The following is published with the authorisation of Theresa McCool.  Warning: A photo here is graphic and disturbing. Theresa is sharing this story in the hope that it will assist in the passing of VAD legislation in the other states and territories of Australia, and not just be limited to Victoria.

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Theresa McCool
Toronto, Ontario
Canada    22 June 2019

My name is Theresa McCool.  I live in Canada where MAID (Medical Assistance In Dying) is now legalised. It was not legalised when my Mom died in 2015.

I believe Voluntary Assisted Dying, as it is known in Australia, should be legalised in every country in the world. We are all individuals, we all lead our lives in different ways, we choose different partners, different career paths, choose to have children or not have children, become religious, choose not to be religious. So, when it comes to the point where we do not have any choice, when we can no longer have control over our lives due to the debilitating nature of a terminal illness or an incurable illness, when quality of life disappears and we are left with pain and suffering and a loss of quality of life, then we deserve to have the right to request for assistance to end that pain and suffering.

I share with you the story of my Mom and what happens when the country in which you live does not have legislation and what happens when you find yourself in a Catholic hospital where the hospital’s policies and procedures, based on religious faith, override your basic human rights, deny you the opportunity to end suffering and leave your loved ones and their families, forever traumatised by the circumstances of their suffering and their deaths.

Before my Mom became ill, I worked as a volunteer with VON (Victorian Order of Nurses) for ten years, visiting clients with terminal illnesses, clients who had had surgeries, were at the end of life, receiving Palliative Care, and whose families also needed bereavement support. Many of my “assignments” would last from three weeks to a year. VON relied on Volunteers to help visit clients, providing some relief for the families/carers for a few hours. I felt honoured to give back to the community in this way and it was extremely rewarding. It was during this time that I became an advocate for Medical Assistance In Dying, supporting the rights of individuals to request medical assistance when at the end stage of life and suffering from illnesses which robbed individuals of their quality of life and meant untold suffering. Many of the clients I supported through my work would beg for their life to end because of their pain and suffering. Families were left traumatised, exhausted and many became ill themselves after the responsibility of caring for their loved ones and after their loved ones had died.

My Mom was Genevieve. She was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma in her shoulder. In May 2015 She became very ill with a blood infection that went throughout her body and she was put on an aggressive treatment of antibiotics for seven weeks. She hadn’t wanted to go to hospital when she became sick and I had insisted that she must go. I now wish I had not have taken her. She would have died a much more peaceful death than she did.

She was told at the hospital (a Catholic Hospital) that there was no guarantee that she would survive the treatment and life expectancy was given as anywhere between 6 hours, 6 days, 6 weeks, 6 months or 6 years.

She ended up surviving 15 weeks and 6 days (103 days) and I will never know how she managed to last that long with all that she had to endure.

Whilst she was in hospital she had many doctors who saw her, who were trying to decide how they could “cure” her – their words, not mine. She was in a Catholic hospital at this time.

During the many tests she was to go through, they also discovered an aggressive cancerous tumour in her back that was growing rapidly.

Medical Assistance In Dying, (MAID) in my country Canada, was not in place at that time – in 2015. Even had it been legalised, because her death, according to the doctors in the catholic hospital, was deemed to be “not foreseeable”, and they believed the tumour could be removed, she would not have met the criteria.

The doctors in the Catholic hospital decided they wanted to give Mom aggressive chemotherapy and radiation treatment. They wanted to operate and remove her right shoulder and arm. This would have meant she would lose half of her torso and her arm. They were also planning to cut the skin off her buttocks to perform a skin graft where her missing shoulder and arm would have been – and with no guarantees that she would actually survive the surgery and treatments.

Mom said she would agree to the aggressive procedures on one condition – that they would actually euthanise her during the surgery – as she did not want to wake up and have to deal and live without her right shoulder and arm. Of course, the doctors refused this request and my Mom refused to go through with the aggressive chemotherapy, radiation treatment and the surgery.

