Oh Canada … glorious and free
Our neighbors to the north are apparently about to allow assisted suicide for the mentally ill:
Canada already has one of the most liberal assisted death laws in the world, offering the practice to terminally and chronically ill Canadians.
But under a law scheduled to take effect in March assisted dying would also become accessible to people whose only medical condition is mental illness, making Canada one of about half a dozen countries to permit the procedure for that category of people.
That move has divided Canadians, some of whom view it as a sign that the country’s public health care system is not offering adequate psychiatric care, which is notoriously underfunded and in high demand.
I can well believe that’s the reason. My own experience with the Canadian health care system involves knowing many chronic pain patients in Canada during the 1990s. Their care was abysmal at the time.
And note the more neutral phrase “assisted death” rather than “assisted suicide.”
More:
… Dr. John Maher, a psychiatrist in Barrie, Ontario, who specializes in treating complex cases that often take years to improve said he was concerned that hopeless patients will opt for assisted death instead.
“I’m trying to keep my patients alive,” he said. “What does it mean for the role of the physician, as healer, as bringer of hope, to be offering death? And what does it mean in practice?”
It means we have slid way down a very slippery and destructive slope.
“notoriously underfunded and in high demand.”
Medically Assisted Dying is popping up in the legislation of every state in Australia these days. They won’t say it, but I’d share the suspicion that the over-stressed & over-stretched nationalized healthcare system is looking to cut its losses.
The biggest budget blowout is the relatively “new” National Disability Insurance Scheme which was designed to assist the truly disabled stay in their homes with their families through a range of support services…generally targeting disabled adults. Where’s the blowout? “Disabled” youth & children. Zillions of dollars for various autism & mental health services for kids. Wait for a few years & see if MAD isn’t offered “down under” to the really distressed because the services can’t keep up.
At the end of the slippery slope…the abyss.
Pierres idiot son, although christa freedland nee chemezov probably has to the run of the place.
Her grandfather was a notorious jewbaiter in his native ukraine
“Assisted death” – good God. At least the term “assisted suicide” implies that the person who dies has consented to die. (Let me be clear: I do not support assisted suicide as a health “care” policy matter. I know doctors have, so to speak, sometimes helped their terminal or chronically suffering patients along throughout the history of medicine, but to codify this practice – not only is it a terribly slippery slope leading far from “do no harm,” but it also provides legal cover for psychopath doctors.)
In what universe can a mentally ill person be reliably assumed to be able to give informed consent to her own death?
So, if you’re chronically depressed and you leave the doctor who is trying to keep you alive, you can have the Canadian healthcare system take care of all the messy parts.
Years ago, I made an informal study of people who committed suicide and lived. Two things stood out; they almost always couldn’t remember the attempt and secondly couldn’t remember why they tried to kill themselves. This was mostly people under 50 who were in good health.
My takeaway was suicide for emotional reasons is not what you really want, or at least what your hind brain and body wants. Simplistically, if you’re thinking of killing yourself do something dangerous it might give you a different perspective.
During the War of 1812, American forces invaded Canada. A lot of that war was fought in Canadian territory. We weren’t very successful in that endeavor, but who knows? With all these Canucks offing themselves at their government’s insistence and with its assistance, we might just be able to take another crack at it and this time, come out on top. I don’t think a lot of Canadians are too keen on their government at this point, and the ones that are probably wouldn’t want to get into combat. “Ooooh, guns! So icky!” If things go our way, think of all the room that will make for the relocation of the horde of alien invaders Biden is bringing in. So, America’s Hat gets to become America’s Spare Bedroom! Win-win, in my opinion.
No God. Nothing above you. This is the logical steps of a country with absolutely no faith. I knew this would happen as soon as countries allowed assisted murder.
Saw a report today Canada wants total EV use by 2035, forgetting they are probably the 2nd coldest country on the planet.
Plus, how long before Canada begins to say that opinions contrary to the government’s line are a mental disorder?
Really, this isn’t much different than seeing someone about to jump off a bridge – so let’s just go give him a push!
“What does it mean for the role of the physician, as healer, as bringer of hope, to be offering death? And what does it mean in practice?”
It means that’s the profession of executioner must be added to their professional profile. If they had any remaining honesty, they’d give up professing to follow the Hippocratic Oath.
More and more the difference between the left and right is it base the profoundest of differences in our spiritual perspectives.
We take as an article of faith that God exists and as such, we know we are answerable to God for our actions in this life.
