souza, a senior member of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine, said that will leave patients in the hands of people who are not experts in end of life care and pain management

"I'd just feel incredibly sad if somebody wanted to end their life because of pain when they hadn't had the chance to let a specialist have a go at trying to get it better under control."

The End of Life Choice Act takes effect on November 7, after gaining more than 65 per cent support in last year's referendum.

But a Ministry of Health survey of nearly 2000 health practitioners shows that, while almost half supported assisted dying in principle, fewer than 30 per cent were "possibly or definitely" willing to provide the service.

Dom Thomas/RNZ

Health Minister Andrew Little said he had expected the number of practitioners willing to provide assisted dying to be even lower and while he was cautious about how robust the survey was, it gave him confidence.

Health Minister Andrew Little said he had expected that number to be even lower and while he was cautious about how robust the survey was, it gave him confidence.

"Even at that number, that leaves me satisfied that there will be enough health practitioners who will be able to assist those who elect to choose assisted dying under the legislation."

Associate professor Leeroy William, a Melbourne-based palliative specialist, said before Victoria introduced euthanasia in 2019, surveys on health practitioner participation looked strong.

But when it came down to it most doctors did not want to do it.

"What we've found is that you've had a small number of doctors who are actually doing this, and they've probably done the majority of it."

Nearly 20,000 New Zealanders receive hospice care each year but Mary Schumacher, chief executive of Hospice New Zealand, said most of the country's 33 hospices were refusing to be involved in euthanasia.

"We know that some of our clinicians have said that they would rather leave the profession than being involved in any way with assisted dying. It is so contrary to who they are."

Patients wanting euthanasia must be over 18, have a terminal illness likely to end their life within six months, be experiencing unbearable suffering and have the capacity to make an informed decision about it.

The Ministry of Health said doctors have to encourage patients to talk to their family about their decision but under the law they did not have to discuss it with anyone.

Karen Brown/RNZ

Chairperson of the Combined Medical Staff Executive group, Curtis Walker.

Chairman of the Medical Council Curtis Walker confirmed health practitioners weren't required to have specialist skills to provide euthanasia.

"Any registered doctor and nurse practitioner with an up-to-date, annual practising certificate is counted as a medical practitioner under this act."

However, Dr Curtis stressed that doctors must also be competent in any care they provide.

"Doctors will need to be competent in the communication around this, competent in the legislation requirements around this and competent in the actions of actually giving the end of life medications to the patient."

D'Souza fears New Zealand will follow Australia in requiring only a brief course for medical staff offering euthanasia.

"If it's going to be an online six-hour training course, like Victoria, I consider that woefully inadequate training for this."

The Ministry of Health can't yet say whether all district health boards (DHBs) will offer the service.

Lucia Bercinskas, policy analyst at the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, said that could mean inequality of access.

"For me, it's almost about healthcare by postcode. So we're introducing something else, it's not resourced, it won't be available nationally, there isn't a workforce to support it."

But Little said the government will make sure the service is available as widely as possible.

"The question is whether it is provided through the public service, or whether private practitioners will do it, even if supported by the public system, or funded by the public system," he said.

"I'm confident, from the advice I've received so far, that there's enough distribution to enable this to be available across New Zealand."

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Fears euthanasia training will just be online course - Stuff.co.nz

Palliative care specialists say most people skilled in end of life care don't want to be involved in euthanasia.

Dr Catherine D'Souza, a senior member of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine, said that will leave patients in the hands of people who are not experts in end of life care and pain management

"I'd just feel incredibly sad if somebody wanted to end their life because of pain when they hadn't had the chance to let a specialist have a go at trying to get it better under control."

The End of Life Choice Act takes effect on 7 November, after gaining more than 65 percent support in last year's referendum.

But a Ministry of Health survey of nearly 2000 health practitioners shows that, while almost half supported assisted dying in principle, fewer than 30 percent were "possibly or definitely" willing to provide the service.

Health Minister Andrew Little said he had expected that number to be even lower and while he was cautious about how robust the survey was, it gave him confidence.

