MAiD
Canadian pro-life groups hold rally on Parliament Hill to protest euthanasia for mental illness
From LifeSiteNews
‘The implementation of euthanasia for the mentally ill must not simply be delayed for three years, it must be entirely stopped,’ Campaign Life Coalition national president Jeff Gunnarson said.
A number of top pro-life groups, including Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), held a rally on Parliament Hill in Ottawa Tuesday to call for protection of the mentally ill from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s euthanasia regime.
On February 27, CLC joined Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) and Quebec Life Coalition along with other legal and medical experts to demand that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau permanently pause the expansion of MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) to the mentally ill.
“While we accept this delay, the fact is that euthanasia solely on the grounds of mental illness should never have been legally permitted in the first place,” said CLC national president Jeff Gunnarson in a press release. “Those suffering from mental illness need compassionate care, not killing.”
We co-hosted a rally today on Parliament Hill. It was about protecting the mentally ill from MAiD. Thanks to all who participated.
View entire rally with all speakers here: https://t.co/KGmfVzGV8Z@EuthanasiaPC @ARPACanada @CQV_QLC pic.twitter.com/o1jXUU2mj5— Campaign Life Coalition (@CampaignLife) February 28, 2024
“The implementation of euthanasia for the mentally ill must not simply be delayed for three years, it must be entirely stopped,” he added.
During the rally, Dr. Paul Saba urged Canadians to oppose MAiD, arguing “we should be providing better care and not be killing the disabled.”
Similarly, human rights lawyer Garifalia Milousis condemned the MAiD laws, revealing that she was “here today because thankfully in my moment of suffering no one came to me and said ‘maybe assisted suicide is the solution.’”
Milousis warned that if the MAiD laws are expanded, “someone like myself in a moment of deep despair and depression and psychological suffering” would be told there is no hope for them and death is the only solution.
“Instead of us coming alongside those individuals and saying that there is hope; there is meaning, and there is purpose to their lives,” she said “We’re instead going to say ‘maybe depression is right; maybe there isn’t any hope for you anymore.’”
“My hope and prayer is that our government will change course and will hear the voices of Canadian like myself and many others here today who say that we want to live in a world that says even a life with suffering is one worth living,” Milousis declared.
In January, after a lot of pushback from pro-life, medical, and mental health groups as well as most of Canada’s provinces, the federal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delayed its planned expansion of MAiD to those suffering solely from mental illness from March of this year until 2027.
Shortly after, Liberal Health Minister Mark Holland announced the Trudeau government still intends to expand euthanasia to mentally ill Canadians, despite provincial health ministers requesting the measure be “indefinitely” postponed.
The provision, if and when it is implemented, will relax legislation around so-called MAiD to include those suffering solely from mental illness. This is a result of the 2021 passage of Bill C-7, which allowed the chronically ill – not just the terminally ill – to qualify for so-called doctor-assisted death.
However, many experts have warned against the MAiD expansion, including leading Canadian psychiatrist Dr. K. Sonu Gaind, who testified that the expansion of MAiD “is not so much a slippery slope as a runaway train.”
Similarly, in November, several Canadian psychiatrists warned that the country is “not ready” for the coming expansion of euthanasia to those who are mentally ill. They said that further liberalizing the procedure is not something that “society should be doing” as it could lead to deaths under a “false pretense.”
The expansion of euthanasia to those with mental illness even has the far-left New Democratic Party (NDP) concerned. Dismissing these concerns, a Trudeau Foundation fellow actually said Trudeau’s current euthanasia regime is marked by “privilege,” assuring the Canadian people that most of those being put to death are “white,” “well off,” and “highly educated.”
The most recent reports show that MAiD is the sixth highest cause of death. However, it was not listed as such in Statistics Canada’s top 10 leading causes of death from 2019 to 2022. When asked why MAiD was left off the list, the agency explained that it records the illnesses that led Canadians to choose to end their lives via euthanasia, not the actual cause of death, as the primary cause of death.
According to Health Canada, in 2022, 13,241 Canadians died by MAiD lethal injections. This accounts for 4.1 percent of all deaths in the country for that year, a 31.2 percent increase from 2021.
While the numbers for 2023 have yet to be released, all indications point to a situation even more grim than 2022.
From LifeSiteNews
Karly Vavra, the little girl’s mother, told People that she chose to share the video in order to honor her grandfather—but also to normalize euthanasia.
A video of a 7-year-old girl sharing a “final cuddle” with her great-grandfather before he is euthanized has gone viral on TikTok, racking up millions of views.
@karlsbergggg Sobbing 😭 #MAID #medicallyassisteddeath #grandpasgirl #greatgrandpa #greatgrandparents
The video shows the child curled up next to an elderly man, sitting straight on the couch, their final moments together captured. “This is my 96 year old grandpa with my 7 year old,” the caption reads. “He’s doing MAID soon. I tried explaining gently to my daughter that this was the last visit she’d have with him. This is what she did the second she walked in. He’s so happy.”
