Monthly Archives: May 2022

After pleading unsuccessfully for affordable housing to help ease her chronic health condition, a Canadian woman ended her life in February under the countrys assisted-suicide laws. Another woman, suffering from the same condition and also living on disability payments, has nearly reached final approval to end her life.

The two high-profile cases have prompted disbelief and outrage, and shone a light on Canadas right-to-die laws, which critics argue are being misused to punish the poor and infirm. In late April, the Spectator ran a story with the provocative headline: Why is Canada euthanising the poor?

But medical and legal experts caution that oversimplified media coverage of the cases fail to capture the realities of the system and warn that sensationalist coverage of a handful of extreme cases ignores a larger crisis in the countrys healthcare systems.

In February, a 51-year-old Ontario woman known as Sophia was granted physician-assisted death after her chronic condition became intolerable and her meagre disability stipend left her little to survive on, according to CTV News.

The government sees me as expendable trash, a complainer, useless and a pain in the ass, she said in a video obtained by the network. For two years, she and friends had pleaded without success for better living conditions, she said.

Now a second case has emerged with several parallels: another woman, known as Denise, has also applied to end her life after being unable to find suitable housing and struggling to survive on disability payments.

Both were diagnosed with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCR), a condition in which common chemicals, such as those in cigarette smoke and laundry detergents, can trigger nausea, blinding headaches and in extreme cases, anaphylactic shock.

Both had also argued that specialized housing where air flow is more controlled would ease their debilitating symptoms.

Unable to work, they each received $1,169 per month placing them well below the poverty line in Canadas most populous and expensive province.

For activists, the cases have come to represent Canadas failure to care for its most vulnerable citizens and raised questions about how assisted-suicide laws are applied.

But experts caution the cases are also being used by groups opposed to medical assistance in death (Maid) in an attempt to scale back legislation rather than looking at how governments can improve people living with disabilities.

Inadequate housing is not one of the eligibility criteria for medical assistance in dying. While somebodys living circumstances may contribute to their suffering, it does not constitute the grievous and irremediable medical condition, which must exist, said Chantal Perrot, a physician and Maid provider.

Perrot said that while housing could have helped, it was only a part of a broader struggle against the chronic condition.

The only treatment really for that is avoidance of all triggers. Thats pretty much impossible to do in ordinary life. So better housing can create a temporary bubble for a person but theres no cure for this, she said. We do this work because we believe in peoples right to an assisted death. Its not always easy to do. But we know that patients need it and value it. We live with the challenge of the work, in part because it is important to alleviate that suffering.

When Canada introduced legislation on assisted suicide in 2016, advocacy groups raised fears that vulnerable populations could be targeted, or that physicians would be forced to override the oaths theyd taken to protect patents.

Many of the slippery-slope arguments that were made initially never happened, said Hillary Ferguson, a bioethicist at Dalhousie University. There were fears that the floodgates would open and all these people would be accessing Maid or even forced upon them. But thats not been the case.

Last year, lawmakers revised the criteria for MAID after the countrys supreme court ruled that a previous version of the law, which excluded people with disabilities, was unconstitutional.

The issue is once again before a special joint parliamentary committee tasked with deciding whether to expand access to consenting children and those with mental illness.

Jocelyn Downie, a professor of law at Dalhousie and expert in end-of-life policy, said there are extensive guardrails in the system to protect Canadians.

You have to meet rigorous eligibility criteria. And being poor and not having a home, or a home that is suitable for you, does not make you eligible, said Downie. Cases that involve a chronic condition are often time-consuming because clinicians are working to exhaust all other options to ease the suffering of their patients, she said.

Downie said that the cases do highlight societal failures but not with the countrys assisted dying laws.

Listen to what people living with disabilities have been asking for years, she said, pointing to investments in accessible housing and transportation.

Instead of fighting over the law, which lawmakers are unlikely to repeal given a string of supreme court cases upholding the right to physician assisted death, Downie said a greater emphasis should be on disability supports and services and mental health supports.

The reality is, its a small number of people who qualify for Maid. But investments in mental health and disability resources would go so far to help so many more people live their lives.

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Assisted deaths of two Canadian women living in poverty puts spotlight on euthanasia laws - The Guardian

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY Ten adult dogs and five puppies slated for euthanasia at an undisclosed rural northwestFlorida shelter have been rescued by the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County.

The dogs arrived Thursday at the shelter on 77th Streetand are undergoing examination by shelter veterinarians and other personnel.

According to societyCEO Kate Meghji, the dogs are part of a nationwide problem experienced at shelters across the country since the start of the pandemic.

For years, intake at shelters has been going down, but in 2022, weve seen a jump in owner surrenders and strays in many areas, said Meghji. Even at our shelter, owner surrenders are up 20% so far this year.

Meghji attributes the jump to issues with housing, where owners have had to downsizeresidences, move in with family and in some cases, became homeless.