"Even at that number, that leaves me satisfied that there will be enough health practitioners who will be able to assist those who elect to choose assisted dying under the legislation."

Associate professor Leeroy William, a Melbourne-based palliative specialist, said before Victoria introduced euthanasia in 2019, surveys on health practitioner participation looked strong.

But when it came down to it most doctors did not want to do it.

"What we've found is that you've had a small number of doctors who are actually doing this, and they've probably done the majority of it."

Nearly 20,000 New Zealanders receive hospice care each year but Mary Schumacher, chief executive of Hospice New Zealand, said most of the country's 33 hospices were refusing to be involved in euthanasia.

"We know that some of our clinicians have said that they would rather leave the profession than being involved in any way with assisted dying. It is so contrary to who they are."

Patients wanting euthanasia must be over 18, have a terminal illness likely to end their life within six months, be experiencing unbearable suffering and have the capacity to make an informed decision about it.

The Ministry of Health said doctors have to encourage patients to talk to their family about their decision but under the law they did not have to discuss it with anyone.

Chairman of the Medical Council Curtis Walker confirmed health practitioners weren't required to have specialist skills to provide euthanasia.

"Any registered doctor and nurse practitioner with an up-to-date, annual practising certificate is counted as a medical practitioner under this act."

However Dr Curtis stressed that doctors must also be competent in any care they provide.

"Doctors will need to be competent in the communication around this, competent in the legislation requirements around this and competent in the actions of actually giving the end of life medications to the patient."

Catherine D'Souza fears New Zealand will follow Australia in requiring only a brief course for medical staff offering euthanasia.

"If it's going to be an online six hour training course, like Victoria, I consider that woefully inadequate training for this."

The Ministry of Health can't yet say whether all district health boards (DHBs) will offer the service.

Lucia Bercinskas, policy analyst at the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, said that could mean inequality of access.

"For me, it's almost about healthcare by postcode. So we're introducing something else, it's not resourced, it won't be available nationally, there isn't a workforce to support it."

But Andrew Little said the government will make sure the service is available as widely as possible.

"The question is whether it is provided through the public service, or whether private practitioners will do it, even if supported by the public system, or funded by the public system," he said.

"I'm confident, from the advice I've received so far, that there's enough distribution to enable this to be available across New Zealand."

RNZ

Read the original here:

Fears euthanasia training will just be an online course - Newshub

On Thursday, March 25after a long debate, the Saeima rejected the For Good Death initiative, which called for the legalization of euthanasia in the event of terminal diseases.

49 members voted in favor of rejection, 38 against, two abstained.

At the beginning of February, the public initiative portal Manabalss.lv collected the necessary 10,000 signatures on an initiative to legalize euthanasia in Latvia.

Previously, the citizens' initiative on euthanasia legalization was rejected by the Saeima Mandate, Ethics and Submissions Commission after an expert committee of four religious leaders and two health experts was heard.

On Thursday, several members saw such a public initiative as a call for help, which seeks to draw politicians' attention to the shortcomings in palliative care and anesthetics.

Saeima deputy Artuss Kaimi said that, in his view, euthanasia is at least seven or eight further development steps forward in the case of Latvia. He believes that a number of improvements have yet to be made to palliative care and diagnostic medicine, so that MPs can decide further on legalizing euthanasia.

A similar opinion was expressed by the parliamentarianIlmrs Drtis (Development/For!), explaining that such an initiative encourages politicians to think about the conditions under which severely ill people depart from life. He considered that such an initiative would contribute to development in palliative care, but he said that today we are not prepared to introduce an active euthanasia process, because we cannot provide adequate conditions for people who have come into such a situation.

Meanwhile, opposition MP Viktors Valainis (Union of Greens and Farmers) said euthanasia would be the easiest way for severely ill people to escape intolerable pain, yet it is absolutely unacceptable because it ignores a number of problems in palliative care. At the same time, the Member stated that he was prepared to do everything necessary to improve the medical sector in the country.

