Archbishop J. Michael Miller welcomed the federal governments decision to pause the introduction of assisted dying for individuals suffering from mental illness, but expressed dismay that it still intends to expand access in the future.
The Archbishop was reacting to an announcement by federal Health Minister Mark Holland that the government would extend the deadline for making euthanasia available for individuals whose sole medical condition is mental illness.
Holland said on Jan. 29 that more time is needed to prepare for the move but told media the implementation is only being delayed. Earlier in the day, Parliaments Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying recommended delaying the expansion of euthanasia for mental disorders for a year.
The committee said Canada is unprepared for the measure and recommended postponing it until it can be safely and adequately provided.
On Feb. 1, the government introduced legislation to delay the expansion of MAiD for mental illness by three years, freeing the Liberal government from having to deal with the issue before the next federal election.
Archbishop Miller welcomed the Jan., 29 decision to delay the expansion but was disappointed by the ministers indication that he plans to proceed. He said the government had already delayed the measure last year to allow more time to prepare for it.
Now, its admitting there still hasnt been enough preparation, the Archbishop said. There will never be enough preparation for taking the lives of individuals suffering from mental illness, and Canadians have repeatedly said they want to see improved mental health care for mental illness, not death.
Echoing the Archbishops observation was Rebecca Vachon of think tank Cardus, who, although pleased that both the joint committee and the health minister were aligned on delaying the expansion of MAiD, said an indefinite pause is needed.
As Cardus indicated in its own brief to the committee, not only are there inherent problems with reporting and oversight in the current provision of euthanasia, further expansion would be irresponsible given the existing barriers and gaps in mental health care, she said.
A fall 2023 poll by the Angus Reid Institute and Cardus found only 28 per cent of Canadian supported the expansion, while 82 said any expansion should be conditional on improved mental health care.
Vachon said the government has to address current issues with euthanasia. The governments priority should be measures that help Canadians live with dignity, including ensuring universally available, high-quality palliative care, as well as addressing needs like housing and support for those with physical disabilities and mental disorders.
Phil Horgan, lawyer and special counsel to the Catholic Civil Rights League, questioned the governments language in announcing the delay.
The joint committee and the minister commented on the system not being ready for the proposed expansion. We hope that after 57,000 deaths in seven years this legislation be recognized as an unbearable and grisly expansion. The system has gone far beyond anything contemplated by our Supreme Court. Perhaps some humility is in order.
Groups battling the federal governments expansion of assisted suicide to the mentally ill say the delay announced Jan. 29 is no cause to claim victory, and a top health law expert warns grimly its the unelected Senate that might force Canadians to accept medical killing of the mentally ill.
Trudo Lemmens, a professor in health law at the University of Toronto and one of the legal experts invited to present to Parliaments special joint committee on MAiD, cautioned that zealous individual senators could act even if the Trudeau government loses its political appetite for the fight over MAiD expansion.
We will have to see how the Senate reacts since some senators have shown a remarkably zealous commitment to expansion, and may try to block at the Senate level a law implementing the (joint committees) recommendations, said Lemmens.
An advocate for Indigenous people opposed to pushing MAiD further emphasizes the fight is far from won just because of a pause in the legislative action.
Its not like a win or anything, Neil Belanger, director of the British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (BCANDS), said. If its shut down for two years, youll have those pro-MAID groups working for two years.
Belanger warned that advocates for doctor-delivered death can be counted on to unleash a full-court public relations press aimed at pressuring Ottawa to proceed with the now-paused legal expansion.
These guys will take whatever time they get, and theyll be planning a better strategy, he predicted. Theyll do their PR work, and theyll hope that its out of sight, out of mind for people. And largely it will be.
Hundreds of briefs submitted to the committee reveal strong arguments for a permanent pause to the inclusion of mental illness as grounds for MAiD.
Lemmens, along with two other legal experts, noted in their brief that there is no positive right to MAiD pursuant to permissive federal criminal law. The National Association of Catholic Nurses Canada wrote that no attempts at readiness can overcome basic problems with the concept.