They act as if the only ‘god’ that exists is the one they see in the mirror.
Planned Patienthood. Sure, why not. Human rites are a dogmatic choice of ethical religions in liberal societies.
Mengele dreams. Sanger eugenics. Gosnell abortions. Wicked solutions. Final solutions.
Well, look at the bright side – you’re not hearing many complaints about rationing any more. Of course, when something like this appears on your list of options, and the doctors start bringing up the subject as a treatment alternative, people tend to decline altogether and look for an exit.
It’s monstrous. And what is particularly monstrous and disturbing is the apparent acceptance, even embrace, by the medical community.
I’m convinced our elites hate ordinary people and are waging a terrible war against them (us).
The elites would prefer most humans to die and to stop cluttering up the Earth, so the elites get on with their super yachts, private jets and vast estates, enjoying their hyper-privileged lives.
Huxley,
Agree about the elites hating ‘us’. But who exactly are these elites? Where’s the cut off? Most of my friends and acquaintances are some variety of middle class – a few very ‘upper’ – one or two what I would call ‘rich’ – some struggling – and I do know a hedge fund couple with 100 mil plus and a woman who’s husband sold his family business for over half a billion, but none of these people has any political influence.
Whether their wealth is not enough to buy it or they don’t care to pursue influence is a question I’ve never asked of them.
They all vote dem though, bien pensants all, and I think they’d be in for a big surprise regarding their status if push came to shove.
So back to my question – what exactly makes one a member of ‘the elites’?
In her defense, the hedge fund wife did tell me that Charles Schumer was the most obnoxious person she had ever met in her life!
But who exactly are these elites? Where’s the cut off?
Molly Brown:
Good questions.
I think the cut-off is pretty high up. $1 mil/year or more.
But I think many below are aspirational. They believe they’ll get there or at least they will be on “the right side of history” i.e. the winning side.
This is the Planet of the Apes.
My takeaway was suicide for emotional reasons is not what you really want, or at least what your hind brain and body wants. Simplistically, if you’re thinking of killing yourself do something dangerous it might give you a different perspective.
I’m wading into this subject in gingerly fashion, but… it’s my understanding that girls and women who, upon finding themselves pregnant and not wanting to have the child, but for whatever reason miss the relevant window for having an abortion, overwhelmingly say that they can’t imagine their lives without the blessing of that child. Including the ones who get pregnant through being victims of rape.
In other words, you (we) think, in the moment, that you know how you’ll always feel. But you’re wrong. The trick is getting people who feel that they’re in an untenable crisis or staring down the barrel of a normal-life-ending disaster to remember that the last time they felt this way (or any way at all, good or bad), it passed.
Like getting a bipolar person who’s on the up side to remember that there’s a down side – or vice versa. But people in these straits are supposed to make an irrevocable decision about how much they want to live?
Huxley,
I think it’s more than 1 mil a year.
Way, way more.
If you have to ask…
As for those ‘aspirationals’, they are the very definition of useful idiot.
And yet so many are loved ones.
And in most other respects, quite sensible.
So, the Trudeau Government is going to take care of the Lebensunwerte Leben problem?
Two words that were soundly mocked at the time:
Death panels.
Steve: “With all these Canucks offing themselves at their government’s insistence and with its assistance, we might just be able to take another crack at it and this time, come out on top.”
Skip: “Saw a report today Canada wants total EV use by 2035, forgetting they are probably the 2nd coldest country on the planet.”
Kate: “Plus, how long before Canada begins to say that opinions contrary to the government’s line are a mental disorder?”
@ Skip: Liberalism is a mental disease. Therefore, all liberals in Canada can be officially murdered.
@ Kate: All conservatives will be officially murdered.
@ Steve: QED
Jamie: “In what universe can a mentally ill person be reliably assumed to be able to give informed consent to her own death?”
Aggie: “what is particularly monstrous and disturbing is the apparent acceptance, even embrace, by the medical community.”
The medical community (at least the most out-spoken, the official societies such as AMA & major hospitals) also embraces abortion up to birth and beyond, as well as gender transitioning aka surgical mutilation of children as young as 3.
Rephrase Jamie’s question as indicated.
Richard Cook: “This is the logical steps of a country with absolutely no faith.”
G.K. Chesterton: “A man who won’t believe in God will believe in anything.”
Of course, what he actually said was more extensive, but Folk Quotes are generally pithier than the originals: if they can be shortened at all, they will be.
https://www.chesterton.org/ceases-to-worship/
}}} My own experience with the Canadian health care system involves knowing many chronic pain patients in Canada during the 1990s. Their care was abysmal at the time.