The doctors said that there was nothing more they could do for her and threw in the towel. Mom asked the doctors, “If there is nothing more that you can do for me, what is the point in me sticking around?” The doctors could not answer her and walked away.

Whilst Mom was in hospital she actually had a heart attack. The doctors wanted to insert a wire into her artery and carry out heart surgery and Mom refused. Imagine what my Mom’s quality of life would have been like for her, had she agreed to have:

1. Right shoulder and arm sawed off and left with half a torso

2. Skin-grafts from her buttocks and the pain involved in that process

3. Whilst dealing with all of her pain, a wire inserted into her arteries

4. A large cut through her chest

5. A sawed chest bone

6. A cut in her heart

What would her quality of life have been?

The cancerous mass found in her spine was horrendous. She was in so much pain. She was given pain medication. Unfortunately, the pain relief was not enough and she would have to wait until the next “scheduled” dosage.

She would ask, “Why are you refusing to give me more pain medication?” The doctor’s response was, “We don’t want you to become addicted to the drugs and if we give you more before the time is up it would kill you”. She responded, “I am dying anyway so what difference does it make? Is it better for me to suffer till I take my last breath?”

The doctor’s response, “It’s against the law, I could lose my job” and walked away. This was in a Catholic hospital – they are supposed to be compassionate and caring. The doctors refused to give my Mom more pain relief as she already had the “allowed” legal dosage for the pain she was experiencing.

There was an occasion where I spoke to the doctor – he knew Mom was in extreme pain. His hands were tied too, because of the “Catholic” policy. He had to get authorization to increase Mom’s medication to relieve her pain, but, unfortunately, she was not able to have any further pain relief because she had what they deemed to be the “legal” amount. Due to it being the weekend, Mom had to wait until the Monday for approval to have the medication increased past the legal amount, but she actually died waiting for it.

When the doctors told my Mom there was nothing more they could do for her, she laid in a hospital bed in pain and suffered for 90 days under “OHIP” coverage. That was the maximum time she was allowed to stay at the hospital before she had to start to pay herself.

Whilst Mom was waiting to die at the hospital, she was placed on a waiting list for a Nursing Home in Toronto and she had to wait for 200 people to die, for a bed. Instead she died waiting for that bed.

My Mom was transferred to a Transitional bed low income, at 1st Place Assisted Living, for three days. Mom suffered another heart attack and ended up going to Hamilton General – a 2nd hospital – within 15 minutes of arriving there, she was placed in palliative care for four days. The Palliative Care doctors asked Mom what she wanted and what her plans were.

Mom said she had wanted to be euthanised but the doctors at St. Joseph’s hospital had obviously refused her request. She wanted to be with her family who live in Toronto, St. Joseph’s Hospital had refused to transfer her to Toronto.

It was arranged for Mom to be transferred to a 3rd hospital, St. Michael’s in Toronto, and that is where she died 5 days later.

I spent 103 days in hospitals watching my Mom suffer, as she begged to be euthanised. Do you know how that feels? It was very hard to have to watch her be in pain.

Her last words were “Pain – Pain” and again she was refused pain medication because she had reached the “legal dosage” that the doctor could give.

When she took her last breath, her eyes bugged out and she cried out in pain. Her back ripped open to her spine, from the cancerous mass in her back. This is the image that never leaves my mind.

Instead of dying peacefully in her sleep, free from pain, she died in agony. Mom was seventy-eight – she had hoped Assisted Dying would become legal. She died waiting for it.

The Decision Makers need to understand how end of life actually is for many. How would they want to die? Would they like to starve to death, with organs starting to shut down, when the stomach stops digesting? How about suffocation? Lungs shutting down.

That was the last five days of my Mom’s life, she couldn’t eat or drink anymore and had difficulty breathing. I was told, “Only God can take her”.