A new Toronto Star investigation says Canada is outpacing every other country in the world in the speed at which euthanasia is growing. In the past two years, more people have died through Canadas MAiD regime than in any other nation in the world, the Toronto Star research found.
With files from Anna Farrow, Canadian Catholic News
By Quinton Amundson
Christian lawyer Lia Milousis hopes a votable resolution she and colleague Kerri Froc have submitted to the Canadian Bar Association will deliver an influential signal that further expansion of MAiD should be abandoned entirely.
Milousis and Frocs motion calls on the bar association, which represents over 38,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers and students, to execute three actions: withdraw prior statements supporting MAiD for those whose only underlying medical condition is a psychiatric condition; urge the federal government not to proceed with MAiD for people solely living with a mental illness unless and until there is a reliable method to determine if such conditions are irremediable; and implore federal, provincial and territorial organizations to prioritize advancing, developing and funding mental health support.
Milousis said the motion, to be presented at the bar associations annual general meeting on Feb. 8, would essentially correct a misinterpretation of a position adopted at the 2016 annual general meeting in the aftermath of theSupreme Court decision that shaped Canadas original MAiD law Bill C-14.At that time, members agreed that a person who otherwise qualified for euthanasia having a grievous, irremediable medical condition and reasonable foreseeability of natural death should not be barred from MAiD because they also had a psychiatric condition.
I struggle to think that members who voted in 2016 were voting with individuals whose only underlying medical condition was mental illness in mind, said Milousis. Really, this was about saying if you have terminal cancer and you would otherwise qualify for medical assistance in dying and you also happen to have an anxiety order or depression, that depression should not prevent you from proceeding with this decision...
Milousis said the way the resolution has since been interpreted has been a source of deep concern for me and many of my colleagues.
She said MAiD advocates in the bar association have increasingly made submissions in support of including mental illness to qualify for euthanasia. Some of my colleagues and I both believe this is contrary to the Carter decision and outside the scope of the resolution.
The Carter decision is the 2015 Supreme Court of Canada judgment that Criminal Code prohibitions against physician-assisted suicide were unconstitutional.
The authors of the 2024 resolution support their position by citing a 2018 Council of Canadian Academies report that found there is no medical consensus regarding the irremediability of psychiatric conditions.
Another finding in the Council of Canadian Academies document cited by Milousis and Froc is that marginalized populations, including women, Indigenous communities, LGBT individuals, and youth, experience or are at risk of experiencing mental disorders at disproportionate rates.
They argue, permitting medical assistance in dying for those whose sole underlying medical condition is a psychiatric condition would have a disproportionate, gendered impact and risks violating section 15 of the (Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom). Section 15 of the Charter declares, Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.
The solution that these (marginalized) communities have repeatedly asked for are increased mental health supports and additional funding to help these individuals, Milousis said, but in the midst of that cry and desire, the government is saying, well, we dont have those supports available, but we will allow you to access medical assistance in dying.
I find that deeply concerning and disrespectful of what folks in these communities have asked for.
Milousis and Froc are on the CBAs Constitutional and Human Rights Sections executive team, which already voted to endorse the resolution.
The CBA has gone too far in their advocacy, and we need to rein things back in on this issue and focus on what the Supreme Court said in (the Carter decision), Milousis said.
Canadian Catholic News
Share your thoughts and contribute to the ongoing conversation by sending us a Letter to the Editor.
