When a newly-permitted activity such as euthanasia is characterised as a ‘human right’, the overseas experience is that there is an inevitable push to extend such a ‘right’ to a greater number of people.
Yet another tragic story that highlights the dangers of liberal euthanasia laws (aka “assisted suicide”).
A Belgian woman, aged 23, was recently euthanised after being ‘traumatised’ by the 2016 ISIS attack on Brussels Airport. She was physically healthy but was euthanised due to ongoing mental health issues.
Shanti De Corte developed depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after being caught up in ISIS attack on Brussels Airport, which killed 32 people. She survived the March 2016 terrorist attack, but ongoing depression and PTSD led to her request to die being approved by psychiatrists. She was then euthanised on May 7 this year.
Read full story here.
Renowned Belgian neurologist, Paul Deltenre argued that euthanasia should not have been authorised because some therapeutic options had not been made available to the Ms De Corte to treat post-traumatic stress wounds.
This highlights how easily euthanasia laws can be loosened over time to include those with mental health problems. Under Belgian law, euthanasia is allowed to a person in ‘a medically futile condition of constant and unbearable physical or mental pain that cannot be alleviated’. There is no lower age limit.
Andrea Williams of Christian Concern said:
“It is truly shocking that an otherwise healthy, but traumatised 23-year-old was euthanised rather than cared for. With proper help, she could have lived a long, fulfilling life. This case shows how slippery the slope is once you allow euthanasia in law.”
According to our own Ministry of Health “Assisted dying involves a person who is experiencing unbearable suffering from a terminal illness taking or being given medication to end their life. There are strict eligibility criteria to have an assisted death.”
But how long before our euthanasia laws are loosened to include cases such as Shanti De Corte?
As this case in Belgium proves, pressure intensifies over time to include more people and more conditions. The laws are inevitably loosened and broadened.
Medical care and expert psychological therapies should be the preferred treatment, not euthanasia.
**The post was written by Family First staff writers.
One of the major concerns around the assisted suicide / euthanasia law is that the law relies on a diagnosis that a person suffers from a terminal illness which is “likely” to end his or her life within six months. But there’s a problem with that. A major problem. We are not God (even though some people would like to think they are.) There are many examples of individuals who have outlived their prognoses – sometimes by months, even years.
This is why we opposed legalising assisted suicide. Vulnerable people can live without it. But when it’s an option on the table (as it now is), coercion, depression and a feeling of having a ‘duty to die’ make the law harmful and deadly.
“lan Nichols had a history of depression and other medical issues, but none were life-threatening. When the 61-year-old Canadian was hospitalized in June 2019 over fears he might be suicidal, he asked his brother to “bust him out” as soon as possible. Within a month, Nichols submitted a request to be euthanized and he was killed, despite concerns raised by his family and a nurse practitioner. His application for euthanasia listed only one health condition as the reason for his request to die: hearing loss.”
“Alan was basically put to death,” his brother Gary Nichols said.
Canada is set to expand euthanasia access next year, but human rights advocates say the system warrants further scrutiny now.
Euthanasia “cannot be a default for Canada’s failure to fulfill its human rights obligations,” said Marie-Claude Landry, the head of its Human Rights Commission.
Read full story here:
https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-toronto-7c631558a457188d2bd2b5cfd360a867
The first official report on the assisted suicide law in NZ has been released. It only covers the first five months of the law, so it’s difficult to determine any trends. But what has been interesting is the comments made by euthanasia supporters about the law already needing to be expanded to allow for even non-terminal patients to access it. And the media only seems to want to tell us the ‘good’ stories about assisted suicide – but they ignore the ‘not-so-happy’ ones.
Why is it that Euthanasia is fully-funded by the Government, yet Palliative Care is only partially funded and now in serious threat of dying from government neglect? Too many New Zealanders are unable to access acceptable end-of-life care, and thus tragically die in pain and suffering. The situation is dire, and projected to get much worse.