So my poor Mom, in agony, suffering, was forced to wait for the Decision Maker’s “God” to kill her. She suffered to the bitter end and she died her worst nightmare.

I thought I had done the right thing by taking her to hospital on 20 May, 2015. Had I not taken her to the hospital – when she didn’t want to go – she would have died in her sleep on 23 May, 2015, from blood poisoning, rather than 103 days later in agonizing pain on 31 August 2015.

My mum did not die with dignity. She did not live her last few months with dignity. She did not die “comfortable”. She died in pain and suffered for months before she did die. She died this way because of a lack of legislation at the time and also the fact she was in a hospital environment governed by Catholic Policy and Catholic Faith.

My mum died on 31 August 2015.

I continue to remain traumatised by my Mom’s suffering and death – 4 years on.

In 2018 I brought my Mom’s story to the attention of another doctor. Medical Assistance In Dying was, of course, legalised at this point. The doctor replied:
“Ms McCool,
I read your Email several times and am perplexed how a Canadian physician in the twenty first century could possibly believe there is a maximum allowable narcotic dose for intractable cancer pain. There is no such thing. The dose that makes the pain go away is the appropriate dose. Anyone trained in the Canadian medical system knows this and I’m so sorry your doctor(s) failed you and your mother during this critical time of need.
You don’t mention if she was specifically turned down by the MAID program but where I have participated, she should have qualified. Now, to be fair, I haven’t read any medical consults on her diagnosis nor the prognosis or treatment options offered by the specialists. From your letter it certainly looks like the explanations given to you and your mother were inadequate. As a family physician of 26 years I feel that we as a profession have let you down. My opinion of the MAID program is that this is exactly what we are trying to prevent, bad deaths. I hope this has been a little helpful.
Sid Harrison MD CCFP FCFP”

I cannot emphasise enough how much legislation is needed to assist those who find themselves in the same situation as those I cared for, as a volunteer, and my own mother whose suffering is never far from my mind.

Theresa McCool

Toronto, Ontario Canada

Dr Sandy Buchman, President-elect of the Canadian Medical Association addressed a UK Parliamentary group.  December 11, 2018

“I see assisted dying as one more tool in the service of palliative care’s core mission of alleviating suffering” – Dr Sandy Buchman, Canada.

As a palliative care specialist,  Dr Buchman acknowledged that his personal journey towards accepting assisted dying had spanned over two years.  He stressed that it was his belief high quality palliative care was key to good end of life planning, but that assisted dying did not threaten the provision of such care, but somewhat perversely strengthened the case for ensuring that palliative care was accessible and available.

Closing on a personal example, Dr Buchman explained that whilst he was initially hesitant about the prospect of assisted dying, he ultimately decided that helping patients who wanted to decide when and how they died, was an extension of what he had been doing already: helping to relieve suffering.

Dr Buchman explained that when he first participated in an assisted death, for a professor of medicine suffering from Lewy body dementia, he had been struck by the sense of “illumination”, as though “a weight had been lifted”, when he agreed to discuss the prospect of an assisted death, let alone participate.  He explained that whereas before his patient had explained he felt hopeless, especially after exhausting the options of traditional palliative care, the option of an assisted death enabled the patient’s mood to lift, and allowed him the dignity to die from a peaceful death surrounded by those he loved.  

Ian Wood comments: I frequently read how the option of assisted dying, once the patient has been accepted, is palliative in its own right and a tremendous morale booster for that dying person.

Dr Sandy Buchman, the President-elect of Canada’s Medical Association, who was joined by his Vice-President Dr Jeff Blackmer, discussed the role doctors had played in shaping Canada’s decision to legalise assisted dying in 2016. Professor Sir John Temple, the previous President of the British Medical Association (BMA), spoke about his concerns regarding the representation of doctors views.

