The Final Nail in the Coffin
judge green lights euthanasia for autistic-27-year old women DESPITE objections from her dad, who says she's healthy - just 'vulnerable' due to mental health problems
Back in 2016, I wrote a blog discussing the legalization of euthanasia in Canada and how this decision could potentially lead to complications in our legal system. In that blog, I explored examples from other countries that had legalized euthanasia and noted how quickly the list of qualifying categories expanded in just a few years. This practice, often referred to as Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), raises significant ethical and legal concerns.
You can read the original blog post, titled "Suicide for Children," in my Archives. As I reflect on these issues now, it feels like the final nail in the coffin.
Currently, I am investigating a troubling development: there are reports that children aged 12 and over in Manitoba, Canada, may no longer need parental consent to apply for MAiD. I sincerely hope this is just a rumor.
Last spring, sadly and despicably, I wasn’t expecting that Canada would stoop so low that a 27-year-old woman with autism would qualify for MAiD. This happened in Alberta, Canada. Justice Collin Feasby says her right to die trumps her dad’s love for his daughter (by James Reinl, Social Affairs Correspondent, for Daily.com, March 27, 2024, titled "Alberta judge greenlights euthanasia for 27-year-old autistic woman despite objections from her dad, who says she’s healthy—just ‘vulnerable’ due to mental health problems"). (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-13244691/Alberta-judge-greenlights-euthanasia-autistic-woman-DESPITE-objection-dad.html)
From 2012 to 2020, I worked in Human Services advocating for adults with a variety of disabilities. I was indoctrinated with protecting people with disabilities from medical organizations and governments from the past that believed in the Eugenics Movement. The Eugenics Movement was very powerful, and it stripped the rights from vulnerable people with mental and physical disabilities. Doctors would sterilize vulnerable people with injections without their consent to make sure they didn’t reproduce the same kind of people in our society.
The organizations I worked for held training classes to ensure this kind of horror would never repeat itself, but it now has. For eight years, I supported individuals who needed assistance with financial matters, grocery shopping, medical appointments, creating food menus, administering medications, personal hygiene care, getting involved in the community, attending programs or worksites, staying informed about political elections, and planning their future. All the support workers around people with disabilities were advocates to ensure that sound decisions were being made, that they were being valued and that they were getting the best quality of life possible.
We recognized that people with disabilities were often unable to make sound choices on their own, which is why they needed a dedicated team to protect them and keep them safe from outside forces that might exploit them. So now, I ask myself, “does this mean that parents and paid support workers are no longer needed since people with disabilities are permitted to make life-altering decisions?” It seems the message that we are here to advocate for vulnerable people is now lost.
In 2020, when lockdowns and restrictions were implemented, parents were prohibited from visiting their vulnerable children unless they were vaccinated. The same requirement applied to support workers. Was history repeating itself? I guess time will tell. I empathize deeply with parents advocating for their adult children, as they have been denied the right to protect them from decisions like this one in Alberta."
I’m personally affected by this decision because I have relatives that will be affected by this judge's decision. So, now what Canada? As for me, I will continue to advocate for all people whether they don’t have a disability, or they do have a disability. All people are highly valued, and we all need to advocate for ourselves and each other. I’m not giving up for peoples' right to live. We all have low and high moments in our lives. Please don’t give up on people. We all need each other. We all need to work together. That’s why I’m going to start taking out the nails in the coffin, one at a time. We need a resurrection in our hearts and minds in order to stop the revival of the Eugenics Movement.
Warmly your friend,
Bill Vassilopoulos