Elder abuse caught on video, elder abuse incident is not isolated

Hellen MacDonald &
her son Camille Parent

A Peterborough Ontario Newspaper reported on the elder abuse of Hellen MacDonald, who was living in a long-term care room. Her son Camille Parent was upset about the care of his mother and decided to install a hidden camera to uncover what was happening to his mother.  

The story states:

Camille Parent had enough.

He wanted answers and was willing to go to any lengths to protect his 85-year-old mother. That meant placing a hidden camera in Hellen MacDonald’s long-term care room at St. Joseph’s at Fleming. 

“I can’t tell you how I felt with what we uncovered,” explains Mr. Parent.
The alleged abuse started in August. Ms MacDonald had an unexplained black eye and scratches. In January, she broke her hip. Mr. Parent says the blame was put on a resident. She was pushed, but officials didn’t know by whom. He didn’t like how the situation was handled. 

video footage

“We put the camera there thinking we were going to catch which residents were doing this too her because it needed to stop,” adds Mr. Parent. 

The video -- which reveals wandering residents entering Ms. MacDonald’s room, a personal support worker putting feces near Ms MacDonald face  and aggressively handling Ms MacDonald, and another personal support worker blowing his nose in Ms MacDonald’s bed sheets -- has shocked the community, caused the suspension with pay of two employees and led to an investigation by both Peterborough-Lakefield police and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. “It was just unbelievable,” says Mr. Parent. 

Mr. Parent hopes the video will result in charges being laid.

“We need to make an example out of abuse,” he says.  

St. Joseph's at Fleming

St. Joseph’s at Fleming chief executive officer Alan Cavell says he wants to reassure family members and others out there that what is alleged to have occurred in the video is a great concern. The alleged actions of employees is unacceptable, he says. 

“We’re committed to making sure this is best environment and family members can feel good about their family member staying here,” he says. 

Health and Long-Term Care Minister Deb Matthews says the ministry has no tolerance for abuse in long-term care homes. 

“While I can’t yet comment further on this case, I can assure you my ministry officials are investigating,” she explains. 

Mr. Parent says he recently spoke with Minister Matthews and asked her to resign. 

“It is not only her, it is the government, both major governments, the blue and the red are ignoring this,” he says. 

While she has not seen the video and is not aware of the specifics of the individual circumstances relating to the alleged incidences captured on the video, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick, herself a former long-term care worker, said the union is taking these allegations very seriously. 

“We do not condone or tolerate any form of resident abuse or neglect. We are committed to continuing to work constructively with residents’ families and the provincial government to ensure care quality in homes improves. We are also mindful of our obligation to represent our members in the workplace,” she says in a press release. 

 Recent media investigations into abuse and resident-on-resident violence in long-term care homes has put a spotlight on the pervasive issues that many experts agree stem from systemic sector underfunding and low staffing levels while homes are attempting to deal with a growing number of residents with complex behaviours, including dementia and Alzheimer’s.
  
“Imagine how much better care would be and how much safer residents and staff would be if staffing levels were higher, and homes had enough funding so two staff work together during shifts. No one is working alone and residents get the care they need,” she adds.

“You wouldn’t do that to an animal.”

“Our government introduced the Long-Term Care Homes Act and we continue to work on the recommendations of the sector-led Long-Term Care Task Force on Resident Care and Safety because our loved ones deserve nothing but the best care.”

“Anyone that is in power and turns their head away from the situation is as guilty as the people performing the acts of abuse.”

CTV news reported on the case with an article titled: Nursing home abuse incident not isolated. CTV reported on the recent settlement of the largest class action lawsuit in Quebec and it concerned elder abuse. The article stated that:

A class action lawsuit detailing hundreds of cases of abuse at the facility was launched in 1999. But it wasn’t until 2003, when family members secretly set up tape recorders to capture staff verbally and psychologically abusing residents, that action was finally taken. 

That scandal made national headlines and public discussions about the conditions in Quebec nursing homes and may have contributed to the suicide death of the hospital’s director. 

