Representatives of Canadians with disabilities decry Edmonton 'Anno Domini exhibit By Mike Mastromatteo The Interim Disabled rights activists in Alberta and across Canada are again fighting attempts suggesting that Saskatchewan farmer Robert Latimer was motivated only by mercy in the 1994 murder of his handicapped daughter Tracy. The latest effort centres on the Anno Domini: Jesus Through the Centuries exhibit at the Provincial [...]
By Alex Schadenberg Last year, Campaign Life Coalition experienced a serious shock when one of their valued employees, Rebecca Ducusin, experienced life-threatening health problems and become incapable of making medical decisions for herself. Questions arose pertaining to who would have the legal authority to make decisions on her behalf. The difficulties and stress associated with her needs and how to protect her [...]
By Paul Tuns The Interim On June 14, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCOC) heard oral arguments in the Robert Latimer appeal as his lawyers asked the highest court in the land to absolve the convicted murderer of the mandatory life sentence with no parole for 10 years for the gassing death of his 12-year-old daughter Tracy, in 1993. The case will [...]
pro-lifers still concerned about nutrition and hydration, ‘compassionate homicide' issues By Paul Tuns The Interim On June 6, the Senate social affairs committee released its five-year update of On Life and Death. The report, entitled Quality End-of-Life Care: The Right of Every Canadian, recommends improving palliative care, but it fails to address some key issues, leaving open certain questions on doctor-assisted suicide and [...]
A mere 40 years ago, the Canadian Bill of Rights recognized that ‘men and intitution remain free only when freedom is founded upon respect for moral and spiritual values' By Rory Leishman The Interim How do we know that abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide are evil? For Christians and Jews who uphold the historic teachings of their faith, the answer is obvious: [...]
Who gets the last word? New ideas about euthanasia ($10, Canadian Physicians for Life 10150 Gillanders Rd Chilliwack BC V2P 6H4 tel. (604) 794-3772, fax (604) 794-3960, e-mail: info@physiciansfor life.ca) Review by Alex Schadenberg The Interim Canadian Physicians for Life have produced a timely 23-minute video to explain what euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are and to dispel the myths surrounding these issues. [...]
By Alex Schadenberg The Interim On Jan. 28, 2000 the Medical Treatment (Prevention of Euthanasia) Bill passed through second reading in the British House of Commons by a vote of 113 to 2. The Prevention of Euthanasia Bill was introduced on Dec. 15, 1999 by Ann Winterton, member from Congleton, in order to amend the law in relation to the withdrawal or [...]
It's played between ordinary, struggling human beings and an abstract notion of a preferred lifestyle By Donald DeMarco The Interim In what many critics consider to be Ingmar Bergman's masterpiece, The Seventh Seal(1956), a disillusioned knight, returning from the Crusades, encounters Death. The two sit down to a game of chess, the stakes being the knight's life. The scene, in which the knight, [...]
I sat down to write this column and as I was thinking about what to say, I realized that it was going to be in the January, 2000 issue of The Interim. Yes indeed, this would be my first column for the new year - and for a new millennium! And then, all of a sudden, I thought, "If there is a [...]
Disabled and anti-euthanasia activists alarmed at treatment of attempted mercy-killer By Paul Tuns The Interim The dangerous and disturbing trend of treating disabled victims of crimes as second-class citizens unworthy of the protection of the law was evident in the sentencing of Lisa Thompson on Nov. 30, 1999. Thompson, a 37-year-old divorced mother of four from Niagara Falls, Ont., tried to kill [...]
Alleges Catholic facility removed food and water to hasten deathBy David Curtin The Interim The family of a 94-year-old woman from Windsor, Ont. is suing a local Catholic nursing home for, among other things, trying to starve the woman to death. In a 14-page Statement of Claim obtained by The Interim, Florence LaDouceur's daughters are suing Villa Maria Home for the Aged for [...]
Here we go again. Honestly, sometimes you just have to laugh at the purveyors of death. I couldn't make this stuff up even if I tried. To the delight of any columnist, the merry band of right-to-die folks continue their comic antics at inventing the "holy grail" of suicide machines. In the month of November an exciting top-secret right-to-die conference took place [...]
The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition of Ontario has grave concerns about Senator Sharon Carstairs Bill S-2, the Medical Decisions Facilitation Act. The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition of Ontario (EPCO) has been formed in order to prepare a well-informed, broadly-based network supporting measures that will create an effective social barrier to euthanasia and assisted suicide. One of our goals is to preserve and enforce legal prohibitions [...]
Leaders from the medical, hospice, palliative care and pro-life fields in Ontario have joined to form a coalition that will combat the potential onset and promotion of euthanasia and assisted suicide practices in the province. The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition of Ontario has attracted such figures as Dr. Barry DeVeber, president emeritus of the DeVeber Institute for Bioethics and Social Research, and Jean [...]
Representatives Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) introduced the Pain Relief Promotion Act 1999 (H.R. 2260) on June 17 as a response to the use of lethal drugs for the purposes of assisted suicide and euthanasia, as is legally taking place in the state of Oregon. An identical bill was introduced in the Senate by Senators Don Nickles (R-Okla.) and Joe [...]