Robert Latimer has been granted full parole. I am not surprised by the decision, just ticked off. It sends a terrible signal to society that the life of a person with a disability is less valuable than the life of an able-bodied person. That is sick, perverse and dehumanizing. Canada is better than that. As the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition’s Alex Schadenberg says, “the EPC has [...]
A study published in the Oct. 5 British Medical Journal found that nearly half of all euthanasia deaths in the Flanders region of Belgium were not reported. This study combined with the recent study that was published in the CMAJ in May 2010 that indicated that 32 per cent of all euthanasia deaths in the Flanders region of Belgium were without request [...]
For many years the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition has been analyzing Canadian survey results related to euthanasia and assisted suicide. The first major survey that the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition commissioned was part of an Environics Group – National Omnibus survey in April 2001. The recent Environics Group survey, sponsored by Life Canada, shows that the EPC strategy not only convinced MPs to vote [...]
Robert Latimer has been granted full parole. I am not surprised by the decision, just ticked off. It sends a terrible signal to society that the life of a person with a disability is less valuable than the life of an able-bodied person. That is sick and perverse and dehumanizing. Canada is better than that. As the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition's Alex Schadenberg says, "The EPC has always [...]
On April 21, Bill C-384 was overwhelmingly defeated when the House of Commons voted 228-59 against Francine Lalonde’s (BQ, La Pointe-de-l’Île) private member’s bill to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide. After the vote, two Liberal MPs (Ujjal Dosanjh and Ken Dryden) sought but were denied permission to change their vote from in favour of C-384 to opposing it because they claimed they [...]
Bipartisan opposition to private member’s bill legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide On March 16, the House of Commons debated Bill C-384, MP Francine Lalonde`s (La Pointe-de-l’Île, BQ) private member’s bill to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia. The bill had already been debated for an hour in October, but the prorogation of Parliament in January and February moved it back to [...]
Where are we now? Where do we go? This article is written to establish the current concerns related to the issues of euthanasia and assisted suicide and the direction in which we must turn in order to reverse the trend toward giving physicians the right to intentionally and directly cause the deaths of their patients. In Canada, the debate surrounding euthanasia and [...]
On Dec. 30, Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked Governor General Michaelle Jean to prorogue Parliament, shutting it down until March 3. When Parliament prorogues, all unfinished government legislation dies, but private members bills do not. This means that C-384, the private members bill of Francine Lalonde that would legalize euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide, will still be voted on when the new session [...]
A Belgian man diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) for 23 years after an automobile accident was found to be conscious the whole time. Rather he had a condition known as Locked-in Syndrome, in which a person is fully aware of all of their surroundings, but due to their cognitive disability are unable to respond. After being re-diagnosed by [...]
On Nov. 2, a column by Steven Fletcher appeared in the National Post about C-384, a private member’s bill that would legalize euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide. Fletcher’s opinion could be influential; not only is he a Conservative MP and cabinet minister, he is a paraplegic confined to a wheelchair since a 1996 automobile accident, He said more should be done to improve the lives [...]
On Oct. 2, Bill C-384, Francine Lalonde’s private member’s bill to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, received its first hour of debate. The bill was introduced on May 13 by the Bloc Québécois MP, in her third attempt to get such legislation passed in Parliament. Two previous attempts were scuttled when an election was called. The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition has led the [...]
“Where are you going, Frank?” asked my wife. “Ottawa, my dear, to interview a BQ MP.” “I thought it was only Liberals you enjoyed torturing?” “No, I’m just trying to change the course of history.” “Good luck, dear.” The next day, after arriving in Ottawa, I inquired: “Is this the office of Francine Lalonde, the BQ member for La Pointe-de-l’Ille?” “Yes, what [...]
On Oct. 2, Bill C-384, the private member’s bill to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, is to receive its first hour of debate. It was introduced on May 13 by Bloc Québécois MP Francine Lalonde. Since then, many groups and individuals have helped the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition fight it by sending Stop Bill C-384 postcards and hand-written letters, and meeting with members [...]
The Quebec College of Physicians ethics task force is pushing the envelope on euthanasia by proposing that some forms of euthanasia be considered “as part of the appropriate care in certain particular circumstances.” The task force has toyed with the issue for three years and now is prepared to release a “reflection” paper in November. Dr. Yves Robert, the college’s secretary, told [...]