Press Release from Toujours-Vivant-Not Dead Yet:
Bill 52 And Suicide Prevention Week: Deadly Irony
VALLEYFIELD, QC, Feb. 1, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ – While Quebec marks suicide prevention week from February 2-8, disability rights activists believe Bill 52, which would allow euthanasia of ill and disabled people, undermines the public policy of suicide prevention.
“There is a striking contradiction here,” said Amy Hasbrouck, Director of Toujours Vivant-Not Dead Yet. “As a society we’re saying some people should be prevented from killing themselves, while another group should be killed if they ask for it.” Hasbrouck believes this difference comes from fear, prejudice and discrimination. She believes equality for ill and disabled people means that everyone deserves aggressive efforts to prevent their deaths.
The Québec Association for Suicide Prevention has launched its annual awareness campaign “You’re Important to Us” to draw attention to the 1,000 suicides that occur each year in the province. Living with Dignity, which opposes bill 52, estimates that, within a decade, there could be 600-1,000 additional deaths per year should the euthanasia law be approved in February.
Bill 52 was filed on June 12 of 2013 and would allow passive euthanasia (“continuous palliative sedation”) and active euthanasia (“medical aid in dying”) for Québec residents who have incurable illnesses and physical or psychological suffering. An amendment to the bill requires that the person be at the “end of life,” though the term is undefined.
“When such ‘benefits’ are only available to a particular group, what does that say about the value that society puts on our lives if we are old, ill or disabled?” she asks.
Hasbrouck notes that, though more than 90% of suicide attempts fail, bill 52 would guarantee such wishes of ill and disabled people would result in death. “What about the right to cry for help?” she said.
SOURCE Toujours Vivant – Not Dead Yet
For further information:Amy Hasbrouck
450-921-3057
The abandonment of chronically ill, disabled and elderly people by suicide prevention organizations isn’t new – certainly not in the U.S. You can check out these blog posts from 2009 and 2011 for some of what we’ve written on the topic.
You should also check out this recent entry by Wesley J Smith. Pay attention to the last line – I’m liking his last sentence a lot. I think many “suicide prevention” organizations could be renamed – legitimately. I think I want to think about this and play with the concept. Luckily, brooding is one of my strengths.
This is a request that you consider the following facts and supporting arguments and, accordingly, vote against Bill 52, a proposed law that effectively legalizes euthanasia.
• This bill will empower doctors to euthanize patients by intentionally and abruptly ending their lives with a lethal injection.
• In Belgium, 32% of patients did not give consent (Canadian Medical Journal Association, 2010) and 47% of cases of euthanasia went unreported (British Medical Journal, 2010).
• Research and experience has shown that all physical suffering can be alleviated with good palliative care.
o Currently, as few as 20% of Quebecers in certain regions have access to palliative care in hospitals.
o At home only 10% of Quebecers have access to palliative care.
• The scope of this law may be eventually extended to include as potential victims:
o Depressed individuals, a group that is now being euthanized in the Netherlands and Belgium.
o Children may be euthanized, in certain circumstances, if the recommendation of the Quebec Human Rights Commission is followed.
o Patients who receive an incorrect diagnosis or prognosis. [Specifically, this is because in about 50% of the cases, doctors cannot accurately predict when a person with a severe chronic disease will die in the next six months].
o Patients, whose cases are so burdensome and overwhelming, may be euthanized on the initiative of either the patient him/herself or the medical staff and/or family members.
o Individuals as young as 14-years-old may choose to end their lives without parental consent.
After due reflection of these facts and arguments, it is hoped that you will vote NO against Bill 52.