May 12, 2022
National Post
Letter to the Editor
Columnist, Jesse Kline on May 12, 2022 (https://nationalpost.com/opinion/jesse-kline-we-have-a-right-to-choose-death-and-our-reasons-are-nobodys-business), has inadvertently singled out the problem with the deceptively named, Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID). He states, “unless people are being coerced into making certain choices, or are making decisions that are actively harming others, it is really none of our business”.
His assessment glosses over the pertinent fact that the previous law was put in place to protect vulnerable people from death by others. The aged, the disabled, the mentally ill, who are all in a vulnerable state, may have difficulty making an objective decision regarding their death. Living conditions may make their lives difficult and depressing, and therefore it is not difficult to convince them that they are useless and their lives are without meaning. Simply put, their “consent” to their deaths is, in many cases, highly problematic.
That is why it is critical in a civilized society, that their lives be protected from undue influence and from factors leading to their depression. They need physical, mental, and medical support, financial support, counselling, and other social services that will restore their human dignity, and renew their desire to live out their lives until natural death.
The alternative proposed by Klein, is to allow the killing of the poor, the troubled, and the disabled, as a cost saving benefit to society. Contrary to his assertion, it is society’s business.
Gwendolyn Landolt
National Vice-President and Legal Counsel
REAL Women of Canada