A paraplegic veteran in Canada has criticized her government for giving her medically assisted suicide when she became upset with delays in getting a wheelchair lift constructed in her residence.
Thursday, former Paralympian and retired Army Corporal Christine Gauthier testified before the Canadian Parliament that a Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) caseworker made the euthanasia offer.
After years of aggravating delays in obtaining a home elevator, Gauthier claims the caseworker informed her, “Madam, if you are truly so desperate, we can provide you with medical aid in dying today.”
It comes a week after Canada’s minister of veterans affairs acknowledged that at least four additional veterans were also given euthanasia as a solution to their difficulties, a scenario that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau deemed “completely unacceptable.”
Army Veteran and former Paralympian Christine Gauthier testified in Canadian Parliament on Thursday that a Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) caseworker offered her euthanasia after she voiced anger about delays in building a wheelchair lift at her house.
Gauthier won gold in indoor rowing and heavyweight weightlifting at the 2016 Paralympic Games and Prince Harry’s 2016 Invictus Games (above).
Since 2017, Gauthier has been seeking VAC help to get a chairlift for her house, she stated.
“It has tremendously isolated me, since I must crawl down my butt with my wheelchair in front of me in order to enter my home,” she told Global News.
She was stunned by the caseworker’s suicide suggestion, which was made during a chat in 2019.
She remarked, “I couldn’t believe you would give me an injection to help me die, but you wouldn’t offer me the tools I needed to help me live.” It was really startling to hear such a thing.
In an Army training accident in 1989, Gauthier sustained lifelong damage to her knees and spine.
As a canoeist, power-lifter, and indoor rower, she participated in the 2016 Paralympic Games and Prince Harry’s 2016 Invictus Games.
The testimony of Gauthier and allegations of other comparable situations have sparked public outrage, and Trudeau has committed to implement reforms.
After at least five veterans were given medically assisted suicide by the VAC, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the situation “totally unacceptable” and pledged to make reforms.
Trudeau stated on Friday in Vancouver, “I have frequently stated that this is completely wrong, and as soon as we learned about it, we took action.”
Veterans Affairs Canada, whose mission is to help individuals who volunteered to serve their nation, has no business providing medical aid in dying, he stated.
In 2016, Canada authorized assisted suicide for terminally ill patients; in 2017, the law was amended to include euthanasia for people whose natural death is not deemed to be imminent.
Now, those with chronic impairments can now get medical aid in dying. Last year, more over 10,000 Canadians were euthanized.
Mental illness, which was not previously a qualifying condition, will become a qualifying condition for medically assisted suicide beginning the next year, as a result of a new law.
In recent years, assisted suicide has become increasingly prevalent in Canada. More than 10,000 individuals utilized it in 2021, a 31 percent increase from 2010.
The extension of Canada’s euthanasia rules, which are already among the most lenient in the world, has alarmed some.
One physician expressed concern to DailyMail.com that the extension will make suicide a common therapy for mental health disorders without any control or restrictions.
According to Dr. Trudo Lemmens, a professor of health law and policy at the University of Toronto, the system may generate a ‘duty to include [suicide] as part of’ mental health therapy.
Imagine if this were applied to mental health. You have a person who suffers from extreme depression, seeks assistance from a therapist, and is advised to end their life,’ he added.
He thinks that mentally unstable people who are vulnerable might be persuaded that suicide is a viable option. The entire system, according to Dr. Lemmens, is a “perverted sense of autonomy.”
There are already indications that the system is failing certain Canadians, as diabetes or homelessness-related assisted suicide approvals have been reported.
Beginning in March 2023, Canada’s assisted suicide eligibility will be expanded even further, enabling anyone without a physical illness to get one. They must obtain consent from two physicians and wait 90 days between application and death.
Amir Farsoud, 54, registered for Canada’s controversial medical aid in dying (MAID) program when his home was listed for sale.
A Canadian man facing eviction made international news last month when he requested to be legally killed and die rather than suffer homelessness.
Amir Farsoud, age 54, appealed for the severe measure after his rooming house was put up for sale.
Under Canadian law, his terrible, incurable back agony qualified him for medically assisted suicide.
Farsoud had one of the two essential doctor signatures to qualify for the government’s euthanasia program, but a GoFundMe page set up in his name by a stranger raised him almost $60,000, allowing him to find new home and change his mind about terminating his life.
A Canadian fashion business was accused of glorification of suicide last week after launching a promotional campaign that appeared to advocate euthanasia.
The ‘All is Beauty’ video advertisement, released by La Maison Simons, focuses on a terminally sick lady, Jennyfer, 37, who took her own life in October by taking medicine.
Jennyfer and her loved ones may be seen in the three-minute film waving bubble wands close to the beach, enjoying picnics with friends in the forest, and watching a puppet play.
In an audio overlay recorded weeks before to her passing, she states, “I spent my life nourishing my heart with beauty, nature, and connection.” I have chosen to occupy my dying hours with… The final breaths are holy. When I consider my dying days, music comes to me. I can see the sea. I see cheesecake.’
By portraying a woman’s decision to commit herself as an elegant lifestyle option, Simons is glorifying suicide and informing vulnerable Canadians that they would be better off dead than living, according to Yuan Yi Zhu, a policy specialist at the University of Oxford.
Social media users have also criticized the ad, calling it “ghoulish” and comparing it to a “sci-fi dystopia.”
Since its posting on YouTube a month ago, the film has received more than 1,100,000 views. A 30-second clip of the video uploaded to Twitter has approximately 1,600,000 views.
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