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Saeima rejects initiative on euthanasia legalization - Eng.Lsm.lv

Legislators in Spain have passed a law making euthanasia and assisted suicide legal, making it the sixth country in the world, and the fourth in Europe to approve of such practices.

The BBC reports Spain's lower house of parliament voted 202 to 141 to pass the measure, which included support from center and left-wing political parties.

Promoted by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, the legislation will allow adults with "serious and incurable" disease that causes "unbearable suffering" to choose to kill themselves.

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The law authorizes two ways of allowing a person to end their own life: euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Physicians can euthanize their patients once several requirements are met. These requirements include that patients must be physically conscious, and also must be fully aware of the decision they are making.

A doctor can also reject a euthanasia/assisted suicide request if all of the requirements have not been met. The application also needs the endorsement of a second medical practitioner not involved in the case and approved by a regional medical committee.

The law allows medical workers, whether in the public or private system, to retain the right to choose whether to be involved in a patient's death. They can withdraw from the procedure on grounds of "conscience."

Euthanasia when a doctor directly administers fatal drugs to a patient is either legal or sanctioned by courts in Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Colombia, and the Netherlands. In Switzerland and some U.S. states, medically assisted suicide when patients self-administer lethal drugs under medical supervision is permitted. Portugal's parliament had sought to pass a similar law, but the effort was stymied after the country's highest court declared the practice unconstitutional. Some Spanish politicians believe the passage of the new law helps the country become more humane and free. But conservative and religious groups are condemning the law and have vowed to repeal it in the future.

Spain's right-wing Vox Party said it will challenge the law in the country's Constitutional Court. The party's MP Lourdes Mndez Monasterio told the Catalan News, it puts people's lives "in the hands of the state."

The new law has also been soundly rejected by the Catholic Church.

"This is a moment to promote conscience objection and promote all that which is related with this culture of life that wants to have a red line strongly saying, 'You shall not kill'," Bishop Luis Argello, secretary-general of the Spanish bishops' conference told the website angelusnews.com.

"Unfortunately, they've tried to find a solution to avoid suffering, by inducing the death of someone who is suffering," he said.

The bishop also added this is a time to remind Spanish society that "you will not willingly cause the death of a person to alleviate suffering, but on the contrary, you will care for, practice tenderness, closeness, mercy, inspire encouragement and hope for those people who are in the final stretch of their existence, perhaps in moments of suffering that need comfort, care and hope."

Unless legal challenges succeed, the law is expected to take effect in June.

Before it was passed, assisting in a person's suicide in Spain was punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Original post:

People's Lives 'In the Hands of the State': Spanish Lawmakers Vote to Legalize Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide - CBN News

This week an unexpected development occurred in Latvias political space. For years theres been talk of Andris les and Ainrs lesers dirty politics, because the names of both of them too often appear next to Aivars Lembergs. On top of that, both of them are also known as participants of so-called oligarch talks. But there have been no official charges. Until now.

The office of the prosecutor presented both oligarchs charges for fraud and money laundering this week. The same day authorities announced official charges against him, lesers, in an attempt to make himself into a martyr, announced everything is bad in Latvia, which is why he intends to return to politics. But he is not desperate enough to join forces with Aldis Gobzems, however.

This week there was also the discussion about the upcoming port reform. During this decision, participants mentioned multiple times the governments planned port reform has not economic justifications and that it will have critical consequences for Latvias transit sector. Businessmen are still trying to make the government listen and come up with a better plan for both the ports and the state to develop.

This week there were also heated discussions regarding the possibility of legalizing euthanasia in Latvia. The Saeima received a public initiative in favour of legalization of euthanasia, but the majority of the parliaments deputies decided that this procedure should not be available in Latvia, at least for now. The discussion did, however, help outline the lack of palliative care in Latvia.

BNN gives you a summary of the key events of the past week, told in news stories of the following topics: Oligarchs; Pointless reform; Life; Unfair compensations; Unforeseen needs; Quarantine in Lithuania; Lifetime tsar.