“Medical organisations must engage with the debate with evidence and honesty and adopt a position that respects patients and professionals’ choices.” – Professor Sir John Temple

Professor Temple suggested that the BMA’s continuing opposition was “troubling”.  In particular, he stressed that whilst the BMA has a membership 150,000, only 197 doctors were responsible for its official policy of opposition. Setting aside his democratic concerns, Professor Temple condemned the BMA for failing to reflect the views of doctors, as evident from a recent poll in the British Medical Journal (the BMA’s independent paper), which found 55% of doctors supported a change in the law.

Dr Blackmer, a specialist in disability and palliative care, made the astute observation that whilst he can sympathise with the dismay of many disabled groups, evidence from Canada indicates that those who are most vulnerable tend to be excluded from accessing end of life care, rather than pressured into it. Consequently, he suggested that those who are most vulnerable in society, are often most frightened by the prospect of having no choice at all.

Subsequent to their meeting on Tuesday, Dr Buchman and Dr Blackmer also attended a meeting at the Scottish parliament where they told MSPs:  “I’ve learned from clinical experience that sometimes the only way to alleviate a patient’s suffering is to allow them to choose an assisted death.  It’s not an easy decision to become a provider of assistance in dying.  It took the better part of more than two years to sort through my deepest emotions. Every case is difficult – every single case is a challenge.  I never see this as an easy decision.  It’s as difficult as you can make in medicine.  No-one I know takes it lightly.  But I look to medicine to alleviate suffering.  Ultimately I have decided that helping eligible patients who wanted choice over the manner and timing of their death was an intention of what I was doing all along – that is relieving suffering.  This is a choice that I have made personally, this is a matter of conscience which should unequivocally be respected.”

Ian Wood comments further …..

Two of Canada’s top doctors, Dr Sandy Buchman, palliative care specialist and President-elect of the CMA, together with Dr Blackmer, a disability and palliative care specialist, and CMA Vice-president, have made a strong, compelling case to a UK Parliament committee for the benefits of assisted dying choice. I do hope they can also address the QLD Inquiry when it officially starts in Australia, and the NSW Parliament, when the VAD Bill is re-introduced there.

I urge readers to peruse the full article

Parliament hears from top Canadian Doctors, on the experiences of assisted dying abroad

It is quite unique in that a nephew of Craig had an assisted death in Canada.  The last two paragraphs of the sermon sum up the compassionate Christian approach to Assisted Dying Choice: Let me finish this with what my family members said and repeated often using these words about my nephew’s death: It was compassionate, it was humane, it was right and good. And the family are very proud and humbled with the courage he showed in his battle with cancer. And to me no one has the right to be critical and judgemental of the choice he made.

So for me and my family this is not a philosophical debate, it is not a theological debate, it is not a theoretical debate, it is a reality and it was right and my nephew was fortunate he lived in Canada.

The sermon is posted here with the kind permission of Rev Craig. In response to my question on what was the reaction of his congregation to the sermon Craig replied: the reaction from the congregation was very positive with many copies requested. Copies went wider into the community. I’ve been asked to speak to a retired group of Doctors at Hastings hospital. 

Ian Wood

Rev Craig Kilgour

Sunday 14 October 2018

Assisted dying

The topic I’ve chosen for the sermon might seem strange for a morning when we celebrate the birth and baptism of Angus, but then I thought when life ends, we celebrate the life lived whatever the length.

I mentioned my dilemma to Granddad David and he said it evens things out!

I want to share with you this morning about what our family has experienced just recently.

I’m going to talk to you about assisted dying, euthanasia, a topic which is difficult to deal with, and it provokes very strong feelings.

The End of life choice Bill is currently with Parliament’s Justice Select Committee. There have been 35 000 submissions – think about terminal illness, a few months to live, sound mind, to allow physician-assisted death.

I with some of the congregation, attended a discussion on the Bill, that our MP Lawrence Yule had called with a panel of experts at our Community Centre a while ago.

The issue has been debated by the General Assembly of our church and they were unanimously opposed against supporting the Bill before Parliament.

