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It is false that “medical aid in dying” always provides a quiet death. No, euthanasia is a violent gesture, for the person killed as well as for the physician.

Those who wish to legalise “medical aid in dying” state that we must give an easier death for those at end of life. They say that euthanasia is the way to do it. However, there are clear indications that euthanasia often is a rather violent death.

Let’s take the recent cases of two ...

Legalising euthanasia is never a good idea, but it’s a particularly bad idea in these difficult economic times, explains Baroness Campbell of Surbiton. Member of the UK government and living with a disability, she’s in a good position to know what she’s talking about.

The debate on euthanasia is all the rage in many countries. In Quebec there is a respite until just after the elections, but it risks coming back to the table. In Canada, the Canadian Medical Association has begun consulting its members, as well as the public. The elected representatives of New Hampshire have just voted against a bill which would have legalised assisted ...

An excellent article, “Loving life!” was published in Le Journal de Montréal over the weekend. The author, Nathalie Elgrably-Levy, says that “the legalization of euthanasia must be looked at in the context of our healthcare system”, and adds that over 70% of Canadians don’t have access to palliative care. She warns of the financial risk – the financial imperative will become more important than the individual.

We have been saying for a while now that we must offer adequate palliative ...

Nathan Friedland, a nurse at the Montreal Children’s Hospital says that Bill 52 causes him, and many like him, sleepless nights. In an article for The Gazette (“Courageous teen’s death has something to teach us“), he relates the story of a teenager’s last few weeks.

Friedland describes moments in time, snapshots of a dying cancer patient’s life, and that of his family. What strikes me most about this is how the boy was accompanied, with love, to the end.

Friedland states:

“Somehow, ...

Today, the Belgian Federal Parliament passed legislation that expands access to euthanasia for minors. It has been ten years since euthanasia is legal for adults in Belgium. Very soon , the Quebec National Assembly may adopt Bill 52, which would legalize euthanasia in Quebec.

In an article published by Le Figaro (in French), Dr. Christiane Vermylen , pediatric hematologist-oncologist in Leuven (Belgium), says she has never faced a request for euthanasia children in her 30 years as a physician. She ...

In an open letter to Le Journal de Québec (February 7th 2014) titled “L’euthanasie: légale mais toujours immorale” (Euthanasia: legal but still immoral), the former péquiste MNA Jacques Brassard worried about the “terrible scope” of the assured adoption of Bill 52.

Monsieur Brassard did not mince words:

• “Provoqued death, euthanasia, is no more dignified than the suicide of a youth or death by homicide.”
• “Eliminating the one who is suffering, even at his request, is not demonstrating proof of compassion.”
• “We can’t really speak of a free and informed consent when it pertains to people who are sick, suffering, aging, often desperate and abandoned.”
• “Euthanasia corrupts the doctor’s primary ...