See the original post here:
- Death of Catholic former Dutch prime minister highlights 'duo euthanasia' trend in Netherlands - Catholic Herald Online - February 24th, 2024 [February 24th, 2024]
- The Deadly Trend of Double Euthanasia The European Conservative - The European Conservative - February 24th, 2024 [February 24th, 2024]
- Humane Society of Central Texas asks for help as overpopulation threatens animals with euthanasia - KWTX - February 24th, 2024 [February 24th, 2024]
- Ending euthanasia is 'an act of love,' says Canadian activist. Published Feb. 20 2024. World. - The Pilot - February 24th, 2024 [February 24th, 2024]
- 'Duo euthanasia' of former prime minister unveils growing trend in the Netherlands - Evangelical Focus - February 24th, 2024 [February 24th, 2024]
- To Suffer or To Live: The Dilemma of Euthanasia - CONNECTAS - Connectas - February 24th, 2024 [February 24th, 2024]
- All you need to know about euthanasia - Nation - February 24th, 2024 [February 24th, 2024]
- Home with Dignity Enters Cincinnati, Ohio, Revolutionizing In-Home Euthanasia for Pets - PR Newswire - February 24th, 2024 [February 24th, 2024]
- Despite postponement, Canadian government 'fully committed' to expanding assisted suicide, warn country's bishops - Catholic Herald Online - February 24th, 2024 [February 24th, 2024]
- Dame Esther Rantzen explained main reason why she's choosing to die by euthanasia - LADbible - February 24th, 2024 [February 24th, 2024]
- Dame Esther Rantzen's heartbreaking last wish after she prepares for euthanasia - The Mirror - February 24th, 2024 [February 24th, 2024]
- Dame Esther Rantzen reveals her final wish as she prepares for euthanasia - LADbible - February 24th, 2024 [February 24th, 2024]
- "My Last Day Will Be Saturday": Dutch Woman, 28, Shares Final Post Before Being Euthanised - NDTV - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- Opinion | The aid-in-dying question - The Washington Post - The Washington Post - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- Enjoy A Last Morbid Meme: Dutch Woman Has Funny Final Meme Before Undergoing Euthanasia - Bored Panda - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- Opponents of nitrogen executions bill cite Ohio's ban on gas for pet euthanasia - The Statehouse News Bureau - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- Euthanasia for mentally ill off the table in Canada for now - GZERO Media - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- Odin the dog rescued from euthanasia - Lincoln - KOLN - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- 'My last day will be on Saturday': 28-year-old with ME shares final post before being euthanised - Yahoo News UK - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- Odin the dog rescued from euthanasia - Lawton - KSWO - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- Organ-Harvesting Requested from Those to Be Killed by Euthanasia in Quebec - National Review - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- Austin Animal Center to follow new euthanasia rules for dogs with severe bite histories - Community Impact - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- Dogs at Mission shelter at risk of euthanasia due to overcrowding - KRGV - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- Decision Made with Regard to a Proposed Referendum on Euthanasia - Hungary Today - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- Execution method used on Alabama inmate has pro-euthanasia activists worried - Live Action - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- 28-year-old Dutch woman dies by euthanasia after documenting her battle with 'chronic fatigue syndrome' - The New Indian Express - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- Canada delays plans to make euthanasia on the grounds of mental illness alone legal - Right To Life UK - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- 'My last day will be Saturday - Woman, 28, shares harrowing post before euthanasia - The Mirror - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- Family with children suffering from rare disease seeks euthanasia | Kerala | Onmanorama - Onmanorama - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- South Australian figures show 110 people used euthanasia to end their lives - CathNews - February 3rd, 2024 [February 3rd, 2024]
- Euthanasia Rates on the Rise as Dog Adoptions Slow Down - Yahoo Life - November 16th, 2023 [November 16th, 2023]
- Is Disney Building a New Roller Coaster Designed To Kill You? - Snopes.com - November 16th, 2023 [November 16th, 2023]
- Euthanasias effect on culture and society - Valencia County News Bulletin - November 16th, 2023 [November 16th, 2023]
- Arson Detection Pit Bull Hansel Escaped Euthanasia - Daily Paws - November 16th, 2023 [November 16th, 2023]
- Imagining Death | Sarah O'Dell - First Things - November 16th, 2023 [November 16th, 2023]
- UPDATE: Fort Bend County animal shelter over 250% of capacity ... - Community Impact - November 16th, 2023 [November 16th, 2023]
- Sister Dogs and Their Puppies Spared Euthanasia Face 'Cruel Twist ... - Newsweek - November 16th, 2023 [November 16th, 2023]
- One way to escape malpractice lawsuits: euthanise the patient - BioEdge - November 16th, 2023 [November 16th, 2023]
- Arizona legislative committee meets on animal care standards - Fronteras: The Changing America Desk - November 16th, 2023 [November 16th, 2023]
