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: The proscription for acceleration of a benediction of death
First, a little mood music:
Carrying on…
One way to normalize euthanasia is to turn it into a quasi-religious ceremony.
“The Death Cafe in Tiburon—which was co-founded by Grimason and end-of-life doula Karen Murray, who is now its main administrator—is part of a larger, organized “social franchise” network. According to its founders, the network includes nearly 19,000 Death Cafes in 90 countries across Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia.
“Jon Underwood, a funeral advisor, and his mother, Sue Barsky Reid, a psychotherapist, hosted what is considered to be the first Death Cafe in 2011 in East London, and developed a model that others are free to duplicate. “Talking About Death Won’t Kill You!” is a common slogan.
“They were inspired by the work of Swiss sociologist and ethnologist Bernard Crettaz, who, after the death of his wife, developed a project in 1999 called Café Mortel, where people could gather to talk about death, because Crettaz felt that death was a taboo and a ‘fundamental enigma’ that frightens people.
“…
“[E]nd-of-life doulas like Anthea Grimason spend a lot of time talking with clients about what they think is important, what they need, what they want, and what they don’t want as they plan for an expecting death. End-of-life doulas aim to make death more personal and more normal.
“At the August Tiburon Death Cafe that Werner attended, Grimason was calm and relaxed, but also brought a sense of purpose, clarity and focus to the evening. She was specific in her prompts and her responses, but not pushy or overly verbose. She listened more than she spoke.”
Slipping homicide into medical training helps normalize it as just another aspect of medicine.
“Physician-prescribed suicide, referred to by proponents as ‘medical aid in dying,’ is legal in ten states and the District of Columbia, but major medical associations are not providing answers about how doctors are trained in the practice.
“More than a dozen other states are considering similar legislation this year to allow doctors to provide life-ending medication to terminally ill adults who have six months or less to live and request it. But none of the medical groups contacted by The Fix were willing to answer questions about training regarding the controversial practice.
“The American Medical Association opposes the practice, stating in its code of ethics, ‘euthanasia is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks.’
“‘Euthanasia could readily be extended to incompetent patients and other vulnerable populations,’ its position states.”
Once said to be a last resort for the terminally ill in pain, euthanasia is now being pushed as the first choice to deal with the government’s problem.
“The Nova Scotia woman was steeling herself for major surgery, a mastectomy for breast cancer, when an unfamiliar doctor ran through a series of pre-operative questions: What was her medical history? What medications does she regularly take? Any allergies? Was she aware of medical assistance in dying?
“Fifteen months later, before a second mastectomy, “it happened again,” the woman said. Different doctor, same inquiry. “In the list of questions about your life and your past and how are you treating these things was, ‘Hey, (MAID) is a thing that exists,’” she said.
“‘It was upsetting. Not because I thought they were trying to kill me. I was shocked that it happens. I was like, “Again? This happened again ?”’
“The woman, 51, requested anonymity because she lives in a small area with a limited number of doctors. She believes euthanasia was raised as ‘I was literally on my way into surgery’ not because of breast cancer but because of her long history with autoimmune and other disorders that, theoretically, would make her eligible for MAID.
“Her experience is drawing fresh concerns about doctors in Canada raising euthanasia before their patients do, a practice that is prohibited or strongly discouraged in most jurisdictions in the world with legalized assisted death.”
TTFN.