Help make room: Adopt or foster dogs who've been atHumane Society a while

Leash law: Pet cats shouldn't roam free inIndian Rver County

A lot of times, we are able to help and keep pets with their families, said Meghji. "But sometimes, people are just left with no other options.

The dogs from the Panhandle were turned over to the shelter by owners who could no longer afford to care for them, or they were picked up by animal control.

Theyreceived little or no medical care, were not spayed or neutered, had no vaccinations and no socializationall things that the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County.is ready and willing to provide.

The adult dogs are mixed breed, something Meghji likes to call designer hybrids, but most of the puppies seem to be some type of hound mix. Although they appear to be in good health, Meghji said she will quarantine the dogs until they make sure its safe to expose them to other shelter animals.

Once the dogs are available for adoption, the shelter will place them for adoption in stages to minimize the stress an animal often feels when moving from a shelter to home environment. Some will make it to foster care while they recuperate from any medical needs they may have before they can be adopted permanently.

Janet Begley is a local freelance writer for TCPalm.com.If you like articles like this and other TCPalm coverage of Treasure Coast news, pleasesupport our journalism and subscribe.

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15 dogs arrive at Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County - TCPalm

My name is Holly Warland, Im 30 years old, I have Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy, and I have won the right to die. In 2021, my home state of Queensland (Australia) legalized Voluntary Assisted Dying a process formerly known as euthanasia for people suffering from terminal illnesses. I advocated and fought for this law so that I could control when and how I end my suffering.

If the name hasnt clued you in already, Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD) is a genetic muscle-wasting disease that affects the bodys limbs and girdles (hips, shoulders). Basically, my entire body from the neck down. LGMD involves the deterioration of my muscles due to a protein deficiency. When I use my muscles, they dont regenerate like they would for anyone else. Over the last thirty years, I have lost all ability to look after myself and function as a normal human being. I am bedbound and need help with toileting, feeding myself, showering, and preparing medication, and have essentially zero mobility. I even need help in my sleep! My husband has to roll me from side to side every hour or two so I dont get sore in the same position all night.

Other people living with LGMD will have different experiences; some are even able to live mostly regular lives. However, due to a lack of experts or research, I can only assume that mine is a particularly aggressive case. Theres very little in the way of treatments or therapy that can help my diminishing strength.

More info: Instagram | Facebook

My only means of mobility are a pair of wheelchairs one for going outside and one for showering and toileting. My hospital bed, which I exist in for over 23 hours every day, uses an air compressor to maintain a cushion of air underneath me to help avoid bedsores. My days are mostly a balancing act of relieving my aches and pains with physical therapy (lots of stretching and massage), managing medications, and regulating my mood.

I was diagnosed at 11, but I tried not to let it stop me from achieving goals, but I also had to stay realistic when setting them. Being the humble human in the world, I decided I would earn a doctorate by 25 years old. After high school, I went on to study psychology at university, later going on to teach others and study for my Ph.D. in autism neuropsychology. I would use an electric wheelchair to attend university via sometimes outright dangerous taxi rides. This proved to be doable for the majority of my university career throughout my early 20s. During this time, I was still reasonably mobile and could socialize with friends, go to concerts, and even dated around a little.

I met my husband in 2015 online dating while I was still studying. We had a great 18 months together until my body began to betray me. My strength dipped due to the nature of my condition my muscles had been atrophying and had gotten to the point where my autonomy was being strained. I could no longer attend university and my strength made my study and any type of work nearly impossible.

I found myself at home with vomiting spells, shaking, sweats, muscle contractions/spasms, episodes of breathlessness, heart palpitations, and muscular pain. My husband (then boyfriend) stayed home to care for me and became my official carer. This all led to me becoming severely depressed as I came to the realization that I would have to kill myself in order to avoid a slow, painful death.

I wanted to die as soon as possible and desperately began looking for options, but the only one available to me was DIGNITAS a Swiss organization that helps terminally ill people to end life on their own terms. Unfortunately, I wasnt up for the twenty-hour plane ride. My own country had no similar laws, but support was growing in another state for medically assisted suicide (now called Voluntary Assisted Dying). I felt helpless.

I was stuck in bed, sick every day and crying in pain thinking, How could I escape this? Even though everyone would love a peaceful death, no laws were in place to give me the right to one.

Despite living in a western modern country, the rights to a peaceful death were still far away. I felt frustrated.

In 2017 I started an Instagram and Facebook to document the ugly truth about disability in the hopes of raising awareness of my situation. I wanted to honestly depict how muscular dystrophy (and other similar disabilities) can affect your life. I put some graphic, uncomfortable stuff (my naked body, disability injuries) on there, but I managed to find an audience that was interested. People who are sick of disability being sugarcoated. As my followers started to grow, and my opinion was shared by many, I felt like I had the power behind me to do something.

In 2018 my story was published in a local newspaper. The story would go on to win a Walkley Award sort of the Oscars for Australian journalism. This was a small, state-wide magazine, but had an impact nonetheless.

