Better Off Dead

Posted by Krista Flint on Nov 24, 2011 in Opinion | 0 comments

Better off Dead than Disabled?:

The Royal Society of Canadian Experts Report released this week on End-of-Life decision making plays the all too familiar game of “duck and cover” regarding the effect of legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide on citizens with disabilities in Canada.

The report dismisses the slippery slope argument (how vulnerable people with disabilities are often considered “hopeless” and “helpless” and are not experiencing any quality of life) which makes them targets for discriminatory health care rationing and “cowboy doctors”.

Lauren Vogel of the Canadian Medical Journal Association, penned the following article which points out these discrepancies and the other countless failings of the report. In the arena of assisted suicide, Rhonda Wiebe Co-Chair of the End-of -Life Ethics Committee of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities had this to say…”“What about people who already feel like they’re a burden? If it’s very difficult for their families, it’s a failure of our social services and health care system… “They shouldn’t be paying with their lives because health and social services can’t step up to the plate.”

The CMAJ article is refreshing in it’s approach to this kind of reporting – speaking directly with citizens with disabilities in order to authentically represent their concerns. Lauren Vogel – you have made it onto my “nice” list this season!

If the conditions of life become so untenable (due to lack of quality palliative care, social pressures, and the generally held perceptions about the contributions of people with disabilities) then it is wholly unsurprising that folks in their darkest hours may consider ending their lives. Instead of facilitating this lets focus on enhancing funding for quality palliative care, changing the perceptions of the quality of a life lived with disabilities, and creating greater accesibility to preventive and appropriate helath and wellness supports.

Because I’m pretty sure that when it comes to life and death decision making the platitude from the medical community of-”Ahh don’t worry just cause it’s legal for us to take your life, doesn’t mean we will UNLESS you ask for it” – IS SIMPLY NOT GONNA CUT IT TO MAKE FOLKS WITH DISABILITIES FEEL SAFE.

We’ve seen too much, go too wrong, for too long.