Last month, the class action suit was finally settled, leading to the largest settlement of its kind in Canadian history. More than $7 million will be shared by hundreds of residents and the families of residents who have since died during the 13-year investigation.

Hellen MacDonald with her son.

The settlement is also unique in that it sets aside funds for foundations that are dedicated to educating seniors and patients about their rights. 

Menard says he learned during his investigation that a single abusive act at one of these facilities is rarely an isolated incident, and that abuse often starts with small infringements of patients’ rights and then escalates.

He advises patients and their families to denounce the early signs of improper behaviour.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition recognizes the scourge of elder abuse as a sign of a societal attitude that dehumanizes vulnerable citizens, especially those who are unable to defend or speak for themselves. We also lament the fact that similar abuse occurs in care homes for people with disabilities.

A society that has devalued the lives of seniors, people with disabilities and other vulnerable people to the point that abuse can occur without detection and basic protections for people who are supposedly receiving care are not in place, must not even consider legalizing euthanasia or assisted suicide.

Elder abuse and abuse of vulnerable persons proves that any supposed "safeguards" will be ignored and abused in many circumstances leading to many deaths without request, as is happening in Belgium.

Canadian study proves that the "suicide contagion" exists.

A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in the May 21, 2013 issue proves the theory that exposure to suicide leads to a "suicide contagion" effect.

The study titled: Association between exposure to suicide and suicidality outcomes in youth, was authored by Sonja A. Swanson from the Harvard School of Public Health and Ian Coleman from the University of Ottawa School of Public Health.

The study assessed the association between exposure to suicide and suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts among young people based on a cross-sectional and prospective two year follow-up study done between 1998 and 2007. The study examined the responses from 8766 children aged 12 - 17 years.

1. The respondents were asked whether anyone in their school had died by suicide (schoolmate's suicide) and they were also asked if they personally knew someone who died by suicide (personally known suicide)?

2. Respondents were asked if they had seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year? If they answered yes, they were asked to report the number of suicide attempts in the past year?

The study assessed whether personally knowing a peer decedent increased the risk of suicidality outcomes relative to a lesser-known peer decedent.

Exposure to suicide: 
The study found that aged 16-17, 24.1% of the respondents reported a schoolmate's suicide and 20.1% reported personally knowing someone who died by suicide.

Cross-sectional analysis:
(a) Risk of suicidal ideation and attempted suicide if the person was exposed to a suicide.

Ages 12-13: 15.3% of those exposed to suicide in the past year had suicidal ideation and 7.5% had attempted suicide, while 3.4% of those unexposed to suicide had suicidal ideation and 1.7% attempted it. 

Ages 14-15: 14.2% of those exposed to suicide in the past year had suicidal ideation and 8.6% had attempted suicide, while 5.3% of those unexposed to suicide had suicidal ideation and 2.3% attempted it. 

Ages 16-17: 15.1% of those exposed to suicide in the past year had suicidal ideation and 8.1% had attempted suicide, while 7.4% of those unexposed to suicide had suicidal ideation and 2.7% attempted it

(b) Risk of suicidal ideation and attempted suicide if the person personally know the person who died by suicide.

Ages 12-13: 13.7% had suicidal ideation and 5.6 % had attempted suicide, if they personally knew a person who died by suicide, while 4.6% had suicidal ideation and 2.3% had attempted suicide if they did not personally know a person who died by suicide. 

Ages 14-15: 18.4% had suicidal ideation and 12.5% had attempted suicide, if they personally knew a person who died by suicide, while 7.6% had suicidal ideation and 3.6% had attempted suicide if they did not personally know a person who died by suicide. 

Ages 16-17: 14% had suicidal ideation and 8.4% had attempted suicide, if they personally knew a person who died by suicide, while 8.1% had suicidal ideation and 3.2% had attempted suicide if they did not personally know a person who died by suicide.

