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LETTER: Who gets MAiD and who doesn’t?

Mike Schouten of Chilliwack weighs in on the difficult topic of euthanasia
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WARNING: This story contains references to suicide and may not be appropriate for all audiences.

Dear Editor,

It has only been a few years since Canada legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia (MAiD), and we are already set to loosen the restrictions on who can avail themselves of MAiD. The current Liberal government has introduced Bill C-7 and by doing so continues to divide Canadians into two groups – those who get suicide prevention and those who receive suicide assistance.

Disability rights advocate Liz Carr points this out by saying, “When non-disabled people talk of suicide, they’re discouraged and offered prevention. When a disabled person talks about it, though, suddenly the conversation is overtaken with words like ‘choice’, and ‘autonomy’, while talk of prevention and mental health support are rare.”

In other words, if assisted suicide were really about choice, we would offer it to all Canadians – not only the old, disabled or severely ill. But we don’t, and we shouldn’t.

Expanding assisted suicide encourages a culture of neglect for suffering, elderly, disabled and other vulnerable people and devalues their lives. Please use this opportunity to speak up! Go to www.carenotkill.ca to learn more today!

Mike Schouten

Chilliwack