Nobody should suffer unnecessarily towards end of life. Our hospices are an essential service, providing palliative care that prevents and relieves suffering, right through to end of life. Yet, hospices are simply not able to fundraise enough money to survive. Also some hospitals have no specialist palliative care services at all.
Many of us have had family members who needed palliative care, or at least known of someone in palliative care. And the demand for this specialist medical care will only increase significantly in the near future. Our population is ageing, and therefore the number of people requiring palliative care is forecast to increase by approx. 25% over the next 15 years, and will be more than double that by 2061. (Source: Health Workforce NZ)
The Government has made little effort to address this growing problem, and to increase funding for this essential service. Euthanasia is instead given priority and full Government funding. It begs the question – “Is this really a Government of kindness?”
Please read this excellent article by Danielle van Dalen, senior researcher at the Maxim Institute: Palliative care is in danger of dying from government neglect
Danielle is also the author of: The urgent case for palliative care
*This post was written by Family First staff writers.
This is a sad story that illustrates the dangers of liberal euthanasia laws…
A Canadian woman suffering from Long Covid has applied for assisted dying. Tracey Thompson has already received one doctor’s approval and is now awaiting a second specialist’s approval to then proceed with assisted dying.
Extreme fatigue and a lack of financial support caused Thompson to apply for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) – Canada’s voluntary euthanasia program. She is unable to work and expects to run out of money in five months.
“(MAiD) is exclusively a financial consideration,” she said.
“My choices are basically to die slowly and painfully, or quickly. Those are the options that are left.”
Thompson stressed she still enjoys life and doesn’t want to die, but doesn’t think she could survive without an income.
According to the Canadian Government’s own data, there have been 21,589 medically assisted deaths since euthanasia became legal in 2016.
When MAiD first became legal in Canada it was only available for people who were terminally ill. However, last year the criteria changed to “cannot be relieved under conditions that you consider acceptable”. From March 17 2023, the program will be expanded to include people with mental illness as their sole underlying medical condition.
Not only is this story very sad, it also highlights the dangers of liberal euthanasia laws which inevitably get expanded over time.
Read full story here.
Note – ‘Long Covid’ is a term to describe the effects of Covid-19 that continue for weeks or months beyond the initial illness. Symptoms include chronic fatigue, brain fog, and chest pain.
*This post was written by Family First staff writers.
Media Release from #DefendNZ | www.defendnz.co.nz
A total of 206 people have requested to die using the legislation so far.
Registrar for the assisted suicide and euthanasia legislation, Dr Kristin Good, spoke to NZ Doctor magazine about demand to date.
When the law came into force in November 2021, one nurse was employed to answer phonecalls from members of the public enquiring about how to be euthanised or assisted to commit suicide under the End of Life Choice Act.
However, due to increased demand, Dr Good says, “we are now employing a third nurse [answering phone queries].”
Interest remains very high with an average of 46 enquiries each week.
Of the 206 applicants so far, 168 people had a first assessment with a health practitioner, 126 people had a second, yet 0 people were referred for a psychiatric assessment. This is despite international data showing that 1-in-6 people using assisted suicide are clinically depressed – a condition which, if detected, can be treated.
This raises serious questions for us around the protection of vulnerable people.
#DefendNZ calls for increased public safety when it comes to the End of Life Choice Act.
“There are a number of significant concerns that have already been highlighted in the reporting made available by the Ministry of Health this week. Vulnerable New Zealanders are clearly already being put at risk due to the inferior legislation. We can, and must, do better” says #DefendNZ spokesperson, Henoch Kloosterboer.
Of the total 206 applications, 66 have been euthanised or assisted to commit suicide, 59 are still in process, 11 have withdrawn their application, 40 were denied their application due to not meeting criteria, and 30 had died naturally while their application was in process.
Of the 66 people whose lives have been ended so far, the 73 per cent died at home, 17 per cent in aged care facilities, 6 per cent in DHB facilities and 4 per cent in a hospice facility.
