MAiD

Chris-CJ

Chris-CJ

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Heard about this?
What are your thoughts?

Christine Gauthier a former Paralympian who served in the Canadian military testified before Canada’s House of Commons veterans committee last week that she was shocked when the VAC employee offered her assisted suicide as a solution to her suffering.
"I can’t believe that you will give me an injection to help me die, but you will not give me the tools I need to help me live" Gauthier said.

In Australia, Queensland taxpayers will fund the fly-in fly-out doctor service to regional areas to euthanize people (but not an extra dollar for better palliative care)

In some places people struggle to live.
In other places death is trending towards being the preferred option.

EDIT
Medical assistance in dying (MAID) that has been available in Canada since 2016 is set to expand in March 2023, extending eligibility to those with a mental illness.
Bill C-7 would allow individuals seeking MAID to apply solely on the basis of a mental disorder.
The bill would allow “mature minors” to be euthanized by state doctors without the consent of their parents.
 
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I really don't know what to say about something like this. Other then how did we get to this point in a country like Canada.
 
From a government perspective MAID is far cheaper than care. Not arguing that that should be a major factor in the discussion though. We pay hundreds of thousands for chemo for some patients to extend their lives by months. Not sure how they decide what gets covered and what doesnt.

I suspect that fixing ltc will require a major MAID expansion. Homes are filled with many many people that have no quality of life and some beg for death daily. No way to setup conditions for MAID in advance so if you have dementia, you can live for a decade or more in that state as you arent of sound mind to sign the form. It sucks.
 
Yup as @GreyGhost has mentioned it's a less expensive option, easier to get rid of a problem then support it long term. I know that is a very cynical view, as there are some legitimate reasons to have this health service for people with severe long term disabilities without viable solutions. But if people are turning to this solution before being allow other treatments, or feeling hopeless because they cannot recieve other types of care, this should be reviewed.
 
Not just for people with disabilities, or old people, Ive read stories about people who cant afford housing being offered assisted death.

Its for all undesirables.
 
Most countries with assisted suicide have policy not to offer it unless a patient or guardian asks. It seems in canada doctors and nurses are encouraged to put it on the table as an option. For them to offer it out of the blue to a paralympian or a homeless person is pretty messed up.
 
DownUnder said:
Most countries with assisted suicide have policy not to offer it unless a patient or guardian asks. It seems in canada doctors and nurses are encouraged to put it on the table as an option. For them to offer it out of the blue to a paralympian or a homeless person is pretty messed up.
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I understand your point but secrets aren't helpful either. Many people have no idea what options are available to them. It shouldn't be presented as the preferred or only option but I have no problem with it being in the list.
 
While I do not agree in this case for it's use.
I am 100% for assisted suicide for those that request it and if certain criteria are met.
For myself, I would welcome a choice on how/when I choose to die.
But as a potential solution for "undesirables" it has been tried before...
Perhaps Futurama was correct and it won't be long until we see these..
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I lost a neighbour last week. She was just short of 94 and mentally sound until a stroke a few days earlier. Physically she had a few problems but still took care of herself with a little help from friends. She had commented to my wife that she was ready to go but not kicking the door down. She died at home as she wanted.

Across the street is another dear widow that has Alzheimer's. Her daughter has moved back in because she doesn't want her mom in LTC in its present state. Fortunately the daughter can work from anywhere with internet and they can afford a PCW for 40 hours a week. The PCW is also top notch. The organizations that are supposed to help with home care are next to useless. The arrangement is hard on the daughter's personal life.

I was estranged from my father but late in life found out that he died while suffering Lewy Body disease. It's different from Alzheimer's in that the patient has good and bad days.

I mentioned to my step brother that it sounded better than Alzheimer's, being able to communicate on the good days. He pointed out that while it was better for the family it was worse for the patient in that they fretted about whether the next day was going to be good or bad.

I can understand MAiD and consider it for myself. To me life is doing things and relating to people, not living as a vegetable. However, if a loved one opted for it I could never give the jab or pull the plug even if I knew in my heart it's what they would want.

but we put down suffering pets.

I do worry about the possibility of premature MAiD when a family psychopath wants an early inheritance. We're on the fringe of it with discussions on Covid and who gets the ICU bed, granny with her heart attack or the younger person with Covid.

We've come a long way technically in the last century but socially much has been backwards.
 
nobbie48 said:
I lost a neighbour last week. She was just short of 94 and mentally sound until a stroke a few days earlier. Physically she had a few problems but still took care of herself with a little help from friends. She had commented to my wife that she was ready to go but not kicking the door down. She died at home as she wanted.

