The vulnerable are also at great risk, Alex Schadenberg explains
OTTAWA (CCN)
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition executive director Alex Schadenberg warned those opposed to euthanasia to protect themselves and the vulnerable from legalized killing.
“This is a tough time in history,” Schadenberg told about 100 people at a supporters meeting organized by Campaign Life Coalition in Ottawa Apr. 11.
“We have to look at how we protect each other as the culture turns in on us,” he said. Schadenberg urged people to spend time with those most vulnerable-the sick, the disabled. “They are the ones who are going to die.”
All of us will become vulnerable at some point, he said. When people are in “dark places” in their lives, after a cancer diagnosis or other shock, they might be tempted to pursue euthanasia.
Schadenberg suggested people write to their doctors, to make sure they would not euthanize them even if they requested it. He offered forms for health care Power of Attorney documents that would also spell out that one is not to be euthanized. He also said people must choose a POA who shares their same views on euthanasia. He passed out cards that say, “Don’t kill me.”
Though he noted Prime Minister Trudeau had said in Sault-Ste-Marie on Friday the Liberals assisted-death bill would not include euthanasia for minors or those with dementia, Schadenberg warned if euthanasia and assisted suicide is classified under healthcare, then it will be seen as a “right,” leaving many court cases that will eventually expand that “right” to include minors.
There is no slippery slope, Schadenberg said, only the logical consequences of the wording of euthanasia and assisted suicide bills, that lead to ever widening criteria, especially if subjective notions of physical and psychological suffering is included and terms are not properly defined, leading to future court cases.
The assisted death legislation is expected to be tabled in the House of Commons soon. Schadenberg said many Liberal MPs are not comfortable with euthanasia and assisted suicide, especially if the criteria are as broad as those suggested by a joint-Parliamentary committee earlier this year.
He urged voters to meet with their MPs, no matter what party. “Quite a few Liberal MPs are from minority religious groups,” he said, noting these religions also do not support euthanasia.
Schadenberg also stressed the importance of health care facilities and palliative care centres forming a unified front against government attempts to force institutions to offer assisted death. Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals will also have to work together to ensure their conscientious rights to refuse to participate or to refer.
Recent polls show most Canadians want strict controls on assisted-death and oppose it for minors. A very small majority in a recent Nanos poll, however, would support assisted-death for those with mental illness. The polls show most Canadians do not think doctors should be forced to participate, nor should religiously-affiliated healthcare institutions.
