New Bill Introduced to Combat Coercion for Euthanasia
David Baltzer is a Canadian soldier who served two tours in Afghanistan. In a conversation with a Veterans Affairs Canada caseworker in 2019, the topic of euthanasia was raised. “He says to me, ‘I would like to make a suggestion for you. Keep an open mind, think about it, you’ve tried all this and nothing seems to be working, but have you thought about medical-assisted suicide?’”
Tracy Polewczuk has spina bifida. A few years ago, she broke her leg and the injury never properly healed. On two separate occasions while in hospital, Tracy was told she was eligible for euthanasia – once by a nurse, and once by a social worker.
Combatting another element of euthanasia in Canada
These are the kinds of cases that MP Garnett Genuis wants to prevent with Bill C-260, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying – protection against coercion). The bill, introduced on February 5, aims to prevent coercion by ensuring that government employees (other than a doctor or a nurse – more on that later) do not initiate a discussion with a person about euthanasia.
The bill would apply to any government employee who is in a position of trust or authority towards the person being offered euthanasia. So, the bill would apply to people in particular jobs or professions such as veterans’ affairs caseworkers or hospital social workers. Upon introducing the bill, MP Genuis said, “Canadians with disabilities, veterans, the elderly and people living in poverty do not want government bureaucrats telling them, when they are trying to access unrelated government services, that they should die.”
This is common sense. Counselling someone to commit suicide is still a crime in Canada, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Yet far too often in Canada, medical professionals and government bureaucrats have offered or suggested suicide in the form of euthanasia to vulnerable people. David Baltzer is just one of many veterans who have been offered euthanasia by a government bureaucrat. Similarly, Tracy Polewczuk is far from the only patient to have hospital personnel bring up euthanasia.
When a government employee suggests euthanasia, it can easily be taken as a recommendation. Patients, veterans, or others may think that if euthanasia is suggested, it might be the only way out of whatever suffering they are experiencing.
The bill could go further
While the bill will help prevent offers of euthanasia in certain settings, it does not go far enough. Doctors and nurses are in the most obvious and relevant positions of trust and authority when it comes to euthanasia, yet the bill would not apply to them. The vast majority of times people are offered euthanasia by someone in a position of trust or authority, it is by a doctor or nurse. Patients can be in a very vulnerable state, such as when a Nova Scotia woman was asked if she knew about euthanasia prior to surgery for cancer.
A step in the right direction
Nonetheless, this bill is important in a few ways.
First, it will prevent bureaucrats, social workers, and other professionals in a position of trust or authority from suggesting euthanasia unasked. This should help to ensure that Canadians get the help they are looking for rather than an offer of state-sponsored death. It will also give some recourse for Canadians who are offered euthanasia without asking for it.
Bill C-260 will also begin a conversation about coercion. Once that conversation has been started, we can then expand it to discussing other persons, such as doctors and nurses.
If the bill reaches the committee stage in the House of Commons, we can advocate at committee to have the bill amended to include doctors and nurses in the prohibition on initiating a discussion around euthanasia.
We’re grateful for another bill seeking to tackle one of the many problems with Canada’s euthanasia regime. We look forward to Parliament debating this legislation in the upcoming months. Send an EasyMail to your Member of Parliament and ask them to support Bill C-260.