The study found that personally knowing someone who died by suicide presented a marginally greater risk of suicidal ideation or attempted suicide in relation to exposure to suicide alone.

The study stated:

"We found that exposure to suicide predicts suicidality. This is true for all age groups, although exposure to suicide increased the risk most dramatically in the youngest age group, when the baseline suicidality was relatively low. ... Exposure was consistently associated with attempts and to a lesser degree ideation; some of these associations were still significant 2 years later."

Exposure to suicide is not uncommon. The study indicated that 9% of the 16-17 age group reported that a schoolmate had died by suicide in the past year and 15% reported that a schoolmate had died by suicide more than a year earlier.

Since the study found that personally knowing a schoolmate who died by suicide was only of marginal greater risk for suicidal ideation or attempted suicide as compared to exposure to suicide alone therefore the study emphasized the importance of suicide prevention strategies being implemented within a whole school rather than focus on the friends of the person who died by suicide.

The Globe and Mail newspaper quoted study author Ian Coleman as saying:

"2009 Statistics Canada figures show 227 Canadians aged 10 to 19 died by their own hands, with 202 of those cases were among 15 to 19-years-olds. But as the second leading cause of death after accidental injury among Canadian youth, it’s an issue that needs to be taken seriously."

The Canadian Medical Association stated:

Exposure to suicide within the last 2 years was associated with suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts among Canadian youths. This finding is based on responses from 8766 children aged 12–17 years in a national survey carried out between 1998 and 2007. The findings support school-wide or community-wide interventions over targeted strategies following a suicide, say the authors.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) is concerned with the connection between suicide and assisted suicide.

This study did not examine the effect of access to suicide devices or weapons related to suicide attempts. 

This study also did not examine the effect of suicide exposure related to how the media reports a suicide death. Considering the fact that exposure to a suicide death when the person is a similar age and part of the same community is related to a significant increased risk for suicidal ideation and suicide attempts it is likely that how the media reports suicide deaths also increases the risk for suicidal ideation and suicide attempts especially when the person who dies by suicide is a similar age.

The World Health Organization published a set of guidelines to prevent suicide. One of the best practices include the media, when reporting about suicide, should at offer a links to suicide prevention resources.

A great suicide prevention resource is the group Your Life Counts.

The EPC urges researchers to do a study on the relationship between suicide, assisted suicide and the promotion or normalizing of assisted suicide upon the rate of suicide. 

In the state of Oregon, where assisted suicide has been legal since 1998, the suicide rate has been steadily climbing. The suicide rate in Oregon is now 49% higher than the national average.

How legalizing euthanasia changed Belgium.

The following article was originally published on MercatorNet on May 17, 2013

By Tom Mortier & Steven Bieseman

In 2002, Belgium became the second country in the world after its neighbour, the Netherlands, to legalise euthanasia. Over the next decade our country has become a living laboratory for radical social change. With many other countries debating legalisation at the moment, now is a good moment to stand back and take a good long look at the results.

In 2002 Belgium was governed by a coalition of Liberals and Social Democrats. The slightly more conservative Christian Democrats had been excluded. With blue as the colour of the Liberals and red of the left-leaning Social Democrats, the press dubbed it the Purple coalition.

The Christian Democrats took a dim view of euthanasia, but they were in opposition. The Purple coalition was free to pass a euthanasia law based on the view that an individual should always have a “free choice” to end his life. In absolutizing individual self-determination the left and the right found common ground.

The law states that doctors can help patients to die when they freely express a wish to die because they are suffering intractable and unbearable pain. The patient needs to consult a second independent doctor; for non-terminal illnesses an independent psychiatrist must approve. In practice, however, this independence is irrelevant. Belgium is a small country and compliant doctors are easy to find.

A string of recent cases leaves no doubt that the euthanasia law has fundamentally and drastically changed Belgian society. Last year 45-year-old deaf identical twin brothers who couldn’t bear the thought of going blind were granted euthanasia. Doctors granted their request because they “had nothing to live for” anyway. According to the doctor who gave the lethal injection it was not “such a big deal”.

