A Canadian woman who went to a Vancouver hospital for psychiatric help after suffering from recurring suicidal thoughts says one of the staff members suggested Medical Assisted Death (MAID) instead of offering the help she needed.
Katherine Mintler said Christian Institutea UK watchdog, went to Vancouver General Hospital’s Access and Assessment Center in June, “because I didn’t want to get into a situation where I would think of a medication overdose.”
“That day my goal was to keep myself safe,” Mintler said. “I was thinking maybe I should try to get myself into the hospital because I was in crisis.”
While being examined by a doctor, the 37-year-old was told there were “no beds” and that she should expect a long wait to see a psychiatrist as an outpatient.
Feeling frustrated and helpless, Mintler said she was asked, “Have you thought about the maid?” The Christian Institute reported, “Then the doctor went to speak of her ‘relief’ at the death of another mentally ill patient.”
“It made me feel like my life was worthless or a problem that could be solved if I chose med,” she explained.
He told Mintler, a first-year counseling student, later The Globe and Mail In an interview, “The more I think about it, the more I think it raises more and more moral and ethical questions about it.”
The outlet reported that Vancouver Coastal Health, the medical company that operates the hospital, not only confirmed that the discussion had taken place, but said the MAID topic was brought up to measure Mentler’s risk of suicide.
“During patient assessments of this nature, clinicians often ask challenging questions to determine the appropriate care and risks for the patient,” the health authority said in a statement.
“Staff should explore all care options available to the patient, and a clinical assessment with a client who appears suicidal may include questions about whether they have considered MAID as part of their meditations. We understand that this conversation may be upsetting to some, and we share our sincerity,” the statement confirmed. Our apologies for any distress caused by this incident.”
The statement said the health authority adheres to current federal legislation that provides primary health care service to legally eligible patients only.
What is a Canada Maid?
Medical assistance in dying (MAID) is the Canadian legal form of voluntary euthanasia. It first became legal along with assisted suicide in June 2016 to allow terminally ill adults to control their death.
As reported by CBN News, in Canada, MAID is a government department. The law was originally intended for Canadian citizens who were terminally ill. But according to the government’s website, “You don’t need to have a terminal or terminal condition to be eligible for dying medical assistance.”
After March 17, 2024, the Canadian government will also allow people “with mental illness as the only underlying medical condition” to qualify for MAID “if they meet all eligibility requirements,” the site states.
Mintler wonders why someone at the hospital would suggest to a maid for mental health issues when it wasn’t yet legal.
She said, “Measurement of suicide[risk]should not include presenting options for death, which is what I felt.” The Globe and Mail. “I also think it’s worth considering that as of now, the MAID mental health program is not yet legal, so giving someone the details of the process seems wrong. How could this be standard procedure for suicide crisis intervention?”
Meanwhile, Mintler has received support and other help from the medical company, and will see a psychiatrist this fall, the outlet reported.
Although it could not comment on the Mintler case, the British Columbia Department of Health said in a statement, Canadian criminal law requires a patient to voluntarily apply for an operation that was “not performed as a private result of external pressure.”
The statement added that all such deaths in the county are “reviewed by the Ministry of Health’s oversight unit for compliance with the eligibility criteria and safeguards set forth in the Criminal Code, as well as the regional safeguards and regulatory college practice standards for maids.”
Johnny Morris, CEO of the BC Division of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA BC) said: The Globe and Mail The province, like many other jurisdictions, lacks a “systematic and accepted response” for how to deal with people in suicidal crisis.
Morris told the outlet that raising MAID as a tool for assessing suicide risk “doesn’t align with my understanding of what a comprehensive risk assessment would typically look like,” and said he’s wary of the idea of discussing MAID and mental illness at the same time. conversation.
while, Daily Mail Reports indicate that the number of people choosing assisted suicide has risen steadily in countries where it is permitted.
Canada recorded more than 10,000 cases in 2021, the latest year for which official data is available, followed by the Netherlands, Belgium and the United States.
People with certain disabilities ‘better off dead’
Critics of euthanasia are speaking out after a quadriplegic woman recently attacked the Canadian government, saying it would be quicker to euthanize her than to provide her with disability assistance.
said Matt Vallier, director of the Patient Action Fund, a campaign group Daily Mail Last month, most Western governments allowing assisted suicide were sending the message that “people with certain disabilities are better off dying.”
Vulnerable people, the disabled, the economically disadvantaged, and minorities are being pushed to choose death because medical suicide has become the least of the health care evils they have access to.”
He added: “People who need support are being reduced to a ‘utilitarian oppression of death'”.
Canada is leading the world in a shocking direction
Nearly seven years after Canada passed its assisted suicide law, Canada has become the world leader in transplanted organs harvested from its citizens and assisted in murder.
Doctors in Canada, where the Medical Assisted Death (MAID) Act was passed in 2016, performed nearly half of the world’s post-MAID transplants for that period, according to the December 2022 issue of American Journal of Transplantation.
The Canadian government posted on its website last month about 4,300 Canadians who are currently awaiting transplants.
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