Andris le (L) and Ainars lesers (R). Photo: Lita Krone/LETA

The Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Latvia has arrested the shares owned by Latvias ex-prime minister Andris le and ex-transport minister Ainrs lesers in companies. This is done as part of the criminal process on possible illegalities committed in the digital television introduction process, according to information available on the website of the Enterprises Register.

BNN had previously reported that an arrest was put on the property of the accused in the digital television criminal case. LETA agency is aware that the arrest was put in some real estate property and company shares owned by lesers and le.

Information available from the Enterprises Register states that on 23 March an arrest was put on les property shares worth EUR 88 888 in Uzmumu vadba un konsultcijas company and shares worth EUR 4 020 in TA sabiedrba.

Screenshot from discussion stream

There are still many concerns about the government-approved port reform in Latvia. Port businessmen, representatives of municipal administrations, and the Foreign Investors Council object to this reform. They are worried the state may engage in business activities at ports, which would be a breach of competition, said CEO of Riga Universal Terminal Jnis Kasalis at a discussion What kind of port management reform is needed for development of Latvian ports: pros and cons on 22 March.

Businessmen and representatives of municipal administrations are supportive of the idea to implement Lepajas model in Riga and Ventspils. This means putting representatives of municipalities, businessmen and investors in port authorities. Liepaja Mayor Jnis Vilntis stressed that after the Liepjas Metalurgs saga the city has managed to successfully develop port territory, adding that Liepaja remains the only one of Latvias large ports to have retained freight volumes. This was also mentioned by heads of Ventspils and Riga freeports.

Photo: Ieva ka/LETA

On Thursday, 25 March, following lengthy debates Latvias parliament decided to decline the collective initiative submitted by more than 10 000 residents in which it was proposed to legalize euthanasia.

49 deputies voted in favour of this initiative, 38 voted against, and two abstained. With this vote members of the parliament supported the decision made by the Mandates, Ethics and Submissions Committee to decline the collective initiative.

Committee chairperson Janna Kurste-Pakule said at the meeting of the Saeima that people have to think what patients desire to die means for medical personnel, considering the Hippocratic oath requires doctors to save lives, not end them.

Photo: Pixabay

Following an audit of whether or not employers in the public sector act in accordance with regulations when it comes to termination of employees and subsequent payment of compensations, the State Audit concluded that in most cases employers do not sign agreements with their employees to prevent competition among public sector employers, but rather to resolve problematic situations when employees refuse to terminate their employment or provide certain employees with special treatment, as reported by State Audit.

The audit institution notes this conclusion is demonstrated by the findings in Latvian Railway and University of Latvia. Additionally, because of inappropriate behaviour of employers in the public sector, employees have had the option to receive money for both restricted work opportunities and become unemployed and receive benefits for this status simultaneously.

From the perspective of regulations, the aforementioned agreements are intended to deny the employee the right to enter the market or work in jobs that are in direct competition to their former employer.

Photo: Pexels

Latvias state budget programme for emergencies will be increased by another EUR 500 million this year, increasing it to EUR 1.32 billion.

Initially it was planned to allocate EUR 26.73 million towards this budget programme in 2021. In January Finance Ministry submitted an order to the government and Crisis Management Council to increase this amount by EUR 300 million. In February the government supported Finance Ministrys proposal on allocation of an additional amount of EUR 500 million towards the budget programme for emergencies, increasing the available funding to EUR 826.73 million.

On Wednesday Finance Ministry will ask the government to decide on allocation of an additional amount of EUR 500 million towards state budget programme for emergencies, making it so that the total amount available in the budget programme reaches EUR 1.32 billion.

Lithuanian Minister of Health Arnas Dulkys receives a dose of Covid-19 vaccine. Photo: 15min.lt/SCANPIX

As Lithuania faces yet another increase in Covid-19 cases with more infectious variants of the virus present in the country, the government has decided to extend the long-standing quarantine until the end of April and to return travel restrictions between municipalities for Easter, Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT and Modesta Gauait-Znutien report.

