Taking Mercy
Should Canadian laws change to allow parents to decide to euthanize a child who is living in pain that cannot be alleviated, or whose life is being sustained by life support, such as a feeding tube? Join reporter and live blog host Jennifer Tryon, producers and moderators, Hannah James and Megan Rowney with guests Robert Latimer, Annette Corriveau and ethicist, Robert Schafer to discuss this topic on Friday, March 16 at 7pm EDT.
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@Anneke if you were fed by tubes and wanted to not be fed by them would you not then communicate that or physically remove them? If you could not say anything, either verbally nor physically about the state that you were in would you consider that a relief/happiness, or a confinement?
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I look terrible on paper. I've been in severe pain my whole life. I'm developmentally disabled and physically disabled. And I have a chronic illness that confines me to bed, and I need help for pretty close to everything. It's already too easy for relatives to kill me and look like they're doing me a favor. It's also easy to deny me a voice because I can't speak. All you would have to do is take away my assistive technology and I could not object in any way that couldn't be written off as bad behavior. But I don't want to die. I love being alive. And wanting to die is not the natural state of a disabled person. It terrifies me to think that anyone would want to make it any easier to kill me than it already is. Killing us isn't mercy, it's murder.
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This piece was so powerful but I found it odd that at the beginning of the show we saw the daughter as she looks now, the pics of them as kids and then the two children as adults. I thought they were kids until you showed the daughter as she looks now! The poor mother.
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It is true that we can't know for certain what someone wants if they don't communicate it. BUT if we don't know we can't kill people based on our guess about it. Killing someone who doesn't want to die based on our guesses and biased notions about people's lives is unacceptable. -
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Saw my Grandmother and my Dad both with the help of pain meds (Ha) my Grandmother dehyrated and straved and my Dad moreor less drown on his own fluids. That's respectfull and humane.What is wrong with a needle to stop the pain and disrespect .And I as a mother the only life my child knew was threw a feeding tubing I could not let them be in that dark place. Our goverment needs to get on the band wagon. We treat or aniamls in medical situations better then we do our own human race. But as parents we can help them not suffer and be lost !
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I volunteered at an extended care home for severely physically and mentally disabled adults. Some, although could not care for themselves at all, would recognize me, they were very alive in their eyes. Others had vacant eyes. They existed simply because of feeding tubes and breathing apparatus. They did not or could not move.. These people were alive because our laws said they had to be. They were awake but not there, at all. They never had visitors. That, is no quality of life.
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There is nothing compassionate about killing children, even in the most horrific medical circumstances. Equally cruel is making a struggling mother consider the option of killing her own child. This option will destroy families and NEVER bring any member of the family any desired peace.
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I empathize with Robert Latimer - I always have. He had to make an excruciating decision, one that no parent would ever want to make. I somewhat understand his pain, and I support his decision to do what was best for his daughter. It is unthinkable and unethical to keep someone alive in constant pain.
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Those of you who may be thinking that some of the participants with disabilities in this conversation aren't "disabled enough" to understand your situation, please read this piece written by a woman who cannot walk, talk, or feed herself. www.seattlepi.com
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Let me tell you my son cannot communicate ,he still can with his eyes and demeanour.It is not an easy decision but again if you walk in these shoes,mine, Annette's and other in the same situation the last thing you want to see is someone suffering until the end with nothing to make the pain go away or seeing the continuous decline of their health
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I think the criticism that there are no disabled people on the panel is a valid one. The resistance to the ideas expressed by the panelists can be understood when you are someone whom others would have, and maybe even tried to, "throw away" because of the odds against them. Imagine how one might fear being "eliminated" -- or fear that another person who was equally disabled -- could be eliminated.
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For Robert Latimer: During our interview you mentioned the court insisted there be another medication you could have used, and that was a large part of your conviction. Have you received an answer yet about "what other options" the court says you should have exercised? Can you explain? -
I agree with Stephen that parents making the decision to kill their children in the name of mercy crosses a line we can't cross without great danger. The constant assertion that we are kinder to our pets than to people is so untrue. People put their pets down for convenience all the time. I took care of my mother as she slowly died of cancer, and it was the most difficult thing I ever did. Sometimes I did wish she would just go ahead and die. It is precisely because feelings like this are normal that we should not have euthanasia as an easy option. Instead, individuals, communities, and governments need to provide support to caregivers so that they can support the sick and disabled. We should have excellent palliative care for the disabled or dying person and respite and support care for caregivers. Like many very, very difficult things in life, caregiving can also be among life's most reward experiences. I am grateful I had at least some of the support I could have used in caring for my mother and glad beyond belief that I was able to care for her. I am also grateful for having known many disabled people. One of my best friends is a quadriplegic who has lived in a nursing home and needed constant care for 19 years. He lives a rich life. If someone_his wife in this case_ had had the right to euthanize him, he would have lost all those years, and I would have lost a great friend.
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