'MAiD: the made in Canada solution to end of life health costs'
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
156.44916
Summary
In this episode, we discuss the controversial case of a woman who was granted an assisted death for her terminal cancer patient. Her family and supporters are fighting to keep her alive, and the judge is weighing in on whether or not to allow her to die.
Transcript
00:00:00.000
The MAID statistics in Canada are quite staggering.
00:00:10.840
Thousands and thousands of people in Quebec alone.
00:00:17.540
Sorry, in 2022, we don't have the three numbers yet.
00:00:26.380
There's funeral homes in Quebec City that are setting up shop.
00:00:31.640
You can die here and be basically in your coffin already.
00:00:41.640
We'd do anything for our children, anything to keep them alive.
00:00:57.440
And I don't know if that's really up to a maid doctor or something.
00:01:02.900
And as you said, I mean, as the judge said, is it complicated and difficult?
00:01:07.460
There will never be an easy answer to that one.
00:01:17.020
And he says, look, there's no point in appealing this.
00:01:19.760
So, you know, over years, because by that point, this woman will be dead.
00:01:24.000
And she will have got her an assisted suicide and appeals become meaningless.
00:01:28.820
So, yeah, it's going to go through the court system quite rapidly, I think.
00:01:35.140
You know, this is something that's kind of always been there.
00:01:38.340
But in the background, I mean, we've always kind of known the terminal cancer patient.
00:01:43.300
His caregiver might leave the room and say, there's your morphine button.
00:01:46.680
And, you know, if you push it once, it'll make you comfortable.
00:01:49.600
Be careful not to push it four times or it would give you an overdose.
00:01:59.760
But, you know, I think the fact that the three of us are trying to have this highly emotive situation
00:02:07.800
talked about in a dispassionate way, it's very hard.
00:02:13.700
And I think we need to say that very, very sympathetic to the individuals involved and the pain that they feel.
00:02:24.940
So, being in a mental frame where death looks like a good option is something that we need to feel enormous sympathy for.
00:02:38.960
The father and the case have great empathy for somebody like that.
00:02:47.500
But, you know, they do say that hard cases make bad law.
00:02:53.240
And in the end, preserving life has got to be the priority because you can get a second chance to litigate this.
00:03:04.900
But if somebody lives through the first court hearing, but you don't get a second chance if it's all over.
00:03:11.800
And the precedent that this could set could be horrible.
00:03:20.280
Yeah, we should err on the side of life when it comes to these things in my view.
00:03:23.560
Just to be highly provocative, look at all the kids who are coming up with, they're getting their sex change.
00:03:29.780
They wait five years and suddenly find that this is terrible.
00:03:33.820
There are already high suicide rates amongst people who have had sex change operations.
00:03:38.280
I thought we were going to go an entire show without talking about gender.