After I took the service on 30 September, I went across to Takaka for the memorial service for my nephew who had died in Canada. He was 47 years old. The memorial service was held on Wednesday 3 October in the Pohara Boat Club – a place where he loved racing his yachting.

I did the eulogy and the internment of ashes at the local cemetery.

It was hard taking part in the service but good to spend a week with the family. I got back home last Monday.

So let me give you a background that led up to his death in Canada on 18 September.

My nephew was born in Timaru and when quite young, the family moved to Takaka. He went to Golden Bay High School. He loved sport of all kind – rugby league was his first love and he continued to follow the warriors in Canada. He was into motorsport, dirt bike racing stock cars, yachting. Although he suffered from seasickness, he was a very competent sailor. He was adventurous – rock climbing, skydiving, bungee jumping.

When he left school, he became a share milker, he worked in Western Australia on outback stations as a jackaroo, he tried deep sea fishing in a Sealords boat. He met his wife at a Takaka A & P Show. She was a local vet. In 2006 they left for overseas for London, Zimbabwe and Canada. They got married on Christmas Eve in a chapel at Las Vegas in 2007. Seven years ago they had twin girls and five years ago another daughter.

Five years ago my nephew was diagnosed with an aggressive melanoma on his face. He had surgery which twisted his face, radiations that destroyed hearing in one ear and affected his swallowing and numerous chemotherapy sessions that left him sick. He was given experimental drug treatments. The best treatment he could have in Canada. He was able to have medical cannabis to help him sleep and control the pain.

Early in September my brother and sister in law along with their son and daughter went to Canada to be with the family.

My nephew and his wife gathered the family together to tell them that he would stop any further treatment and that they had decided with the doctors that his life would end on 18 September.

Canada’s Supreme Court has ruled that the Right to Die with Dignity was a basic human right. You might remember Lecretia Seales, the 42 year old lawyer dying of a brain tumour, went to the High Court in Wellington. The Court ruled that Parliament needed to change the law.

I was in contact with my brother as to how they were coping. He said it was difficult but because of their son’s condition, the pain and discomfort he was facing and the appalling future he faced, they accepted the decision made.

The day before he died my nephew cleared out his shed and burnt rubbish. The next day in the presence of his wife and 3 young daughters, he died.

While in Takaka, I talked extensively with the family. They all felt that what had taken place was right and that he was at peace.

The challenge I think we all faced, personally I had for many years been in favour of assisted dying. Intellectually I believe it needs to come in our country – even if it is for a relatively small number of people – but when it actually comes close and to your family, emotionally it is much tougher to deal with.

You occasionally hear opponents to the Bill use the slippery slope argument, but this argument has been used for every social advance we have made in society: giving emancipation to people of colour, votes for women – we celebrate 125 years in New Zealand – decriminalizing homosexuality, same sex marriage. We are making society more permissive but more humane.

While I lived in America for nearly six years, I read extensively about the State of Oregon. The law on which our one is modeled on, has been in operation for nearly 20 year. Oregon has a population of 4.1 million. They found that over a ten year period on average 30 each year used the legislation to end their lives – again under strict guidelines. A number of people were able to use the means to end their lives but didn’t use it. They had peace of mind. Whenever it is on a ballot, conservative groups have tried to deny this right – each time it has been overwhelmingly defeated. It was widespread public support.

Just a few reflections:

I recently read Nikki Gemmett’s book ‘After’. She is a top Australian novelist and writes a regular column in The Australian. I jotted down in my note book a few quotes from the book:

– In the fraught world of euthanasia – if the perpetrator’s family cannot by law be involved in the wishes of the person wanting to die, then you are condemning that person to a horrendously bleak and lonely death.

• We are not talking about taking life, we are talking about releasing it.
• Embracing individual choice is the mark of a mature nation.
• As we become more empowered as individuals, we need laws out of compassion for people wanting to die.
• I’m in favour of the freedom to choose.