The data show that the number of new cases per 100 000 population in 14 days was almost 280 in recent days, the proportion of positive studies in 7 days was over 7%. The average number of cases in 7 days is 611. In general, in the last two weeks, the number of cases and the share of positive tests have unfortunately started to increase, informed Lithuanian Minister of Health Arnas Dulkys at the government meeting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: ZUMAPRESS.com/SCANPIX

The Russian State Duma has adopted a bill permitting long-time President Vladimir Putin to run for two more terms or 12 years in office, Russian state news agency TASS reports.

The bill was made possible by the amendments of the Russian Constitution passed in 2020.

In addition to making Putin eligible for two more presidential terms, the bill passed in the third reading this week sets forth that requirements to seek the nations highest office are:

at least 35 years of age

having lived in Russia continuously for at least 25 years

and not having had foreign citizenship or overseas residency permits.

See the rest here:

BNN summary of the week: oligarchs grabbed by the throat. Euthanasia yay or nay? Bad news for ports - bnn-news.com

Mary Edgar

Charles Town

Most of we pro-lifers have heard the request from pro-life entities to "Stand for the Culture of Life!" Well, we are here to do so!

In fact, we pro-lifers would not hesitate to make a "Pro-Life Declaration." I would like to do that here:

1. I believe that every human life begins at the moment of conception and lasts until natural death.

2. I believe that every human life begins at the moment of conception and lasts until natural death.

3. I believe that all people are endowed by their Creator with the inalienable right to life, for, without the right to life, no other individual rights are possible.

4. I believe that abortion is nothing less than depriving an innocent person of their life, their most basic human right, and therefore, that abortion is gravely evil and never permissible, even in the cases of rape and incest.

5. I believe that assisted suicide and euthanasia should never be condoned, instead, dying patients who request euthanasia should receive loving care, spiritual support, and appropriate remedies for pain so that they can live with dignity until the moment of natural death.

6. I believe in mercy and compassion for all who have been impacted by the effects of abortion and for all who are confused and frightened in today's culture of death!

As a retired teacher, I must say that many of us considered this "methodical" method as a good tool! In our present society, we must pray and do what we can to save our babies...God's Creation.

So, where do we begin? Please ask Senator Capito and Senator Manchin that we do not want them to support the Equity Act as written because of its support of abortion. The Equity Act has already passed the House or Representatives, which prohibits discrimination against gays, lesbians, and transgender persons. In some areas, that makes sense: lodging, serving on a jury, accommodations at work for pregnant women. But, it would codify in federal law the category of "gender identification," meaning that a person who is biologically one sex can insist on being treated as of the other sex. It would be illegal under federal law to deny to a boy, who has declared himself a girl, the right to compete in women's sports or to share a dorm and bathroom facilities with girls at a camp. "Gender identification" is untethered to reality. It is unscientific. We have read: If your body has two X chromosomes, you are a female; if it has X chromosomes, and a Y chromosomes, you are a mail. This mistaken concept for "gender identification" runs through the whole bill. (The Equity Act)

In addition, this bill would allow abortions to come in by the back door, for the Equity Act forbids discrimination on "pregnancy-related conditions," language that can be used to seek an abortion.

OK...pro-lifers, you may reach Senator Capito (202-224-6472); and Senator Manchin at (202-224-3954).

We pro-lifers must stand up for the unborn babies, our future citizens.

Read the original here:

Stand for the Culture of Life | Journal-news - Martinsburg Journal

Though the Beast Titan had no role to play in the first season of Attack On Titan's anime, Zeke Jaeger has become an integral part of the anime franchise in its last, and one fan has used some clever makeup to create an insane take on the brother of Eren Jaeger that is causing so many problems for both Eldia and Marley. With the first half of season four's finale having Zeke's plan continue to march forward, it's clear that we'll be seeing plenty more of the Beast Titan when the television series returns in 2022.