Karly Vavra, the little girl’s mother, told People that she chose to share the video in order to honor her grandfather—but also to normalize euthanasia. “The feeling is very bittersweet,” she said. “I look back with smiles and tears.” She admitted that she knows “my daughter didn’t fully understand these were her last moments with him.”
Her grandfather, who had chosen euthanasia, did understand the gravity of the moment. “My grandpa knew those were his last moments with her,” Vavra said. “Him looking down in that short moment, I believe, was his way of trying to hide emotions as he was a very proud man.” Her grandfather was scheduled to be killed by lethal injection just days later.
READ: Glenn Beck offers to fund life-saving surgery for Canadian woman approved for euthanasia
Vavra says her grandfather was always a favorite of neighborhood children, who were drawn to him. “I am so grateful both my kids got to know him, though, as not many children get [much] time, if any, with a great grandparent,” she said. “My grandpa was honestly the sweetest man. He loved children, gardening, golf, music and was VERY opinionated… Him and my kids were always laughing with each other, and he loved how loud and proud my daughter was! I hope she is strong like he was and always laughs and sees the brighter side.”
Vavra posted the video because she wanted to celebrate her grandfather’s euthanasia. “I posted this because I truly believe MAID can be a wonderful thing,” she told People. “Letting people go the way they want, with dignity, and not suffering… A lot of religions don’t believe in MAID and some comments were more aggressive than others. Seeing how negative some of the responses were made me really want to advocate for the MAID program.”
“Her connection to MAID began long before her own grandparents made their decisions, as she previously worked on a case in British Columbia after she says many of her coworkers opted not to participate,” People reported.
“I am a very open, understanding person and believe in ‘your body your choice’ which is why I volunteered,” she says...This year alone brought unimaginable loss for her family. “My parents and aunt have had a harder time because both their mom and dad decided to do MAID this year, so it’s definitely been a rough year, but we are sticking together as a family and really trying to cherish all our moments together,” Karly shares.
There are over 10,000 comments on Vavra’s TikTok video, many of them expressing horror at the normalization of putting elderly people to sleep like sick household pets.
“I always try to be honest with my children,” Vavra said. “I explained that Big Papa (what my kids called him) was in a lot of pain and that he would be going to meet Big Grandma on Saturday (my grandma also did MAID this year). I explained that a very nice doctor and nurses were coming and they were going to give him some medicine and he would fall into the best sleep ever but forever, and that he wouldn’t be in pain anymore.”
It is notable that despite the irreligious basis of euthanasia, spiritual language is often incorporated into euthanasia conversations in order to soften the reality of what is taking place.
This is a new Canadian reality: Children losing their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents not to natural death, but to lethal injections. Their goodbyes are defined by moments that do not have to be the last but have been chosen. There could have been more conversations. More cuddles. More love. But there was not—and that was a decision. “Seeing her link arms with him was very touching but of course very painful,” Vavra said. “Both loving each other so much. I wish we could have had him forever.”
They could have had him longer.
From LifeSiteNews
Jolene Van Alstine, approved for state-sanctioned euthanasia after enduring long wait times to receive care for a rare parathyroid disease, is in need of a passport to enter the U.S.
Well-known American media personality Glenn Beck says he has been in touch with the U.S. State Department to help a Canadian woman in Saskatchewan reconsider euthanasia after she sought assisted suicide due to long medical wait times to address her health problems.
As reported by LifeSiteNews on Tuesday, Canadian woman Jolene Van Alstine was approved to die by state-sanctioned euthanasia because she has had to endure long wait times to get what she considers to be proper care for a rare parathyroid disease.
Van Alstine’s condition, normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism (nPHPT), causes her to experience vomiting, nausea, and bone pain.
Her cause caught the attention of Beck and many other prominent Americans and Canadians on X.
In an update today on X, Beck said, “Jolene does not have a passport to gain legal entry into the U.S., but my team has been in touch with President (Donald) Trump’s State Department.”
“All I can say for now is they are aware of the urgent life-saving need, and we had a very positive call,” he added.
Beck had said before that he was in “contact with Jolene and her husband” and that he had “surgeons who emailed us standing by to help her.”
As of press time, neither the State Department nor other officials have not yet confirmed Beck’s claim that he has been in touch with them.
As a result of Van Alstine’s frustrations with the healthcare system, she applied for Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) and was approved for January 7.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, over 23,000 Canadians have died while on wait lists for medical care as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government is focused on euthanasia expansions.
A new Euthanasia Prevention Coalition report revealed that Canada has euthanized 90,000 people since 2016, the year it was legalized.
As reported by LifeSiteNews recently, a Conservative MP’s private member’s bill that, if passed, would ban euthanasia for people with mental illness received the full support of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.
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