This launched my online career and would allow and encourage me to get involved with my state politics. I contributed to the Dying with Dignity campaign to legalize VAD in Queensland. I shot a video testimonial and wrote my story again to be heard before the state parliament. At this stage, my health was so bad that I couldnt attend any rallies or hearings. This is why I relied on some #BadBacktivism.

The internet has made it possible for me to protest from my bed. If I was in this situation 20 years ago I would have been completely useless as a political force! I have managed to achieve change without leaving my house. I thought this was impossible, and that I was to remain forever depressed and feeling helpless regarding social issues that I wanted to help change. I wanted to go beyond slacktivism. Simply liking a Facebook post wasnt enough for me anymore. I had to take control of my death. This could only be done by taking the right routes to change. I wrote letters to my parliamentary members, joined an established campaign group, and used my platform on Instagram to challenge antiquated (and often religious) views. Obviously, my passion for this campaign was self-serving to begin with as I was frantically looking for a way out. But it became more as I began to connect with fellow sufferers and was encouraged to make my own shit happen. I couldnt rely on or wait for the world to catch up with me.

I dont want to be called inspirational because my original reasoning for change was selfish.

I was doing all this while taking several different medications, sick and in pain every day, while stuck in bed with a bad back!

After years of campaigning, my state finally held a vote on a VAD bill that would allow terminally ill people to end their suffering. They voted YES to give dying people access to a pill that kills them peacefully. All authorized by medical professionals, with checks in place to ensure no one is being coerced, and no more than 12 months from the predicted time of death. Although this is a massive victory on the path to legalized VAD, my condition still would not qualify. This is a bittersweet victory. Although my muscles are deteriorating at a rapid pace, no doctor can predict when or how I will pass away. This doesnt mean I dont want control over my end of life.

Obviously, I didnt change the law by myself, but I like to think I encouraged others to join the fight to go beyond liking a post, and actually get involved. Its been these small steps that led to this victory, as well as an army of people with varying physical abilities and a unified need for a better death. This victory isnt mine; its shared with the thousands of Australians who live with permanent pain and health issues, as my country begins to ask itself; what does the quality of death mean to them?

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My Journey Of Fighting For The Right To Pass Away Voluntarily - Bored Panda

POLICE NEW AT SIX IOWAS I ONCE AGAIN GETTING NATIONAL ATTENTION FOR A PROBLEM WITH PUPPY MILLS. THE HUMANE SOCIETYS HORRIBLE HUNDRED REPORTS SAYS THAT IOWA HAS THE SECOND MOST REPORTED PUPPY MLSIL IN THE COUNTRY AT 17. THE REPORT DETAILS ARE HORRIFIC AND INCDELU CASES OF UNETHICAL EUTHANASIA AT HOME VETERINARIAN TREATMENTS AND DANGEROUS LIVING CONDITIONS. HUNDREDS OF DOGS MISSOURI IS THE ONLY STATE THAT RANKS

Report: Iowa among the worst states when it comes to puppy mills

Updated: 10:24 PM CDT May 10, 2022

Iowa is once again getting national attention for a problem with puppy mills. Iowa has the second most reported puppy mills in the country with 17, according to the Humane Society's Horrible Hundred latest report. The report details horrific cases of unethical euthanasia, at-home veterinary treatments and dangerous living conditions for hundreds of dogs. Missouri is the only state that ranks worse than Iowa, with 26 confirmed puppy mills.More news:

Iowa is once again getting national attention for a problem with puppy mills.

Iowa has the second most reported puppy mills in the country with 17, according to the Humane Society's Horrible Hundred latest report.

The report details horrific cases of unethical euthanasia, at-home veterinary treatments and dangerous living conditions for hundreds of dogs.

Missouri is the only state that ranks worse than Iowa, with 26 confirmed puppy mills.

More news:

Originally posted here:

Report: Iowa among the worst states when it comes to puppy mills - KCCI Des Moines

Editor:

I am in my seventieth year of life. My life is finite, like everyone elses. I want to finish this life with honour and with integrity. I want to leave a legacy to my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren that I have lived life to the fullest until my last breath.

I learn a lot of what I just wrote from my 18 year old grandson, who 14 months ago, was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma. Through 20 rounds of chemotherapy, another 25 bouts of radiation therapy and a number of surgeries, the doctors have had to admit defeat. Cancer is going to win the battle over my 18 year old grandson. But my grandson does not give up on the life he has been given. He lives each moment, and like Henry David Thoreau wrote more than a century ago, to suck the very marrow out of life. Each breath is precious. Each life is finite and ought to be lived until the last breath is naturally taken from that life. My grandson is teaching all those who encounter him this very important lesson and his grandfather is one of them.

And that is what makes the present and the future euthanasia laws so heinous. Each life is precious and should be savoured and relished for the incredible gift it is. Our members of parliament need to do the right thing by speaking up and voting against making MAID [medical assistance in dying] more available. Even better would be to reverse and fight the recent trend to make euthanasia more accessible.

Yours,

John Siebenga

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Each life is precious and should be savoured - Houston Today