When the Beast Titan first appeared at the beginning of Attack On Titan's second season, fans were taken aback when the Titan was able to form full sentences, being the first Titan that was able to do so. With his secrets eventually being revealed as a soldier of Marley, Zeke's allegiances have thrown fans for a loop as the final season has shown audiences that the Beast Titan is a friend to neither Eldia nor Marley. Attempting to enact the "Euthanasia Plan", Zeke now has the full cooperation of his brother Eren and is seeking to make sure that no new Eldians are born to suffer thanks to their ties to the power of the Titans.

Instagram Cosplayer Kappy_W shared this insane recreation of the Beast Titan, bringing Zeke Jaeger to life just in time for the Euthanasia Plan in the series' anime to begin that sees the eldest Jaeger joined by his little brother, as well as a number of restorationists that now consider themselves to be "Jaegerists":

The Beast Titan has always been a terrifying opponent to face, with the third season showing off his deadly skills by hurling boulders at the majority of the Survey Corps, killing Captain Erwin in the process. In the latest episode, we saw just how much resolve Zeke has, as he causes an exploding that destroys his lower half and also might have killed Levi in the process. Though the second half of Season Four is several months away, there will definitely be plenty to look forward to when it makes its grand return.

What do you think of this stunning and creepy Cosplay? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Titans.

Read more:

Attack On Titan Cosplay Captures The Horror Of The Beast Titan - ComicBook.com

The Bishops of Venezuela release a statement in which they voice their concerns regarding growing pressure to legalize abortion, euthanasia and gender ideology in the country.

By Lisa Zengarini

The bishops of Venezuela are concerned about growing pressure for legalizing abortion, euthanasia and promoting gender ideology in the Country. These concerns have been expressed by the Permanent Commission of the Bishops Conference of Venezuela (CEV) in a statement entitled Great Human Values, which reiterates that all human beings must be respected in their dignity, from which human rights descend, including the most important one: the right to life. In a special way, believers in Christ must defend and promote this right, on the recognition of which every human community and the political community itself are founded, the bishops remark, quoting Pope John Paul IIs Encyclical Evangelium Vitae.

The statement notes that in recent years more and more attempts have been made in the world to impose a mentality contrary to this fundamental right and to the traditional family: There are great advertising campaigns by powerful international corporations that invest huge sums of money to impose new pro-abortion, euthanasia and gender ideology legislation based on a false concept of modernity, which creates new human rights in contrast with God's plan, the Permanent Commission writes.

According to the bishops, Venezuela is not immune from this growing antilife mentality, which is now promoted by a number of groups and movements in the Country and unfortunately has gained consensus amongst some local political leaders who are pushing for new laws in this regard. What is most objectionable they remark - is that these leaders are taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to push forward this agenda.

Reminding that the Venezuelan Constitution protects life "from conception to natural death" and upholds the integrity of the family and marriage as a bond between a man and a woman, the statement stresses the urgent need for Catholics and all people of good will to raise their voices in defence of these great human values against a minority who wants to impose a new legal framework that distorts the meaning of life, extending the culture of death. The Venezuelan bishops also call on legislators to "listen to the voice of their conscience and act consequently by choosing to uphold the traditional family, the dignity and life of every human person in all its phases".

They finally urge priests, religious, laypeople, pro-life groups, pastoral workers and all ecclesial organizations and bodies to persevere in raising awareness on these issues and in proclaiming the Gospel of life in order to prevent the approval of such laws which, they say, impose a culture of death against the Catholic faith and the human sense of solidarity. The statement concludes reminding that being a Venezuelan should be a synonym of loving life.

Original post:

Pro-life and gender issues of concern to Church in Venezuela - Vatican News

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Change the debate into something in which both sides can find common ground like helping make alternatives possible

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The debate over life issues in Canada is in a deep rut. Round and round it goes and the only thing that changes is there are more abortions and more deaths by euthanasia or medical assistance in dying or MAID as the government calls it.

In the abortion debate there are two sides. Neither has formulated anything in years that could be called a fresh argument or solution. Nor has common ground been found on a mass scale.

