CCBI News – Quebec—Public Hearings MAiD Proposed Amendments; Videos—The Elderly, People with Dementia; Francis—The Elderly, Inspiration, Indispensable Contributions

June 3, 2022

Dear Friends of CCBI,

Political Manoeuvres in Quebec RE: Public Hearings On MAiD

Public hearings on Bill 38 in Quebec, proposing to amend its Act dealing with end-of-life care, ended after only a few days on May 31, having excluded any speakers disagreeing with advance directives for MAiD by people who would not be able to consent to the procedure at a later stage through loss of capacity. This is clearly an exercise of power and a biased act of discrimination against opponents of the Bill, preventing their voices from being heard. This is the antithesis of the democratic process and the Canadian parliamentary system, which nearly always allow for different opinions to be raised, albeit within a context where the government of the day can wield its power to influence results, e.g., in deciding on chairs of parliamentary and other committees, the length of time of hearings, in giving short notice of the dates on which they will be held and so on, reducing awareness in the population and, therefore, the number of responses.

A major watchword these days is ‘inclusivity,’ and it’s fascinating (but frightening) to see government override their own proclaimed principles. ‘We, the people’ need to inform politicians that we see through these power manoeuvres and demand equal opportunity in these areas. Such political manoeuvring is not only unethical and wrong, but its aims are in total conflict with the much-vaunted ethical principle of autonomy, first, in the area where people are not going to have capacity to consent to euthanasia at the time of the procedure, which was pronounced as a ‘safeguard’ when the government introduced euthanasia in 2016. Second, in the political field, ‘my right to choose’ – another cardinal principle of government and, increasingly, of Canadian law – is subverted by preventing interested parties from having a voice at public hearings and the like. Inclusivity, autonomy, ‘choice’ – sometimes they are but words to disguise political agenda, to be used when it suits and discarded when they might be hindrances. Be aware, be very aware!

Alex King, President of the Living with Dignity Citizen Network, said in a press release by the Network: “To rush a Bill through by June 10 is one thing, but to consider it while completely ignoring all of the experts who oppose the most significant extension since the adoption of the Medical Aid in Dying law seems inconceivable to us. We continue to hope that the Committee will invite new experts to complete its consultations addressing the historic frontier of induced death by advance request for persons incapable of decision-making.”

Important Videos on Care of the Elderly and those with Dementia

The Network has released four videos by one of those experts, a geriatrician and palliative care physician, stating the case for rejecting the moves proposed in Bill 38 and showing support for the improved care and dignity of the elderly and the importance of good palliative care for those at end-of-life. Dr Pageau provides a clear, rational and compassionate case for protecting people who lose their autonomy through dementia, for seeing to their care and happiness and for ensuring that such care continues. The videos can be seen through the link below and are available in French and English. Living with Dignity espouses all that is positive about life, especially at the end stages, and encourages us on the spiritual and humane approach to living life to the end as opposed to current measures in Quebec and the rest of Canada that increasingly propose euthanasia as an answer to life’s problems.

Pope Francis and the Elderly

In complete contrast, Pope Francis said in his papal audience on May 31 that “…the whole of society must hasten to take care of its elderly, who are increasingly numerous and often also the most abandoned.” He repeated the warning he often makes about society’s ‘throwaway culture,’ that today’s disposable culture ‘poisons’ the world we live in. It occurs to me that many strides have been made in implementing the concept of ‘reduce, re-use, recycle’ in society and there are ‘zero-waste’ concepts which many of us at least try to adopt in cleaning up the environment as well as in our personal approach to the use of material goods. All of this is ethical and necessary, but when it comes to our approach to human beings at the beginning and end of life, this principled approach stops and we treat them as expendable, even aided by our legal system in doing so. What a contradiction, what a waste!

The Pope warns us, further, that when society views the elderly and the frail as useless and as burdens, then, “…we also may be tempted to hide our vulnerabilities due to illness or age, since we fear the loss of our own dignity.” Yet if we try to hide our frailty, we do harm to ourselves in unduly resisting an inevitable stage of life where independence can no longer be guaranteed in the long run. We are interdependent beings from birth, and we often need help, not only at end-of-life. This is difficult for many to admit and accept, understandably, since nature and nurture train us to be independent and autonomous beings. Yet Pope Francis tells us that if we accept or grow into our loss of independence, then, “In every generation, the elderly can offer us a much-needed example of such perseverance in prayer and hope-filled surrender to the Lord. By their presence and example, they can open minds and hearts, and inspire the building of a more just and humane society – one that respects all the stages of life and values the contribution of each of its members to the common good.”

To ‘inspire the building of a more just and humane society’ is most certainly a tenet of Catholic Social Teaching and of Catholic bioethics but is also a somewhat neglected facet of a Catholic spirituality – ‘hope-filled surrender to the Lord.’ Here the Pope uses the most amazing terminology, calling this surrender the Magisterium of Frailty. He explains that the elderly, by virtue of their frailty, can teach those who are living at other stages of life, about the need to abandon ourselves to the Lord and to invoke His help. He tells us that old age “…opens up a decisive horizon for the reform of our own civilization.” This is a teaching and claim of immense importance, not only for the elderly but also for the common good. In this way, far from being ‘useless,’ the elderly can show themselves to be indispensable!

Pope Francis’ Intentions for June 

We pray for Christian families around the world; may they embody and experience unconditional love and advance in holiness in their daily lives.

Moira and Bambi

Living with Dignity denounces the exclusion of voices opposed to MAiD by advance request from the public hearings on Bill 38 – Vivre dans la Dignité (vivredignite.org)