Across the street is another dear widow that has Alzheimer's. Her daughter has moved back in because she doesn't want her mom in LTC in its present state. Fortunately the daughter can work from anywhere with internet and they can afford a PCW for 40 hours a week. The PCW is also top notch. The organizations that are supposed to help with home care are next to useless. The arrangement is hard on the daughter's personal life.

I was estranged from my father but late in life found out that he died while suffering Lewy Body disease. It's different from Alzheimer's in that the patient has good and bad days.

I mentioned to my step brother that it sounded better than Alzheimer's, being able to communicate on the good days. He pointed out that while it was better for the family it was worse for the patient in that they fretted about whether the next day was going to be good or bad.

I can understand MAiD and consider it for myself. To me life is doing things and relating to people, not living as a vegetable. However, if a loved one opted for it I could never give the jab or pull the plug even if I knew in my heart it's what they would want.

but we put down suffering pets.

I do worry about the possibility of premature MAiD when a family psychopath wants an early inheritance. We're on the fringe of it with discussions on Covid and who gets the ICU bed, granny with her heart attack or the younger person with Covid.

We've come a long way technically in the last century but socially much has been backwards.
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Fair points. That is why I believe there should be a form you can complete to make your own decisions for the future. Check boxes along the lines of if I have any of these issues (eg. don't recognize my family, unable to walk, etc) or more than x of these issues (eg incontinent, blind, deaf, etc)., it's time for me to go. You fill that out when you are of sound mind, ideally file it in the system somewhere (with your doctor? ehealth?). Like a will, you are free to update it at any time while you are of sound mind. When a health care professional evaluates you, they can check your condition vs your list. Your psychopath child has no input in the process (other than potentially keeping you from seeing a healthcare professional in the first place).

The form is not simple to draft but I suspect a very good form could be made in consultation with patient advocates and health-care professionals. Keep the politicians and bureaucrats out of it.
 
jc100 said:
I’m in favour of assisted suicide as I don’t trust my wife to swing a spade with enough force.
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In my mind, it's clearly preferable to the path of a few older men I knew that ate a gun and were found by their wives. Obviously some mental demons involved but brutal for the family.
 
We seemed to have moved from a system where the government and bureaucracy have to do what's best for the people, to one where the people have to do what's best for the government and bureaucracy. All these new laws coming through are designed to give the federal government way more power than they can handle.

If someone is interested in assisted suicide, they're going to ask about it whether it's legal or not.
 
A 84 yr old co-worker of my girlfriend whom i have also known for many years has chosen maid. Her cancer would be long and painful.A handful of people in her retail workplace sent her a card.
My girlfriend signed it.... brave journey,B.
 
Telling someone you’ll pay for MAiD when they called to get financial assistance for a wheelchair ramp should result in criminal charges for the bureaucrat on the other end of the phone. Trudy said it was unacceptable, but so is giving millions to an African dictator to build a road to nowhere in his country.
 
Friend’s father did it a couple wks ago. 98yrs old , zero qualified life , he checked out . Everyone was good with it . He was not going back to hospital .

My dad took a shorter trip , 92 and was told he had 6 months with stage 4 lung cancer and it would be an ugly death. Stopped all his heart meds and was gone in 28days . I was happy he pulled his own plug .


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crankcall said:
Friend’s father did it a couple wks ago. 98yrs old , zero qualified life , he checked out . Everyone was good with it . He was not going back to hospital .

My dad took a shorter trip , 92 and was told he had 6 months with stage 4 lung cancer and it would be an ugly death. Stopped all his heart meds and was gone in 28days . I was happy he pulled his own plug .


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
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In LTC, we are very good at keeping people alive for a long time. Once quality of life is gone, I question whether anyone is well served by continuing to medicate to maintain ideal blood pressure. You don't want people to suffer by removing medication but many medications can be removed that shorten your life but don't reduce the quality of life you have.
 
FullMotoJacket said:
Telling someone you’ll pay for MAiD when they called to get financial assistance for a wheelchair ramp should result in criminal charges for the bureaucrat on the other end of the phone. Trudy said it was unacceptable, but so is giving millions to an African dictator to build a road to nowhere in his country.
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Begs the question, which pharmaceutical company supplies the meds and how is Trudeau connected to them.
 
DownUnder said:
Begs the question, which pharmaceutical company supplies the meds and how is Trudeau connected to them.
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The meds aren't that expensive. In fact, there can be backlash that makes a mess so the companies are probably just as happy not supplying them. The drugs that were used for lethal injection are basically unobtanium as the drug companies didn't want to be associated/face the backlash for not much money. That leaves some states on a choose your own adventure that often works poorly.
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