Dr Philip Nitschke – Exit ‘those who seek to exert control over the dying process are pragmatic and directed – and are not cowards, but courageous.’

Nikki Gemmet’s mother committed suicide without telling anyone. Her mother had suffered chronic pain from a couple of botched operations. The book ‘After’ came out of her and the family coping with her mother’s death. She wrote about her experience in her column and had been flooded with responses.

While on holiday in Rarotonga with friends, one evening we were discussing euthanasia. One of our friends, a local GP, made a couple of comments to me. First he said in the 36 years I was in ministry I had more to do with death and dying than he did as a doctor!

And towards the end of the discussion he said would I be able to help someone to end their life with pills?

I went to bed with that on my mind. Next morning at breakfast I said to him Yes I could if I loved someone, they were suffering and I knew their wishes. Someone in the group said to me; Where is God in this? I said I’m not sure God has anything to do with it, but on later reflection, if God is love – and love is shown, yes God is present.

Ian Harris: “What does love, when focussed unwaveringly on the wellbeing of another require for this person in these circumstances at this time?”

The other reflection I have is that over all my time in ministry I visited many parishioners in Senior Citizen homes/Rest homes. I had known many of their life stories. Most had lived full, rich lives, adventurous lives, they were ready and wanting to die. Numerous ones would say; Craig, I hope I could go to sleep and not wake up. I would often reply they needed to be patient and accept the love given by family and friends – if they had anyone. It wasn’t that they felt a burden on others but rather life itself was a burden. Doing basic things took everything out of them.

In a recent Listener article on Jenny Gibbs, one of New Zealand’s leading philanthropists, had made a submission to the select committee considering the issue of voluntary euthanasia.

I quote: “I wouldn’t dream of stopping you from having your views and doing what you think is right and proper. I know some people think suffering is ennobling and I wouldn’t dream of stopping someone who believed that. By the same token I can’t see why you should stop me from living or dying by my beliefs. It is as simple as that – choice.”

As someone said there will be no more deaths, but less suffering.

Let me finish this with what my family members said and repeated often using these words about my nephew’s death: It was compassionate, it was humane, it was right and good. And the family are very proud and humbled with the courage he showed in his battle with cancer. And to me no one has the right to be critical and judgemental of the choice he made.

So for me and my family this is not a philosophical debate, it is not a theological debate, it is not a theoretical debate, it is a reality and it was right and my nephew was fortunate he lived in Canada.

Photo supplied by Rev Craig Kilgour

A Christian response to the Archbishop from Ian Wood.

I urge the Archbishop and his listeners on Cradio  to take the time to view two contrasting deaths, from the many I have on file.

The assisted death of John Shields in Canada. “At his own wake” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/25/world/canada/euthanasia-bill-john-shields-death.html

A fascinating depiction of how John, raised in a Catholic family, was ordained as a priest, but left the Church after being barred from preaching when he challenged the church opposition to birth control. Read about John’s life as a social worker, his diagnosis with terminal neuropathy and then his advocacy for Medical Assistance in Dying, and using that choice at the end.

John Shields says goodbye to friends and family at his own ‘Irish wake’

Please compare John’s death with that of Flora Lormier from Multiple Sclerosis.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/help-die-family-release-heartbreaking-9614060#ICID=sharebar_facebook

Flora became paralysed from the neck down as her MS progressed.  Her daughter Tracey Taylor posted these photos on a Facebook page and in media such as the Mirror, UK, in the hope it would alert MPs to the futile horrific suffering endured by some people as they die.

Warning: disturbing images…..

Flora before her illness.

“She was like a prisoner of war in a concentration camp”

Yes, Archbishop, as you state, there have been advances in palliative care, but their own data clearly shows that as many as 1 in 6 patients in the terminal stage of their terminal illness report moderate to severe distress from pain and breathing problems. In jurisdictions with Assisted Dying choice, two facts become clear – 1) palliative care improves and 2) assisted dying choice is not an either/or with palliative care but simply another compassionate end-of-life option.