I was diagnosed with colon cancer after a colonoscopy (don’t “not” get one!! Saved my… ahem! ass 😀 ) in November of 2017.
It was 11/6 when I had it, and they identified the lump, too big to remove via the usual non-surgical methods. I got to see a surgeon on 11/9, and the surgery was scheduled for 11/17. I was out of the hospital on 11/22, just before Thanksgiving.
Final prognosis: Stage 1, and it had not spread… no radiation or chemo needed.
Now, my surgeon had friends and colleagues who worked in Canada, and he noted that, had I been in Canada’s HC system, I would not have been able to get any surgery in 2017, because surgeons are only allotted a fixed number of sugeries, and by November, they would be done for the year. So I would have had to wait for 2018 to even SEE a surgeon about it, and, of course, there would be a wait list, so… probably at least February. THEN there would be the backlog from people ahead of me, plus any “right NOW!!” surgeries… so at least March or even April before I could have even gotten the surgery… Note that it had grown, as it was, in only 3y since my previous colonoscopy. So it wasn’t necessarily a “slow growth” tumor.
So — four to five months longer to get the tumor removed. Who knows what would have happened in the meantime? It could have spread almost anywhere, and resulted in an inoperable tumor. Or a catastrophically bad QoL issue, with needing my entire colon removed. 🙁
F*** government “health care”. Anyone tells you it’s “great” is either lying or never had a serious time-important problem.
“But what if you had no money and no insurance?” Yeah, this could be a problem, and wasn’t one for me. But you know what? I’d much rather beg people for charity than a government bureaucrat. That’s like asking a Muslim for a pic of Mohammed…
The best part?
I now have the pleasure of noting I have a semi-colon. 😀
I think the absolute perfect Canadian moment was when their parliament led by Justin Trudeau gave a standing o to a Ukrainian Nazi. We’re all supposed to hate the Russians now. Nobody in the entire Canadian government peeled that onion and…
No. They just went right ahead and applaud Nazi Germany.
No. There are no excuses.
Aesop Fan
I was a little confused by your post. I wasn’t paraphrasing Chesterton. Once humans replace God as the center alot more utilitarian solutions come into view that lack mercy or understanding. Or that each human is a creation loved by God.
The idiots here who keep arguing for socialized medicine need to just move to Canada.
My favorite was the jerk who told me how well it worked in France. Except… France is really a combination system, where people who can afford it buy health insurance. And a LOT of people buy at least supplemental health insurance.
My understanding is that Canada precludes health care outside the system by law. Doctors can’t legally do it. No one can offer some sort of insurance.
I guess we’ll have to call Canadian doctors James Bond, since they’ll all have a license to kill.
reality is much stranger than any bond tale
https://prussiagate.substack.com/p/trust-ze-science-part-v?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2
Obloodyhell:
There are “doctors” who will do many surgeries, for a fee, if you want a period.
It isn’t medicine.
My personal experience is almost 20 years old but AFAIK from Canadian friends there is still no ‘insurance’ option available. I believe docs can practice ‘outside’ the system – where the patient pays – but cannot then be part of the public system. For example, the ski resort area I spent winters in had an urgent clinic for all the non Canadians with minor issues – colds, flus, cuts, burns, and the like. Also there are private cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists.
I went to the urgent clinic when I found a small breast lump – doc told me not to worry, that’s not what a cancerous lump feels like.
Five months later my own doc felt the lump, told me not to worry, that’s not what a cancerous lump feels like but here take this script down the hall – we’ll get it imaged. Half and hour later we knew I had cancer. That delay in Canada for sure got me over the line into chemotherapy territory. Had it been addressed earlier I would have merely had radiation. Anyone here who’s had chemo knows what the difference is.
I often wonder how long it would have taken to diagnose if I had been Canadian. Would they have just blown off the ‘doesn’t feel like cancer lump’ until I was Stage 3 or something? That doc I saw could have told me to drive down to Washington and get it looked at. Did that not even occur to him? Friends tell me they don’t even do a baseline mammogram until 50 years of age. Imaging is where Canada really cuts costs.
Having said that I will be fair and say that Canadians I know who have had serious trauma injuries – ski and car accidents – have received first class care.
Well, it’s midnight here in Texas. The explosives arel probably going to keep going off for the next hour.
It sounds like somebody got an AK for Christmas