Citizens for Patient Safety

Enforcing MAID in Palliative and Hospice Care units will degrade the Mission of these long fought-for Services. Years ago when my father lay dying in his final hours, our family gathered around his bed to pray. As his breathing slowed, he was in a sacred place of Spirit - that ether between the soul and God. To think that during that vulnerable time, had a doctor come along to interrupt this natural transition with a lethal injection, “to hasten the process” is so repugnantly cold-blooded, and such a violence. Instead of a cherished time of goodbye, a sad but loving memory, it would now be something I could not bear to contemplate.

Life can be difficult and painful. You don't need to go far to find those who will agree, like maybe the next person you talk to. :) Those same people will tell you their life's difficulties have often provided an opportunity to consider heart questions like who am I, what is most important, and what is my destiny. Many of us spend our lives consciously, or sub-consciously, pondering some form of these questions. Most of our lives are lived working hard and long to provide basic needs for ourselves, our families, and in some cases the larger community. This has generally occupied "pride of place" in our lives, and these things are honorable and good. It has also been said "good is the enemy of great". Every hour we are given on this earth whether easy or difficult is one more hour of opportunity to know the creator and his unique plan for each of us. It is only through the loving personal sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life, that we have been given the unobstructed way to an eternity of unthinkable joy. God is always extending his invitation to an eternity with Him and has given each and every one of us time in this life to accept or reject it. MAiD will artificially cut short this time for discernment and willful change of heart, not only causing the loss of the last few earthly weeks, months or years of a God created life of irreplaceable value but possibly the loss of the eternal life of joy for which we have all been created.

Recently we have heard almost every week, that First Nations youth have committed suicide somewhere in Canada and we all feel sad this is occurring in our wonderful Canada. Social workers are sent in to help families grieve and cope. These young people came to feel that their life was not worth living. We hear a statement from the band chief that he needs more resources and so the government sends in what they can because all Canadians want our young people to feel that life is indeed worth living. This country has always had laws to protect those who are weak,, and vulnerable for the reason that because they are vulnerable they are the ones most susceptible to any suggestion that their life is not worth living. Similarly, when people are sick, often trying to cope alone, they too begin to feel overwhelmed, and worn down; some start to think they don't want to be a burden to their family, and some start to think their life is not worth living. And they often get to that point, because , in little ways, someone has made them feel they are a burden to their family. The truth is that all of us depend heavily on our family from the day we are born, and that is quite natural and accepted by everyone. Similarly, it is true that all of us will need to depend on our human family at we come to the end of our life and that human family is you and me and often many others, and that is quite natural but for some reason it is not accepted by everyone. A newborn baby needs quiet, calm loving care and with every task of feeding and changing and holding, the love grows between child and caregiver.Similarly, a sick and frail person also need quiet , calm loving care and with every task of feeding and changing and holding, love grows between the patient and the caregiver. For , as Dr. Dorothy Ley, in her book The Heart of Hospice says," Love is the litmus test of palliative care and spirituality is its heart." At the beginning of her book she says,"spiritual care lies at the hear

As a Hospice and Palliative Care Nurse, I am horrified at the possibility that patients seeking to end their lives artificially through a doctor's prescription will be included on a unit with other Hospice patients! Our Hospice and Palliative Care unit is built on the philosophy of loving care as we nurture patients through their last days, weeks, or months on earth. Our desire is to see patients and their families grow through those last days as they use the time left for whatever is needed within their individual family structure. We are support persons. We are designed to help empower them to learn and grow through the experience of those days until there are no more days. We are not attempting to short circuit the euthanasia process that some would choose but we simply ask that we don't mix patients headed down that road with our patients who choose to live life until its natural end. We have no desire to blur the lines between euthanasia and natural death.

Even our newly-elected federal government has mentioned acknowledgement of the importance of PALLIATIVE care! As a retired nurse, I can honestly say that this whole issue of "assistance" in dying is nothing other than an economically-driven piece of marketing aimed at spending money on whatever makes administrators look good, rather than on what benefits people and patients!!

I have attended to the needs of palliative patients for over 15 years as an RN and not once have I seen any indication or family/patient request for assisted suicide. There has always been available adequately trained staff, pharmaceutical agents and convectional comfort measures in every situation. MAiDS is not necessary and certainly not so in palliative care centers.

I spent 5 years working at McKenney Creek Hospice until my husband became ill and I had stop in order to be with him. During my time as a volunteer I was impressed with the devotion and care provided by both staff and volunteers, many of the latter spending many hours comforting the sick and being with them as they approached death in a peaceful atmosphere without fear. Some looked forward to death, not because they were in pain or had lost hope. Rather, as one dear lady expressed she longed to be with her Lord in Heaven, yet when she awakened each day she was a little disappointed that she was still 'here' but would say that God just didn't think she was ready yet. She accepted His Wish with such dignity and peace I was touched . Please don't make the hospice a place of fear by offering death as something to be chosen as a quick solution to something that should be done quickly to 'get if over with', but instead the end of our pilgrimage to our heavenly home and into the arms of our Loving God.