A terminal patient is, by definition, going to die. Voluntary Assisted Dying is not a choice between life and death, but gives an alternative way of dying for the patient to consider. Those who view voluntary euthanasia and assisted dying as against their beliefs simply do not go through the rigorous process of requesting this assistance!

[Voluntary] euthanasia or an assisted death does not deny the person the opportunity to say farewell, as the Archbishop suggests. If anything the opposite is correct – knowing when you are to have that assistance gives the time to say goodbye to friends, make amends for family problems or disagreements, etc – time that may not be possible if you are hooked up to machines as you die, or in that last resort of palliative care when all else fails, put into a coma with terminal sedation until you dehydrate or starve to death!

The real problem arises when various church hierarchy use their adherence to church doctrine and dogma to override and deny the majority of Australian Christians THEIR CHOICE to follow what they believe is a true final act of love and compassion.

Desmond Tutu, renowned Archbishop Emeritus of Capetown, advocates this choice here >  https://christiansforvad.org.au/archbishop-desmond-tutu-gives-his-blessing-to-the-voluntary-assisted-dying-campaign-in-australia/#more-371

I am very happy to discuss this issue further with the Archbishop and folk on Cradio, Tasmania, but for now leave them with the words of Governor Brown of California. Gov. Brown, who had trained as a Jesuit and is a committed Catholic, and had this to say when signing the California Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation. “In the end, I was left to reflect on what I would want in the face of my own death.  I do not know what I would do if I were dying in prolonged and excruciating pain. I am certain, however, that it would be a comfort to be able to consider the options afforded by this bill. And I wouldn’t deny that right to others.”

Ian Wood

National Coordinator and Spokesperson

Christians Supporting Choice for Voluntary Euthanasia

View the video and see for yourself the peaceful and happy emotional state of Ed Ness, pictured here

and in this video link http://www.cheknews.ca/exclusive-ed-ness-dies-peacefully-in-doctor-assisted-death-324498/  

Ed Ness died from terminal lung cancer after requesting and qualifying for assisted death in Canada, where it is legal.  Ed said goodbye to his closest friends and family. He was given medication that made him fall asleep and his last words to everyone were, “this is perfect”.  He passed away peacefully within a few minutes.

Rose is pictured dying from an incurable progressive neuro-degenerative disease. ”Absolute torture!”  Rose was pleading for MPs in South Australia  to pass an assisted dying law.   24 MPs voted against the Bill, 23 MPs for the Bill, so Rose was forced to take the other option within current law, and she stopped eating. She took many days to die. Husband Bernie is still traumatised.  I trust her death is etched on the ‘conscience of those 24 MPs who took away the dignity of Rose. View the emotional distress endured by Rose here.  https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1387705811251031

We are striving for a change in the law to give compassionate choice to people like Rose.

We fully support palliative care but sometimes PC is not enough, and this extra choice is needed.

Rev. Dr Craig de Vos, B.V.Sc., Dip.P.S., B.Th.(Hons.), Ph.D, highly respected as a theologian in social aspects of the New Testament, is a practising Minister who holds a passion for social justice issues.

Rev. Dr De Vos says, “Our politicians, often guided by dogmatic religious beliefs, continue to deny the majority who want the choice of a death with dignity.”

“Some oppose voluntary euthanasia and voluntary assisted dying choice arguing that it’s wrong because it’s playing God.  Yet so is artificially prolonging life, and so is allowing people to suffer an horrific death when there are more compassionate alternatives.”

Rev. Dr de Vos endorsed the statement by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who has said. “I believe in the sanctity of life. I know that we will all die and that death is a part of life. Terminally ill people have control over their lives, so why should they be refused control over their deaths? Why are so many instead forced to endure terrible pain and suffering against their wishes?”