In another case, a 44-year-old woman with chronic anorexia nervosa was euthanased. Then a 64-year-old woman suffering from chronic depression was euthanased without informing her relatives. The doctors defended their decisions by explaining that these extreme and exceptional cases were legitimate because all legal conditions were met.

Euthanasia is hardening from a medical option into an ideology. Belgium’s euthanasia doctors even believe they are being humane because they are liberating people from their misery. Fundamentalist humanists go further and describe euthanasia as the ultimate act of self-determination. The opinion of the patient’s family has no weight whatsoever. A doctor is entitled to give the mother of a family a lethal injection without offering any explanation to her children. Euthanasia is being promoted as a “beautiful” and positive way to die. Doctors are transplanting organs from patients who die in the operation. (This is said to make their lives meaningful.) The law may soon allow children and patients with dementia to be euthanased.

Since 2002 opponents of the law (like us) have been marginalised as rigid and heartless conservatives who feel ill at ease in a post-modern, pluralistic and progressive society like Belgium. (1) The Christian Democrats have repudiated their traditional values and support the law. Questioning it has become taboo because the absolute right of the individual might be violated.

Herman De Dijn

There are still some significant critics, apart from the Catholic Church. The Belgian philosopher Herman De Dijn is an outspoken opponent. He describes Belgium as a “sentimentalist society” in which traditional values have been drastically minimized and replaced by subjective preferences. (2) A sentimentalist society no longer subscribes to ethical values other than those which are related to the search for individual happiness (autonomy and no-harm). Communal responsibilities and moral institutions are being discarded in the search for purely individual well-being; interdependence and connectedness are ignored.

De Dijn feels that this is the nub of the problem. A human being is not a bundle of individual feelings, opinions and preferences, but part of a species, a member of mankind, a vital link in the moral ecology where every individual has a unique symbolic value. Respect for human dignity includes not only respect for personal choices but also for connectedness to loved ones and society.

  

Supporters of the euthanasia regime repudiate this secular critique -- as well as the baneful influence of the Catholic Church. (3) However, their ideology of absolute self-determination has become so strong that it is morphing into a theology, a quasi-religious fanaticism. They have invented comforting symbols and rituals to express their beliefs. A self-determination card describes a patient’s final wishes so that the social services know what to do in a terminal illness. There are centres where people can ask questions about how euthanasia can be performed. There is indoctrination in self-determination for doctors and volunteers who wear their euthanasia enabler certificates as badges of honour.

Nonetheless, we are hopeful. Surely it must be possible to convince the Belgian public that something is terribly, terribly wrong when politicians are debating whether parents can legally have their children put down. It is not humane and it is not scientific. There is no scientific scale of unbearable suffering. With advances in pain relief, euthanasia is not even needed.

The key insight of the green movement is that all living beings are interconnected – even us humans. Especially us humans. The job of politicians is to protect this connectedness. Otherwise, why should parents care for their dependent children? Why should children care for dependent parents? Once we lose the sense that each of us is bound to one another with invisible cords of fellowship, we will end by killing all those who are burdens on society. And at some stage, all of us are going to be burdens.

Euthanasia does not threaten religious dogmas. Churches will stay open no matter what happens in hospitals and nursing homes. What is threatened is humanism. Instead of standing strong, arms linked together as brothers and sisters, the dogma of self-determination separates us, places us in bubbles of isolation, and then offers to kill us – if we want.

In today’s Belgium all of us are at risk.

Tom Mortier and Steven Bieseman teach in Leuven University College, in Belgium. They would like to thank Emeritus Professor Herman De Dijn for valuable discussions and Sylvia Statz for advice about translating the text.

Notes

(1) Burms A. and De Dijn H., De sacraliteit van leven en dood, Pelckmans Uitgeverij nv, Kalmthout, (2011), S. 71-89.

(2) De Dijn H., Taboes, monsters en loterijen, Uitgeverij Pelckmans, Kapellen (2003), S. 23-25.

