Stressed Canadian veteran offered euthanasia instead of medication

According to Global News, a former Canadian soldier suffering from a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder (we would call this condition “Afghan” or “Chechen” syndrome) sought psychological help from Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). And there, the employee who worked with him offered the simplest solution to the problem – to die with the help of euthanasia. Indeed, why, they say, suffer for a long time, when you can once – and that’s it.

The man was shocked, because he was not going to commit suicide at all and did not even ask for advice in resolving such a delicate issue.

Sources close to the veteran say that the veteran and his family felt betrayed by the military leadership, since this conversation took place in an organization that is designed to help veterans, and not send them to the next world, and that the conversation that took place disgusted all its participants. .

The age of the veteran was not disclosed. As well as under what circumstances and where (during the hostilities or just during regular military service) he was injured.

The VAC confirmed to Global News that such a conversation took place, and euthanasia was “discussed inappropriately” during it. “We deeply regret what happened,” the department said in a statement, promising to take “appropriate administrative measures” against the offending employee.

Canada’s Veterans Affairs Department has been unable to provide adequate explanations to the media about how often their veterans are offered euthanasia services, and how exactly a specialist is advised to conduct a dialogue on this topic. At the same time, the department emphasized that “providing advice” regarding euthanasia, “is not the competence of the VAC.”

However, this appears to be far from an isolated situation, and in the event of a voluntary and independent decision by the veteran client and his family, they are “advised to seek direct assistance from their primary care physician,” writes Global News.

Six years after the legalization of euthanasia in Canada, in 2021, the list of people who doctors can help with suicide has been expanded. Starting from March 2023, this procedure can be performed on people with mental and mental disorders. By the way, this is nowhere else. But it was before – in the Third Reich. True, in Nazi Germany they did not ask whether the mentally ill wanted to die or not. For them, this decision was made by others.

“You can’t devalue human life, you can’t dehumanize a person,” say categorical opponents of this method.

However, more and more countries are moving towards the recognition of euthanasia. Not only Canada, but also Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, some States of America offer it as an alternative to long physical suffering.

“These are purely eugenic methods, who should live and who should die,” says Inna Yambulatova, assistant to the head of the Patriarchal Commission on family issues, protection of motherhood and childhood. – Such methods were once characteristic of the ideology of the Third Reich. It was there that they approached this issue without pity and absolutely utilitarianly – disabled people, people with genetic abnormalities, seriously ill, mentally ill people should not live.

Somewhere we are talking about the active help of doctors who want to commit suicide. Somewhere a seriously ill person is simply disconnected from life support devices. “In England, a completely monstrous case recently occurred when a palliative child was euthanized by a court decision, although his parents were categorically against it, and a number of clinics were ready to take the baby in,” says Inna Yambulatova.

Permission for euthanasia in the West is usually argued by the fact that it is much cheaper to help the patient die than to keep him in a vegetative state or suffering mental suffering for many years. But not all palliative patients are doomed to quick care. With proper care and pain relief, many of them can live for decades.

Yes, the medical and officially approved suicide of the disabled will cost the budget less than treatment and rehabilitation. The main thing is the right PR and a competent explanation that people themselves want it. And rather than commit a senseless and unprepared suicide, wouldn’t it be better to go to the next world under the patronage of the state?

Euthanasia in Russia, as well as inclination to it, is now prohibited by law. Although in 2019, Veronika Skvortsova, who headed the Ministry of Health at that time, answered a direct question about the possibility of introducing euthanasia, that this should be decided by the people themselves during a referendum.

The matter never came to a referendum on euthanasia. And still, the long-standing debate about whether a person has the right to dispose of his life or give it up because of physical and mental suffering does not stop all over the world. Canada is not the only one in this series. Although some cases that have taken place in this country really look beyond. Maybe because not only voluntary death is being promoted here, local officials are sure that sometimes a person should be persuaded (or, rather, forced) to voluntary death. Explaining to him all the benefits of this decision. As probably happened to the combat veteran.

So, one Canadian patient with a neurodegenerative disease was forced by doctors to voluntary death, threatening otherwise to overwhelm bills for expensive treatment. An Ontarian woman was forced to take a voluntary retirement because her waiting list for social housing prevented her from getting one in the foreseeable future. Relatives of a 35-year-old patient who agreed to euthanasia came to the medical facility for his belongings after the procedure and found that the floor of the ward where he lay was littered with his feces. That is, there was no talk of any “comfortable care”.

Opponents of euthanasia in Canadian style are convinced that not only those who are unbearable, but also those who are unable to cope with diseases due to lack of funds, as well as those who do not receive sufficient palliative support from the state, will resort to voluntary death from hopelessness.

A few years ago, sociological studies were conducted among relatives of seriously ill patients, the patients themselves and physicians, how all these groups relate to euthanasia. And it turned out that under certain conditions and the hopelessness of the condition, more than 60% of the relatives of palliative patients would agree to this step, since they “can no longer see the suffering of their relatives.” Doctors rather reacted negatively to their participation in the euthanasia process. Among the patients themselves, only less than 1% of the respondents would like to end their lives in this way.

“We see that we are talking about current trends in society – people purely psychologically do not want to see and empathize with other people’s torment, and therefore agree with euthanasia. We are now dealing with a rational and technical approach to human life. Of course, this position has nothing to do with true Christian compassion. The Orthodox Church considers euthanasia unacceptable and contrary to the concept of Christianity,” sums up Inna Yambulatova from the Patriarchal Commission.

For in practice, you can go further and allow euthanasia not only because of illness or old age, but also because there is no money or work, happiness in your personal life, just go to the doctor, and he will prescribe a magic pill that will immediately solve all your earthly problems .

So far, no one has denied the immorality of euthanasia for social reasons. But we know what the Overton Window effect is, when what seems incredible and wild today, tomorrow is taken by society for granted.