On February 6, the Supreme Court of Canada threw out the Criminal Code prohibition on euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide. Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, says his organization wants the Canadian government to invoke the notwithstanding clause and urges citizens to contact their MPs to request they stand up for vulnerable Canadians. He includes a list of talking points:
- People with disabilities oppose assisted suicide.
- Assisted suicide debate masks disability prejudice.
- Assisted suicide has devalued the lives of the elderly in Washington State.
- United Nations: Abuse of older women overlooked and under-reported.
- Depressed mother died by euthanasia in Belgium.
- Supreme court allows assisted suicide for depressed people.
- Suicide rate in Oregon continues to increase faster than the national average.
- Suicide prevention at odds with assisted suicide.
These talking points should also be used in our conversations with friends, family, and colleagues. They can be utilized in letters to the editor or when calling talk-radio shows. We need to get the message out that the disabled, elderly, and sick deserve compassion, not death, and that so-called safeguards do not protect individuals in difficult circumstances.
People can also sign the petition.