(3) Burms A. and De Dijn H., De sacraliteit van leven en dood, Pelckmans Uitgeverij nv, Kalmthout, (2011), S. 91-99.

True Dignity Vermont establishes watchdog hotline to protect Vermont citizens from assisted suicide.

Watchdog Group Launches Hotline

True Dignity Vermont has launched an abuse hotline in response to the recently-passed bill that will allow Vermont physicians to prescribe lethal drugs  to terminally ill patients.

Individuals who suspect patients of being unduly influenced to request or ingest lethal drugs, or of being given such drugs against their will, can report such concerns by calling: 1-855-787-5455 (1-855-STP-KILL) or emailing True Dignity Vermont at:  ReportAbuse@TrueDignityVt.org.

A citizen-led, grassroots initiative, True Dignity Vermont worked alongside other organizations to vigorously oppose the legalization of prescription death in Vermont. That effort failed with the passage of an amended bill on May 13, but leaders say they will press forward to work to protect vulnerable Vermonters who will be at risk as a result of what they call “dangerous, poorly conceived legislation.”

“We believe our role must now expand to that of watchdog, as well as providing education and a resource clearinghouse for Vermonters who want to be sure they will be protected from coercion to end their lives,” according to True Dignity spokesperson Carolyn McMurray of Bennington. 

“The bill that Governor Shumlin is signing into law is fraught with problems that will leave vulnerable patients open to abuse, and will damage patient-doctor trust,” she said,  adding that True Dignity Vermont plans to develop a registry of “safe” doctors, nursing homes and other health care providers who will not participate in assisted suicide. 

“Vermonters need to be reassured that the end of life need not be frightening and painful, and that they will be supported properly with the very best palliative care and pain control. Enabling suicide is not a compassionate response to suffering.”

More information about True Dignity Vermont is available at: http://truedignityvt.org/

1700 March in Quebec City against euthanasia

The following article was edited from its original version that was published by LifeSiteNews on May 20, 2013.

By Georges Buscemi

Nearly 2000 people converged on the Quebec Capital on a brilliant spring Saturday afternoon to March against a government plan to legalise euthanasia in the province. Called the “Springtime March”, the event attracted euthanasia opponents from all corners of the province to protest the Parti québécois government’s proposal to allow “medical aid in dying” –the direct and intentional killing of a patient—under certain conditions. Junior minister Veronique Hivon indicated at the beginning of the year that she would table a bill legalizing the deadly practise before the province’s parliament adjourned for the summer.

The March participants assembled on the historic Plains of Abraham, where they heard speeches delivered by a vast array of Quebec euthanasia opponents including Amy Hasbrook of Not Dead Yet, an organisation defending the rights of disabled people, and Dr. Patrick Vinay, former dean of medicine at the University of Montreal and palliative care expert. Also present were Dr. Catherine Ferrier representing Physicians Alliance for Total Refusal of Euthanasia, Linda Couture of the Living with Dignity Network and Louis-André Richard, a philosophy professor, bioethics expert and spokesperson for the Quebec Rally against Euthanasia.

Hugh Scher

The Marchers then processed through Quebec City via the Grande Allée chanting slogans such as “killing is not care” and arrived before the Quebec National Assembly where speakers once again rallied the crowd. The crowd seemed especially appreciative of a speech by Hugh Scher of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, who affirmed that “dangerous lessons” ought to be learned from the legalisation of euthanasia in Holland and Belgium and that “each of us is at risk” when life becomes devalued.

Organised by the Quebec Rally Against Euthanasia – an ad hoc group headed by Dr. Claude Morin, an emergency-room doctor in Quebec City – the March was firmly backed by the province’s Catholic bishops.

At the close of the event Dr. Claude Morin stated that he hoped that the day’s message would make it to the ears of the PQ government, but that in the event that the bill would nonetheless be tabled, he invited the assembled crowd to return for a second protest.