So far, according to an interview conducted by NZ Doctor, three formal complaints have been laid.
When #DefendNZ contacted the Ministry of Health for details around complaints last month, we were denied information – even with an Official Information Act request.
#DefendNZ was told by an MOH spokesperson, “I have considered the countervailing public interest in release in making this decision and consider that it does not outweigh the need to withhold at this time.”
We were stonewalled.
Statistics voluntarily provided by the Ministry of Health show that of the initial 206 applicants:
More than 80% of people using euthanasia or assisted suicide internationally are over the age of 65. This means, applicants in New Zealand are already significantly younger than the international average at only 74.3% of those being aged 65 or over. This is concerning, coupled with the unknown and unreported specific ages of those nine people between 18 and 44 years old.
The #DefendNZ movement is calling for much more detailed reporting to remove the cloak of secrecy and increase accountability in its Six to Fix petition.
Critics of the legislation have highlighted that the Act does not make any requirements of care towards those whose applications have been declined.
Of the 40 people whose applications have been denied, 16 were not experiencing unbearable suffering unable to be relieved in a tolerable manner, 17 were not in an advanced state of irreversible decline in physical capability, 26 did not suffer from a terminal illness likely to end their lives within six months, and 7 were not competent to make an informed decision.
Note: As a person may be found ineligible for more than one reason, the sums above by reason are greater than the total number of people assessed as ineligible.
These people clearly wanted to die.
Who is supporting them now that they have been declined?
Where is the duty of care to these very vulnerable New Zealanders?
The next Ministry of Health report for the quarterly period from 1 April to 30 June 2022 is due to be released in July. Based on trajectories, death-on-demand will increase.
Yet we know that of those internationally requesting an assisted suicide or death-by-doctor end to their lives are prone to coercion.
New Zealand has the unenviable ranking of the worst country in the OECD for domestic violence. 1-in-10 elderly in New Zealand suffer abuse, of which the majority is perpetrated by family members, and mostly for financial gain.
We also know 60% are likely to already feel like a burden on loved ones, and the majority list loneliness as one of the primary reasons for requesting death.
We need to get better at supporting each other, and supporting those in our communities at risk of loneliness, elder abuse, depression, and those who feel they are a burden.
Who is in your circle or community that you can reach out to?
#DefendNZ is a movement dedicated to getting a better deal for vulnerable New Zealanders by lobbying to improve the risks created by the current End of Life Choice Act, support those in need, and inform our culture on what’s happening in this conversation.
You might like to read our helpful guides on ‘How do I support someone facing death?’ and ‘What does dying actually look like?’.
If you’re also concerned about the very real risks the End of Life Choice Act has created, visit our Six to Fix petition, which highlights six amendments that can be made to the law to considerably improve public safety.
Euthanasia has only been legal in New Zealand for less than three months, but already we are seeing some disturbing trends, including the speed with which someone can request and then receive it (despite claims that this was unlikely to happen). And check out the Ministry of Health’s (and Newshub’s) spectacular own goal! For more info on the new law, visit www.Protect.org.nz
Euthanasia is now legal in New Zealand. In this episode of “Family Matters”, Bob McCoskrie spoke to Professor David Kissane, an Australian cancer psychiatrist whose career has focused on the interface of mental illness with cancer and palliative care. He is the chair of Palliative Care Research at the University of Notre Dame Australia and the Cunningham Centre for Palliative Care Research at St Vincent’s Sydney, and the Department of Psychiatry, Monash University.
Dr David Kissane talks about the dangers of euthanasia – the way that suffering, undiagnosed depression, unrecognised family distress and communication breakdown creates vulnerability for those with an illness. Dr Kissane also explains the types of vulnerable patients and how a loss of sense of worth, meaning, hope or if you become ashamed can lead to losing the will to live and a desire to end your life. He also warns about the hidden nature of family coercion. Dr Kissane offers advice to medical professionals, and also to families facing this issue with relatives who are facing a terminal illness.
www.Protect.org.nz