#MedicalAssistanceInDying

[solarpunkpresentspodcast]

This week, Christina De La Rocha writes about endings. Appropriate for the end of the year, but a heavy topic nonetheless. How can we work towards better endings, for ourselves and for others? What can we do to support people through the ends of their existences? How can we begin to think through this thorny moral issue?

[dlsphjournalism]

HEALTHY DEBATE -- ‘When you have severe disabilities, life isn’t over’: Expansion of MAiD raises concerns

BY FERRUKH FARUQUI (FJHI '24) -- Roger Foley is determined to live life as best he can. At age 49, he can no longer walk. He was born with spinocerebellar ataxia, a genetic disease that has progressed to the point where he needs help to swallow, bathe and empty his bowels. He’s confined to a hospital room in London, Ont. – where he has been offered Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) on four occasions – because he can’t get the supports he needs to live at home. Before his condition worsened, Foley was the National E-Business Manager for Dominion Securities and looked after his ailing father. READ MORE.

[raidaraza]

Right To Life

My name is Raida Raza. I will forever be an advocate for end of life choice specifically for those with a mental disorder because I have been there and I know what it feels like and when you are experiencing chronic pain all you want is some relief. No one wants to end their life; they want to end their suffering. I have borderline personality disorder, it is said to be one of the worst mental illnesses that a person can have. I feel intense emotions, lack a sense of self, have trouble with relationships and holding a job. I have fought for a long time and I wanted to stop. I was not weak; I was tired. Recently certain events happened in my life that made the pain worse. It got to a point where I just cried all the time uncontrollably, this went on for months. I tried medications, therapies, taking a break from work, nothing was helping. I wanted the choice to end my life with dignity. I didn’t want to attempt suicide because I didn’t want physical pain on top of my mental pain. I was exhausted. I just wanted some relief and compassion. I wanted the right to my life. I was going to apply for MAID but then things started changing, my mental state got better. I am walking proof that pain can change and life can get better but a person should have the choice to choose that rather than be forced into it. I understand that as a society we are told to continue living in hopes that one day things get better but not all of us are fighters and if you judge a fish’s intelligence by its ability to climb a tree it will forever think its stupid. We should be given a choice to decide whether we want to continue fighting or stop because our fight is over. Our choice should be respected and accepted with compassion.

[dlsphjournalism]

HEALTHY DEBATE -- Quebec’s move to allow advance requests for MAiD ‘the worst news imaginable’

BY FERRUKH FARUQUI (FJHI '25) -- Quebec’s decision to forge ahead with advance requests (ARs) for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) as of Oct. 30 is “the worst news imaginable,” says McGill University geriatrician Catherine Ferrier, who specializes in the treatment of dementia, an “ageist, ableist attack” on the vulnerable elderly. READ MORE.

[dlsphjournalism]

THE BMJ -- Disability community feels ignored in Canada’s assisted dying expansion

BY SAMMY CHOWN (FJHI '24) -- On 29 February, Canada’s ruling Liberal Party confirmed that a proposed expansion of its medical assistance in dying (MAID) measures would be delayed for a second time.1 Originally proposed in a 2021 amendment to the 2016 law, it would have added mental illness as a qualifying condition for MAID. READ MORE.