Assisted Suicide bill in the UK would change 2400 years of medical history.

By Dr Peter Saunders, Campaign Director, Care Not Killing Alliance.

Dr Peter Saunders

Link to the original article.

Lord Falconer, who has just introduced his ‘Assisted Dying Bill’ into parliament this week, is seeking to change 2,400 years of history.

His bill would make it legal for doctors to help mentally competent adults with less than six months to live to kill themselves. Two doctors would need to agree that a patient met the criteria and the option would not be open to minors, people without mental capacity or those who are not terminally ill.

The final step would involve a doctor (or nurse) hand-delivering lethal drugs to the patient at a time and place of their choosing and staying with them while they took the drugs and until they were dead.

Falconer has some supporters within the medical profession.

Twelve retired senior doctors have today send a letter to the Times (£) backing his bill. And in the last few years a new organisation, Health Professionals for Assisted Dying (HPAD), has set itself up under the auspices of the Dignity in Dying (formerly the Voluntary Euthanasia Society).

But as an article in the Times (£) accompanying the above letter notes, the British Medical Association and almost all Royal Colleges are opposed to a change in the law. In fact about two thirds of doctors are opposed.

Interestingly, the Times newspaper, is in agreement with them.

In its editorial (£) today it says it would be ‘wrong to legislate’ and that ‘the law that Lord Falconer now wants is a step too far’.

The current blanket prohibition on assisted suicide keeps the numbers low, as evidenced by the very low numbers of people travelling to Dignitas facility in Switzerland to kill themselves.

Furthermore the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) already has discretion not to prosecute in hard cases and the authority to temper justice with mercy. But he is particularly tough on doctors, because of the power they have, as recognised by Hippocrates.

‘There is a danger’, argues the Times, ‘that a codified law that attempted to replace such difficult and nuanced judgments with statute would produce two problems.’ 

‘The first is a large increase in assisted suicides as it becomes more legally straightforward. This is the reason why many lobbyists for the disabled oppose the Bill, concerned that people will be put under pressure to end their lives.’ 

‘The second danger is, oddly, an increase in prosecutions for assisting suicide, as the discretion of the old system is replaced by a more formulaic approach. This may be the reason why doctors are, in general, against a new law. And why they are right to be.’

It is significant that the Times, which backed a change in the law at the time of Falconer’s last attempt to alter it in 2009 has now changed its position.

But it has done so on the basis of good evidence.

Jurisdictions which have legalised either assisted suicide or euthanasia, have seen a steady increase in case over subsequent years and the widening of criteria to include categories of people for whom it was never intended.

This pattern of incremental extension is seen in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Oregon and Belgium and extension beyond mentally competent adults has been clearly seen in both the Netherlands and Belgium.

Our current UK law is clear and right and does not need changing. The penalties it holds in reserve act as a powerful disincentive to exploitation and abuse, whilst giving both prosecutors and judges discretion to temper justice with mercy in had cases.

It may not be perfect, but we tamper with it at our peril.

And Hippocrates was right about doctors too. They are too powerful and too human to be given the power and authority to kill.

Remarks of Hugh Scher on behalf of Euthanasia Prevention Coalition at the Quebec Springtime March against Euthanasia

Remarks of Hugh Scher on behalf of Euthanasia Prevention Coalition at the Quebec Springtime March against Euthanasia - May 18, 2013

Hugh Scher

I bring best wishes and strong support from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition of Canada, EPC -International and EPC- Europe.

We understand the difficult problems that arise from the issue of legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide especially in Quebec at this time.

Our goal today is to express a clear and united message and to put the public, the media and politicians on notice here in Quebec, throughout Canada and around the world with respect to the dangers of euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Our message is common to doctors, seniors and people with disabilities, the groups most vulnerable and directly affected by the proposed changes here in Quebec.

The proposals under consideration put each of us at risk especially those who are made vulnerable because of a society that views our lives in a devalued way or as having little or no value.