- Colombia begins sterilizing its invasive hippos: what scientists think - Nature.com - November 16th, 2023 [November 16th, 2023]
- Conference brings medics together in support of good ethics - The Catholic Weekly - November 16th, 2023 [November 16th, 2023]
- A Wheeling Murderer was sentenced to life in prison and citizens demand answers about the euthanasia of dogs at a local animal shelter: Heres a look... - November 16th, 2023 [November 16th, 2023]
- Darwin bishop ready to champion 'value of Christian life' as ... - Catholic Leader - July 26th, 2023 [July 26th, 2023]
- Suddenly hospital transfers are an issue? - BC Catholic - Multimedia ... - The B.C. Catholic - July 26th, 2023 [July 26th, 2023]
- Dutch government to expand euthanasia law to include children aged one to 12 an ethicist's view - The Conversation - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Thousands of signatures presented to Mexican Congress urging defeat of euthanasia bill - Catholic News Agency - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Is Government-Sanctioned Euthanasia Really That Far-Fetched? - The New York Sun - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Victoria's rising euthanasia rate shows governments won't bear the ... - The Catholic Weekly - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Experts looking into option of euthanasia for Noor Jehan - DAWN.com - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- More than 70 dogs in PA at risk of euthanasia by next week amid canine flu outbreak - SILive.com - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Death Upon Request: Euthanasia and Assisted-Suicide - The Speaker - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- BREAKING: Pontifical Academy of Life president calls medically assisted suicide feasible - Catholic News Agency - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- What happens to animals who die at the zoo? - WGN TV Chicago - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Opinion | Medical Assistance in Dying Should Not Exclude Mental ... - The New York Times - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Watch: 'Why Are We Safeguarding Cells?' - Philosophy Teacher ... - Lovin Malta - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- The Greatest Horror of 'Soylent Green' Isn't Soylent Green It's This - Collider - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Explained: Dying animals, lack of funds - distressing state of Pakistan zoos - WION - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Stray dog population control is dogged by bad science - The Hindu - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Euthanasia: Right to Die with Dignity - PMC - National Center for ... - April 14th, 2023 [April 14th, 2023]
- Pet assistance program - King County - April 8th, 2023 [April 8th, 2023]
- Euthanasia - MU School of Medicine - February 7th, 2023 [February 7th, 2023]
- Euthanasia | ama-coe - American Medical Association - February 7th, 2023 [February 7th, 2023]
- Euthanasia - Arguments in Favour and Against - ClearIAS - February 7th, 2023 [February 7th, 2023]
- Baton Rouge animal shelter overwhelmed, resorting to euthanasia: 'Please help us help them' - The Advocate - February 7th, 2023 [February 7th, 2023]
- Canadian religious leaders speak out as country set to allow euthanasia for mental illness - Fox News - November 25th, 2022 [November 25th, 2022]
- The History of the Euthanasia Movement | JSTORY Daily - November 5th, 2022 [November 5th, 2022]
- How Canada became a world leader in euthanasia - Spiked - October 25th, 2022 [October 25th, 2022]
- In places where it's legal, how many people are ending their lives ... - October 23rd, 2022 [October 23rd, 2022]
- Human Rights and Euthanasia - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- 25 Bible Verses about Euthanasia - Human Life International - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Canadian moms harrowing tale shows the real dangers of legal euthanasia - Aleteia - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Is it time to rethink the laws on assisted dying? - podcast - The Guardian - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Alive offer free adoptions for dogs and puppies - mySA - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Animal shelters are overwhelmed - The West Volusia Beacon - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Poor Canadians are now willing to legally die instead of living in Trudeaus Canada - TFI Global News - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- 43rd Senate District: Ashby, Smyth offer contrasts on farm overtime, other issues during virtual debate - The Post Star - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- John Irving's latest novel is full of empathy and affection for his characters - NOW Toronto - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- What passive euthanasia is - PubMed - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Mehmet Oz is facing accusations of animal abuse tied to medical research. Here's what you need to know - The Morning Call - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- L.A. Animal Servicesa Ticking Time Bomb, and the Hypocrisy of No Kill - City Watch - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]