Chris Selley: It's not too late to fix medical assistance in dying

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The other argument, which reinforces the first, is that MAID is just another “medical procedure,” as Dr. Mauril Gaudreault, president of the Quebec College of Physicians, put it to a parliamentary committee last month. “ is a form of care. It’s a medical procedure that may be appropriate in certain circumstances,” he testified. “It is not a matter of politics, morality or religion.”Needless to say, ending a life is absolutely a moral matter.

In Canada, you don’t have a right to a new hip just because you don’t like the one nature gave you. You don’t have a right to have your appendix out because you think it’s a dumb organ, even on your own dime. You don’t have a right to a Xanax prescription because you’ve heard it makes the feelings go away.

By the same token, Canada could simply say that MAID is an appropriate treatment for those who are objectively near death anyway, but not for anyone else. Period. In the same way we don’t treat mental illnesses like they’re a broken leg or a concussion or a urinary tract infection, we don’t treat them like they’re terminal physical illnesses.

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Chris Selley: It's not too late to fix medical assistance in dyingThe conditions Canada originally imposed — a terminal illness, a foreseeable death — remain entirely defensible, the courts be damned Fix it? Asssist IT'S death. The way to fix is to provide proper financial support and adequate housing to those who need it. But we know how conservatives feel about that don't we? It's voluntary. A person applies for MAiD. What further protection is required beyond training VA staff? Will Conservatives vote in favour of increased disability $ and mental health care adequate for needs of Canadians? Or are they using this for rage farming to get donations?
Source: nationalpost - 🏆 10. / 80 Read more »