We have seen and learned from the dangerous lessons that have come out of the experiences in Holland and Belgium with respect to legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide. These lessons teach us that euthanasia and assisted suicide represent a serious threat to the citizens of Quebec and of Canada.

We are aware that there are safeguards in place for the purpose of protecting people in Holland and in Belgium. However these safeguards do not work and put people at risk as a consequence of a culture that views euthanasia as acceptable. This is especially true for those most vulnerable in society.

We understand the problem when 47% of people are killed by euthanasia in Belgium without having those deaths properly reported despite the legal requirement to do so.

We also understand the serious problem that exists when 32% of people who are killed by way of euthanasia or assisted suicide are killed without request. People with disabilities and seniors remain the most vulnerable.

In spite of the existence of safeguards in place to protect people from abuse, these are often ignored.

Consequently, the lives of innocent people, who are deprived of choice and autonomy, are too easily lost without consent. Sadly, the protections that exist at this time are not rigorously applied creating a perilous situation.

It would be extremely dangerous if these same biases and abuses are allowed to happen here in Quebec in the event that the law is changed.

We must work as hard as possible in order to defeat these certain dangers by rejecting euthanasia or assisted suicide in Quebec and throughout Canada.

This threat and these risks require us to rise up and to express a message grave and clear to all, that euthanasia and assisted suicide should never be permitted here in Quebec or in Canada.

Let’s work together to fight against these proposed changes that put all of us at risk and that represent a grave and dangerous threat to our society and most certainly to our most vulnerable citizens.

Thank you all for your efforts and for your presence here today on this historic occasion.

Thank you very much.

First large-scale mobilisation against euthanasia in Quebec

The Springtime March against euthanasia - Saturday, May 18.

QUEBEC CITY, May 17, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ 

The Quebec Rally Against Euthanasia (QRAE) has revealed the details of what is turning out to be the largest mobilization against euthanasia since the Quebec government announced that it was planning to table legislation on « medical aid in dying ». Doctors, lawyers, handicapped persons, citizens from all corners of Quebec will take part in the family-friendly atmosphere of the Springtime March this Saturday May 18, in the provincial capital.

Toujours Vivant-Not Dead Yet highlights link between euthanasia and discrimination

MONTREAL, May 16, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ 

Toujours Vivant - Not Dead Yet will join Québécers who oppose euthanasia on Saturday, May 18, 2013 at noon on the Plains of Abraham.

TVNDY is a progressive, non-religious project to unite and give voice to the disability opposition to euthanasia, assisted suicide, and other discriminatory end-of-life practices.

According to Hasbrouck, Toujours Vivant-Not Dead Yet will highlight several points

• People with disabilities are the population most directly affected by assisted suicide and euthanasia.
• Disability discrimination is a major factor behind the push for such laws, and the causes of suicidal feelings among people with disabilities.
• Such laws create a double standard, where non-disabled people who express suicidal feelings are given services to prevent a suicide, while people with disabilities with similar feelings are allowed, even helped to kill themselves.
• Financial and social pressures, including abuse, can drive elders and people with disabilities to suicide.
• Québecers have rejected capital punishment because of the possibility that even one person might be wrongfully convicted and killed.
• Lack of access to palliative care and home-based personal care services controlled by the individual can drive people toward suicide. People with disabilities should not be sacrificed to poor policy choices.
• People already have the right to refuse treatment, make advance directives and appoint a substitute decision maker.
• Until people with disabilities enjoy full safety and equality in all facets of community life, no amount of safeguards can prevent misapplication of euthanasia and assisted suicide.

The event is co-sponsored by Vivre dans la dignité, the Rassemblement Québecois contre l'euthanasie, Toujours Vivant-Not Dead Yet and the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.

SOURCE: Toujours Vivant - Not Dead Yet

For further information: Amy E. Hasbrouck (450-921-3057)

Avis de presse - Toujours Vivant-Not Dead Yet souligne le lien entre 

l'euthanasie et la discrimination basé sur le handicap

MONTRÉAL, le 16 mai 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - 

Toujours Vivant - Not Dead Yet se joindra avec des Québécois qui s'opposent à l'euthanasie le samedi, 18 mai 2013 à midi sur les plaines d'Abraham pour dire «l'euthanasie, non merci!»