Rev. Dr de Vos is Patron and member of the Executive of our group, Christians Supporting Choice for Voluntary Euthanasia.

He concluded, “I have the utmost sympathy for Anne Gabrielides, who is facing an horrific death from rapidly progressing Motor Neurone Disease, and support her plea to NSW members of parliament to give people in her situation choice and control at the end stages of their illness. I hope these MPs will demonstrate true compassion and empathy for Anne when considering the NSW Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017.”

Signed

Rev. Dr Craig de Vos, B.V.Sc., Dip.P.S., B.Th.(Hons.), Ph.D,

PLEASE  message Ian Wood using the “contact” on our website if you are clergy of any faith who would be prepared to endorse this Statement

Endorsed by

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Etc…….

Authorised by Ian Wood

National co-ordinator and spokesperson for Christians Supporting Choice for Voluntary Euthanasia

Villa 1, Hampton Mews, 4 Wills Place, Mittagong NSW  2575  AUSTRALIA

Website: www.Christiansforve.org.au

TO VIEW ANNIE’S VIDEO AND PLEA TO THE NSW MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT.

Anne (Annie) has rapidly progressing Motor Neurone Disease and her interview together with her family is truly heartrending.  Here> https://www.change.org/p/don-t-leave-me-trapped-in-a-dying-body-allow-me-to-die-peacefully

The most comprehensive analysis of this change in Canada that I have read was posted on Facebook by Marshall Perron, who you may recall was Chief Justice in the Northern Territory . and who initiated the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act there some 20 years ago.

Here is Marshall’s posted article in full –

NEWS FROM CANADA
June 17, 2016: Canadian parliament completes passage of federal aid-in-dying legislation.

Yesterday will be remembered as yet another momentous step forward for our movement to establish the right to aid-in-dying as a fundamental human right.

Yesterday, Friday June 17, the Canadian Senate passed bill C-14 put forward by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party, which had previously been passed by the House of Commons. This made aid-in-dying fully legal all across Canada, and established a country-wide legal framework for its implementation.

There are many parameters of the new Canadian law which are similar to those of our own Oregon, Washington, Vermont and California laws. The Canadian law allows assisted dying for consenting adults “in an advanced stage of irreversible decline” from a serious and “incurable” disease, illness or disability and for whom natural death is “reasonably foreseeable.”

Canadian Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and Health Minister Jane Philpott issued a joint statement, saying: “The legislation strikes the right balance between personal autonomy for those seeking access to medically assisted dying and protecting the vulnerable.” The new law has the strong support of the Canadian Medical Association, which said in a statement that it was “pleased that historic federal legislation on medical aid in dying is now in place.” Cindy Forbes, president of the CMA, said the law brings clarity and balance to assisted dying. “I feel very confident the government has done the right thing.”

A brief summary of the history leading up to this momentous event: In June, 2014, the Canadian province of Quebec passed a groundbreaking and far-reaching aid-in-dying bill, and in February, 2015, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled unanimously (nine to nothing !!!!) that aid-in-dying is a fundamental human right for terminally ill people, part of a broader human right to compassionate care at end of life. On December 10, 2015, the Quebec law went into force. And on June 6, the Canadian Supreme Court’s ruling took effect, invalidating all previously existing laws banning aid-in-dying.

To us in the USA, it’s fascinating that the debate in Canada over the bill has not been about whether aid in dying should be legal, but rather about whether the new law goes far enough, and in particular that it does not help people who suffer from intolerable medical conditions even though they may not be “terminal.” The Canadian Supreme Court’s 2015 decision establishes intolerable physical suffering as a condition for aid in dying without requiring that the person be terminal. However, Ellen Wiebe, a Vancouver doctor who has been assisting in deaths, said she sees the new law as flexible. In her view, patients with advanced multiple sclerosis, who would die if they did not accept treatment, could be deemed to face a “reasonably foreseeable” natural death, and therefore be eligible for medical assistance to end their lives.