Interim writer, Rory Leishman, National Affairs By Rory Leishman Until a few decades ago, the great majority of Canadians believed that assisting in a suicide was an appalling crime and a serious criminal offence; now, most of our fellow citizens support the legalization of physician-assisted suicide under the euphemistic guise of Medical Assistance in Dying. Why is that? A large [...]
By Alex Schadenberg Special to The Interim On November 24, I had the opportunity to present our Euthanasia Prevention Coalition brief on euthanasia Bill C-7 to the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. This was followed with senators asking questions and clarifying items from those who had made presentations. Senator Stanley Kutcher (N.S., Independent Senators Group) decided to challenge a witness [...]
By Paul Tuns Justice Minister David Lametti sought a third extension from a Quebec court to enable a full Senate debate and vote on Bill C-7, which expands eligibility for euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide and passed the House of Commons in a 212-107 vote. The Liberals, NDP, Bloc and Green parties voted en masse for C-7 and were joined by 15 Conservative [...]
From the editor's desk I’ve often said that when it comes to euthanasia, in our current legal and political climate, “safeguards” is just another name for discrimination. If the state tries to protect minors or people suffering from mental illness or non-terminally ill individuals by outlawing a lethal procedure that might be imposed upon a highly impressionable person or to [...]
Doctors, disability groups call for better support for vulnerable people By Paul Tuns Pro-life, religious, and disabilities groups have expressed opposition to the government’s expansion of euthanasia and assisted-suicide as the Trudeau government rushes C-7 through Parliament. On Oct. 29, C-7, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying), was passed at second reading in a 246-78 vote, and [...]
Alex Schadenberg Special to The Interim It removes the requirement that a person’s natural death must be reasonably foreseeable to qualify for death by lethal injection. It permits a doctor or nurse practitioner to lethally inject a person who is incapable of consenting, if that person was previously approved. This contravenes the Supreme Court of Canada Carter decision which stated that only [...]
On Oct. 3, an 83-year-old Nova Scotian was killed by lethal injection following a legal battle in which his wife of 48 years tried to prevent the euthanasia killing. Katherine Sorenson, 82, failed in her legal bid to stop the medicalized killing of her husband Jack. Lawyers for the wife may seek leave to appeal to Canada’s Supreme Court to address several [...]
Disabilities group condemns C-7, EPC says safeguards are being eroded Justice Minister David Lametti introduced Bill C-7 on Oct. 5, bringing back the federal government’s legislation to broaden so-called Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD). Last September, a Quebec court threw out several provisions of the federal euthanasia and assisted-suicide law, most notably the requirement that death be “reasonably foreseeable” in order to [...]
In July, the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition received a phone call from Katherine in Nova Scotia who was very upset because her husband, who lives with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but is not otherwise dying, was seeking approval for euthanasia. Katherine was shocked when a known euthanasia doctor determined that her husband qualified for euthanasia even though another doctor’s assessment stated that [...]
By Lianne Laurence Special to The Interim Canadians should be “deeply ashamed” of their government’s first annual report on euthanasia that reveals that 771 sick Canadians asked to be lethally injected in 2019 because of loneliness, says a well-known American euthanasia opponent. “Good grief. We are told that euthanasia is ‘compassion.’ But how compassionate is it when last year in Canada, [...]
An 82-year-old Canadian woman is going to court to stop her husband of 48 years from being euthanized, arguing that he is not eligible to be lethally injected under the country’s current law. The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC), which is financing the unprecedented case, sent out an urgent appeal for funds August 14 after a judge rejected the wife’s request for an [...]
Despite urgency of euthanasia, CPC front-runners do not address issue The Conservative leadership candidates have not focused closely on the issue of so-called Medical Aid in Dying, or MAiD (euthanasia), even though the government is debating the expansion of euthanasia through Bill C-7. The two supposed front-runners, Peter MacKay and Erin O'Toole have not addressed the issue. Derek Sloan vowed to "Extend the official review [...]
Rory Leishman In a landmark decision on April 21, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands held that a Dutch physician was not guilty of murder in the planned and deliberate killing of a demented patient in a nursing home despite not having even attempted to obtain the consent of the patient to be euthanized. Regardless, the Court held that the [...]
Italian psychiatrist raises doubts about assisted suicide and mental illness Bernardo Carpiniello reports that psychiatrists raise serious clinical concerns in approving euthanasia for mentally ill patients. Bernardo Carpiniello of the Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health-Unit of Psychiatry at the University of Cagliari, Italy, published an article in the Journal of the Italian Society of Psychiatrywarning about the dangers [...]
It is madness, if you will excuse the expression, to extend Canada’s already-permissive euthanasia/assisted suicide regime to the mentally ill. As we have recently reported in these pages, the Trudeau government’s Bill C-7 eliminates what modest restrictions existed in their 2016 euthanasia law, including that death be imminent. While claiming that C-7 does not allow mental illness as a reason to access [...]