TVNDY est un organisme progressiste et non religieux des personnes ayant des incapacités qui s'opposent à l'euthanasie, au suicide assisté, et aux autres pratiques discriminatoires de la fin de vie.

Amy Hasbrouck, la directrice générale, dit que TVNDY va souligner plusieurs points.

• Les personnes handicapées sont la population le plus touchée par le suicide assisté et l'euthanasie.
• La discrimination contre les personnes handicapées est un élément important derrière la pression en faveur des telles lois, et contribue aux sentiments suicidaires parmi des personnes avec des incapacités.
• De telles lois font deux poids deux mesures où des personnes non handicapées qui sont suicidaires reçoivent des services pour prévenir un suicide, pendant que des personnes avec déficiences qui expriment des sentiments suicidaires sont permises, même aidé, à se tuer.
• La pression sociale et financière, y compris l'abus, peut mener des ainés et des personnes avec déficiences au suicide.
• Les Québécois ont rejeté la peine de mort, de peur qu'une personne puisse être condamnée à tort et exécutée.
• Le manque d'accès aux soins palliatifs et des préposées embauchées par l'individu peut conduit une personne ver le suicide.  Des personnes avec déficiences ne devraient pas être sacrifiées aux mauvais choix politiques.
• Tout le monde à déjà le choix de refuser du traitement, faire une directive médicale préalable, et de désigner un proche pour prendre des décisions de soins de santé en cas d'incompétence.
• En attendant que des personnes ayant des incapacités jouissent, une égalité et sécurité complète, dans tous les aspects de la vie communautaire, aucune balise ne peut prévenir une mauvaise application de l'euthanasie.

L'événement est parrainé par Vivre dans la dignité, le Rassemblement québécois contre l'euthanasie, Toujours Vivant-Not Dead Yet, et Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.

SOURCE: Toujours Vivant - Not Dead Yet

Renseignements: Amy Hasbrouck - 450-921-3057, Christian Debray - 450-370-8195

Assisted suicide charge in Hinton Alberta

The Edmonton Sun reported that someone has been charged with aiding a suicide in Hinton Alberta. We only have the news reports and cannot comment on what occurred.

The article in the Edmonton Sun stated:

Hinton Healthcare Centre

The mysterious death outside the Hinton hospital is being probed as an assisted suicide, said Hinton RCMP.

Mounties were called to the Hinton Healthcare Centre May 10 early last Friday morning.

They located a dead body in a vehicle parked in front of the building. A second person was admitted to the hospital with “non-life-threatening injuries.”

The local detachment called in the Edmonton RCMP Major Crimes Unit to investigate.

The unit is called in as a matter of policy when there is a suspected crime involving an unknown cause of death or “unusual circumstances,” said RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Patricia Neely, RCMP.

That second person was charged Wednesday with aiding or abetting a suicide.

But police are refusing to release further details about the case.

A publication ban on the identity of the accused and the deceased was issued the same day. Age and sex of either person are being withheld.

“It’s not standard procedure but...(the publication ban) was requested and granted by the judge,” Neely said adding it’s due to the sensitivity typical to reporting on suicides and can protect the privacy of connected families.

The accused is the one who alerted people at the healthcare centre to the situation, Neely said.

But the sergeant would not comment on details of the case, such as how the deceased died or the extent of injury to the accused.

“Unfortunately we can’t get into (medical]) status beyond saying that it was non-life-threatening — or in stable condition — because of privacy issues,” said Neely.

“The investigation that our Major Crimes Unit conducted determined that the most applicable charge was aiding suicide, based on the information and evidence that they had.”

The accused is scheduled to appear in Hinton provincial court June 5.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition offers condolences to the friends and family of the woman who died.