Petition to: The Canadian Paediatric Society
I Oppose Euthanasia for Children
I Oppose Euthanasia for Children
Canada legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide (known as MAiD - so-called “medical assistance in dying”) on June 17, 2016. The law requires persons to be at least 18 years old and have a condition where “natural death is reasonably foreseeable.”
Soon after legalization, the Canadian government announced that the Council of Canadian Academies would examine extending euthanasia to children, people who are incompetent but have made an advanced request, and people with mental illness.
Last October, the Canadian Paediatric Society published a study examining euthanasia for teens, young children, and newborns. This study seemed designed to open the door to euthanasia for children.
Now the Biennial Provincial Symposium on Paediatric Palliative Care (at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto on April 25) will feature a break-out session titled: “Developing a policy on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) for Paediatric Patients” followed by wine and cheese.
Has the Council of Canadian Academies already decided to extend euthanasia to paediatric patients? Has the Canadian Paediatric Society decided that euthanasia will be extended to children and newborns, using this Symposium to develop a policy for when the killing begins?
Why are they so interested in euthanasia for children? Children can’t choose and their autonomy is questionable.
This is not about a “slippery slope” but rather an incredibly fast incremental extension of euthanasia. The law is not concerned with choice and autonomy but the rules that the doctor should follow before performing the act. Whether it is incompetent or competent people, or children, lethal injection is what it is and the decision is made by the doctor. Choice and autonomy are only slogans for selling the act.
We oppose euthanasia for children!
FOR FURTHER READING...
Paediatric Palliative Care Symposium and Child Euthanasia
Canadian Paediatricians consider extending euthanasia to newborns, minors and teens
Medical Assistance in Dying: A Paediatric Perspective
Netherlands Euthanasia "experts" advocate for child euthanasia–with or without consent