Well said, Deborah - Bless you heart, Heres Snijder

I have aging loved ones - my father is 90yrs young - healthy & well and still driving. It would be most sad to see options given to him, without the support of loved ones, that would prematurely end his life. I see so many in Resident Care facilities that have no one to support them - I'm thinking this is just a way for those who advocate MAid to get rid of those persons they think are less than supporting to our communities. Please, let us respect our elderly members of our communities and surround them with the love and support and RESPECT they need as they near their end of life.

The two concepts, palliative care and MAiDS are incompatible in their objectives and definitely in their outcome. Health care facilities in FHA should not be required to present MAiDS as an option. It is a very clever marketing of the acronym MAiDS though, as if it were to be helpful like a maid. Governments go a long way to make murder commonplace by giving it other names like assisted suicide or termination of pregnancy. Shame on this government! Mike Scanlan Delta

I would not sign any form for the Medical System to ask me to end my life. God alone will make the choice for my death .I support all the medical persons who follow Christian Values in their everyday work place.

My husband's aunt lived to 103 years and all her working life she gave to restoring and maintaining good health as a registered nurse. To think that such a group of individuals 'usurplng God's omnipotence ' by deciding when life ends, you should be ashamed. Your actions do not go unnoticed by our omniscient and holy God. Betty DuChene

I am so thankful that we as a family could experience a special time with my husband during his last week in Palliative Care at ARHCC. It was a safe place knowing the staff was there to make your loved one as comfortable as possible. Knowing now that there could be a possibility of MAiD in the mix would not make me feel safe.

Having a person to die naturally is to provide the time for family and friends to care for the person. This also provides an opportunity for health providers and health researchers to find out the new way to better treat the disease and to find out the reason and even the cure for the disease. If people with smallpox all had MAiD, there is no vaccination invented and eradication for this disease. If people with breast cancer all had MAiD, there is no new treatment invented and there will be no survivors as we have now.

I have not had any personal experience with this, but I would not like to think my husband or the rest of my family would want to do this in order to "get rid of me' I have had health issues since the age of 12, my health has always be in the forefront of my life. My family has never brought up this issue as we are a family who believes it is God and God alone who will make the choice of when and how I will go to my rest. Anyone who has beliefs in God and the hereafter would not think of ending their own life. My prayers are with you all and let us pray the people who are in charge will put this in the trash and leave it there. God Bless You All

Life and Death are God's business. Don't mess with God's business or you yourself will have to answer for it! Be aware that putting another human being to death, will bring consequences to your own life and ultimately your soul. Love and support is what those in palliative care need, not a death sentence. Trust God to know what day He will call you home.

My dad was treated in Abbotsford and then Maple Ridge for an aggressive form of brain cancer. He received excellent palliative care, for which I am very thankful. I would hate to think how his final months would have been had MAiD been present in the very environments meant to provide him proper end-of-life care. He needed care, not killing. The thought that my dad could have been killed in the place meant to provide him care makes me sick to my stomach. I enjoyed our final 2 weeks together (I live in Ontario) and had a health professional decided my dad should have been killed prematurely, our special time together would have been cut short and I would have missed out on many special memories.

Someone dying who opts for palliative care deserves the security of knowing that the palliative care unit and staff are there to provide support, dignity and pain alleviation. Requiring palliative care and hospice units to provide euthanasia and assisted suicide gravely impairs the mission of palliative care and undermines the trust and security that the palliative care patient seeks.

I am very concern where this is going in regard to caring for the most vulnerable. I always considered in hospice and palliative care, was a place where the doctors and nurses offered compassion and support, not killing, as with euthanasia and assisted suicide. PLEASE don't continue the slippery slope. We need to be able to trust our care givers. Marguerite Raes, Manitoba

I have witness one friend aided in this "Palliative Care" by not feeding and not being given fluid, only on my visits when she told me she was hungry. As I was not a family member, and her one child never set foot in the home, my assistance was limited. She was eventually given drugs increasing from every four hours to two hours to one hour and thus hastening her death. The second case was my dear husband, while in "Palliative Care" he was NEVER alone, a family member was with him 24 hrs. The palliative doctors, were gentle, but firm in their decisions. One regimental woman dr. Kept saying with my husband "the lift is not going to the 11th floor". He had melanoma of the brain. He heard and understood her, and she said this many times. I eventually fired her, she was cruel and callus in her "care". Every patient needs an Advocate to prevent them from being killed.