For many, particularly for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his allies, abortion is almost the definition of feminism. It is as much of a right as voting or free speech. To talk about the reduction of abortion by any legal means is akin to hating women.

On the other side, as was pointed out in a recent Chris Selley column, there are those who try to compare abortion with the Holocaust. I agree with Selley that this is a terrible tactic, mainly because the Holocaust as well as the Holodomor, the slaughter of the Armenians, the mass killings in Rwanda and other such nightmares are events driven mainly by racial or even class hatred.

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The debate over life issues in Canada is in a deep rut

Assuming you agree with the beliefs of some pro-life groups, that abortion is no different than having a national program to destroy certain groups, it has to be asked: What do you have to show for it? The answer to my mind it is very little.

Comparison is often a dead end. It forgets that several things can be tragic without being like one another. As Selley pointed out, women have abortions for all kinds of reasons everything from not wanting a child to pressure from family and friends to get rid of it.

It could be argued that strategies such as making comparisons have helped reduce the number of abortions, except the numbers do not bear this out. The number of abortions in Canada has remained little changed over the past 10 years.

In 2007 there were 98,762 abortions. After a few years of decrease, the total shot up to 108,844 in 2011. The numbers then declined through the next few years to roughly 94,030 in 2017 and 85,195 in 2018 the last year for which statistics are available.

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Along with this, euthanasia has rocketed and the government just recently increased the number of Canadians who are eligible to have their lives ended by lethal injection.

According to the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, in 2019, there were 5,631 assisted deaths reported in Canada, up from 4,467 in 2018, accounting for two per cent of all Canadian deaths. This represented an increase of 26.1 per cent over 2018, with every province experiencing a steady growth in the number of cases of assisted suicide since its introduction into law in 2016.

In Ontario, which releases figures at a faster pace, there was a 33 per cent increase in euthanasia deaths from the year before.

The reality is that we are living in a culture in which the vast majority has little trouble with the ending of lives.

I have spent years writing in opposition to MAID and speaking out against its evils, and at least from a statistical or legislative standpoint, I have nothing to show for it. Worse, it keeps expanding with little public outcry.

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It is possible that a few here or there may have changed their minds about euthanasia or abortion through persuasion but there is no way to tell.

Those searching for a way to keep their babies or continue living have few options.

The only answer as far as I am concerned is to change the debate into something in which both sides could find common ground.

The Conservative party, as Selley pointed out in his column, risks a serious rift over abortion.

The way forward on abortion, I believe, is it to start talking about helping women in need.

The model for this is the New York-based Sisters of Life, which has a centre in Toronto. I am sure most of the sisters would love to see abortion made illegal, but in the meantime what they are doing rises above the rhetoric.

They not only provide counselling but also material goods for those who need a place to live and food. Many of these women are single and fear isolation and a future of low-paying jobs. Some have found hostility in boyfriends and husbands are who not interested in having a child.

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Who in their right mind could oppose helping women and their babies?

The stories are numerous. I have written before that a rich society such as ours could afford to help women not only with the basics but with all kinds of education. Why not create dormitories for single mothers with day care so they can improve their prospects?

As for MAID, the answer is to start building more hospices and to train a cadre of experts to bring palliative care into the home. At the moment there is a dire lack of palliative care in this country. At last estimate only 30 per cent of those who seek it either in an institution or at home can find it.

I am sure that even those who support MAID could not possibly object to a real alternative. Not all who support MAID want to end their lives in this way but they believe Canadians should have a choice. Right now, there is not much of a choice.

In 2010, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, then archbishop of Quebec City, urged that both sides work together to at least reduce the number of abortions. He spoke about reframing the discussion to lending a hand to pregnant women who wanted to have their babies but were facing obstacles.

His comments were pretty much ignored. Maybe now is the time to try again.

Charles Lewis is the former religion editor of the National Post.

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Read more from the original source:

Charles Lewis: Can we reframe the discussion on abortion and assisted dying? - National Post