This sounds awful … Elderly lady euthanised against her will in Canada

Maremia

If the Family was there, could they not have stopped the procedure?

According to press reports of statements by the family.:

The patients Grand daughter had medical POA.

GD was informed on July 3, that the patient was on the MAID pathway and had given the first of 2 required consents

GD was subsequently present during the patients mental capacity assessment ( and claims it showed incapacity)

She was present during ( and challenged ) the patients second MAID consent consultation with a DR.

She was then present on July 10th when the patient was adminstered the drug, and died.

So they had a week in which to stop it.

quote

"GD was allegedly told by the doctor her grandmother could "deny" MAiD on the day of the procedure, but GD was already unsure if her grandmother had actually consented to it, did not want to cause her more stress, and wanted to enjoy what could be the last few days she had left with her grandmother. "


Makes no sense. Something doesn't add up .

Cossy

My DGM had stomach cancer in the mid 70’s.

She was sent home to die when it spread.

I would have been about 14 or so. I recall visiting her in her bedroom. She was very calm and clearly very medicated, but awake. Her bedroom window was a large bay and it looked out onto a shrubbery with a very large, green, leafy tree. She could see the canopy of the tree very clearly.

She said to me, “look, can you see the fairies dancing”

She passed away very shortly afterwards, immediately after a visit from our family doctor.

Ahh what a lovely, peaceful way to go 😥

TerriBull

To be precise on the woman I referred to in my post. Paralympian and army veteran Christine Gauthier, Canada offered to euthanise her when she asked for a wheelchair stairlift to be installed in her home.

😳

I seen some very difficult deaths, in my job which makes me think a person should have that choice before the time comes.
But there should be safe guards in place.
When I have watched that subject matter, I haven’t seen anyone being coerced into doing it, only asked if they are totally sure.
But for this lady it sounds like nothing like that was asked of her.
Just chilling 😩

That sounds horrific - according to the link, the doctor didn’t even use proper terms for what they were proposing for this elderly lady, they used euphemisms. No wonder she couldn’t understand. Her GD didn’t know she could apply for a legal injunction to have the procedure stopped. None of this sounds like informed consent, to me.

Personally, I have been unable to come down on one or the other side of the assisted suicide debate. I do not want people to suffer unnecessarily but also it feels very wrong to take a person’s life. One of my DC is a medic and I am very uncomfortable with the thought that they were involved in killing someone, no matter how well-intentioned.

Exactly butterandjam hence why I was looking for further verification.

Of course we do not know the truth of this as yet.
I feel I need to know more but if it has "gone wrong" it has gone badly wrong.
The nursing home and staff cannot speak to anyone about it.
I think we should wait to see.

How long has euthanasia been legal in Canada?
The answer to that will demonstrate how long it takes for 'safeguards' to be dismantled.

Maremia

How long has euthanasia been legal in Canada?
The answer to that will demonstrate how long it takes for 'safeguards' to be dismantled.

June 2016 MAiD became legal in Canada.

Maremia

How long has euthanasia been legal in Canada?
The answer to that will demonstrate how long it takes for 'safeguards' to be dismantled.

That I think is a pivotal piece of information as to what could come down the line when the state moves towards euthanasia for the elderly and disabled who need costly medical support.

We also hear about the advances AI will make in medicine, if it doesn't wipe us all out first. Conditions such as Motor Neurone and Huntingdons, certain terminal cancers that become so progressively debilitating, one can understand why those sufferers would want to be euthanised, but maybe in the future those awful conditions could be wiped out.

Esmay

This is horrendous and actually she has been murdered.
Poor lady
RIP .Brigitte .

I’d like to hear both sides of the story before reaching such a decision.

GrannyGravy13

The one thing that stood out for me in the link provided by cossy was that since 2016 I in every 20 deaths in Canada is through MAiD.

Sorry to those who are pro assisted suicide/euthanasia but this has made me feel even more against this ever being law in England.

I find it hard to understand why more aren't horrified by this statistic. And also by some of the people that are offered MAiD, Christine Gauthier being a prime example. Her life isn't 'unbearable' she just needs more assistance to be able to live it enjoyably.

I think that's it exactly Rosie, Canada is an example of all that could become horrifying scenarios surrounding euthanasia. Surely such examples, this poor lady and what was suggested to Christine Gauthier are a counter argument. I do think there are justifiable reasons for it to be an option for people suffering from terminal and progressively debilitating conditions. Canada has proved how this very serious piece of legislation has gone awry in the most worrying way. There's something of a Hitler mentality about what is panning out there, very unethical.

Be careful what you wish for

Fox News likes to be controversial and sensational - that is the most disgusting part!

The old lady was going to die soon for sure - better for her to get it over with quickly. Hopefully she had a nice life, except for the last part.

Not willing to count as the source of this is Fox news which is very suspect...

Cossy, are you implying that your DGM's death was helped along by the family doctor?
I know that compassionate GPs used to do this to spare their patients suffering, but aren't prepared to take the risk nowadays.

Exactly Granna -

Fox News is part of the Murdoch empire. Same as the "Sun", and the lamented "News of the World".

"The old lady was going to die soon for sure - better for her to get it over with quickly. Hopefully she had a nice life, except for the last part"

Were you quoting edd269, because you haven't put that incredibly harsh statement in inverted commas. Personally I think it's a pretty disgusting attitude delivered in a cavalier, couldn't care less way. To be euthanised against one's will, whatever the person's age, is murder imo.

Assisted dying is a still a hugely controversial subject and potentially open to abuse.

Was it the Dutch who seemed to start this practise off They outrank the French on knowing about individual rights and freedoms and like to first on the block about such matters.. Very enlightened people with no equals. Trailblazers. They seem to have invented what Liberalism is all about. Other so called liberal countries follow in their footsteps like Canada etc.

Until something goes wrong then bites them in the arse. But it doesn't really matter which country you live in. The is a massive issue with no easy answer

Shockingly, The Netherlands allows euthanasia for children aged 1 to 12 under strict medical and legal criteria. Presumably terminally ill. A 2 year old child was euthanised in the Netherlands, despite independent doctors initially concluding that the child was "not continuously suffering unbearably" and that reasonable alternatives remained.

I wondered the same as Romola….

I think we should step back a little until more has been investigated. The claim is only alleged at the moment. If it proves to be true then obviously it's horrendous.

Maremia

How long has euthanasia been legal in Canada?
The answer to that will demonstrate how long it takes for 'safeguards' to be dismantled.

2002 for Belgium and, despite it being one of the more "liberal" regimes, there is no appetite to go back.

Rosie51

GrannyGravy13

The one thing that stood out for me in the link provided by cossy was that since 2016 I in every 20 deaths in Canada is through MAiD.

Sorry to those who are pro assisted suicide/euthanasia but this has made me feel even more against this ever being law in England.

I find it hard to understand why more aren't horrified by this statistic. And also by some of the people that are offered MAiD, Christine Gauthier being a prime example. Her life isn't 'unbearable' she just needs more assistance to be able to live it enjoyably.

People are not horrified because there is more than one way to interpret it. For example this could be telling us that 1 in every 20 people in the UK suffer painful and undignified deaths.