Quick Takes – Not Just For The Terminally Ill Anymore; Easy To Kill In California; Nearly Half Of Canadians Want To Kill the Mentally Ill; Killing The Suicidal

     Another “quick takes” on items where there is too little to say to make a complete article, but is still important enough to comment on.

     The focus this time: That’s certainly one way to end mental illness.

     First, a little mood music:

     Carrying on…

     California is considering allowing euthanasia to anyone with a “a grievous and irremediable medical condition”.

SB 1196 will replace “terminal disease” with “a grievous and irremediable medical condition.” A grievous and irremediable medical condition is a serious and incurable illness or disease that meets all of the following:

– Places the individual in a state of irreversible decline in capability;

– Causes the individual to endure physical or psychological suffering due to illness, disease, or state of decline that is intolerable to the individual and cannot be relieved in a manner the individual deems acceptable; and

– After taking into account all of the individual’s medical circumstances, it is reasonably foreseeable that the condition will become the individual’s natural cause of death.

Furthermore:

     SB 1196 demonstrates the mendacity routinely engaged in by the euthanasia movement. They promise limited access, only as a last resort. But they don’t mean it. These laws are continually expanded over time toward the final destination of death on demand as a human right and euthanasia normalized as the preferred — i.e. ‘dignified’ — way to die.

     At present most Canadians don’t think doctors should kill mentally ill patients… but that means that 42% do.

“Fewer than half of Canadians feel medical assistance in dying should be available to people whose sole underlying condition is mental illness, the results of a new survey showed Wednesday.

“As it stands, Canadians who have a serious and incurable physical illness, disease or disability, as well as those who experience enduring and intolerable suffering, can apply to end their life with the assistance of a medical professional.

“People who suffer from chronic and incurable mental illness were expected to be able to apply for medical assistance in dying starting in March, but Health Minister Mark Holland tabled legislation earlier this month that would put off their eligibility for another three years.

“While 77 per cent of Canadians surveyed by the Leger polling firm support Canada’s current medical assistance in dying policy, only 42 per cent could get behind expanding the eligibility to people who suffer exclusively from intractable mental-health conditions.”

     If you are having suicidal thoughts and want help, Canada will help you… to die.

“A Canadian woman was reportedly offered information on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) by a clinician at Vancouver General Hospital after seeking medical assistance for suicidal ideations.

“Kathryn Mentler, a first-year counselling student, told The Globe and Mail that she went to the hospital in June to get professional help to treat her chronic depression and ongoing thoughts of suicide.

“Extremely vulnerable, Mentler, who is 37, was shocked when the clinician asked if she had considered MAID, advising her that wait times to see a psychiatrist are extremely long due to Canada’s “broken” medical system.

“‘I very specifically went there that day because I didn’t want to get into a situation where I would think about taking an overdose of medication,’ explained Mentler. ‘The more I think about it, I think it brings up more and more ethical and moral questions around it.’

“Mentler also highlights that despite having never considered MAID before, she was astonished that the clinician described it as a more “comfortable” alternative to dying than overdosing on medication which she said could cause brain damage and other serious harms.

“Afterwards, she left the center wanting to erase her exchange with the clinician from her mind. The next day, she said she woke up in a very emotional state, and shared her experience with some friends, all of whom agreed her treatment at the hospital was alarming.”

     TTFN.

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