Canadian doctor: Children benefit
from euthanasia.
Bedside meetings at euthanasia deaths in Canada are normally reserved for adults. Of course, we are not aware of most of them, but sometimes a journalist describes the last moments of an elderly man or woman in a magazine article. Sometimes there's a party, glasses of champagne,
hilarity - until the doctor arrives. Friends and relatives gather around the bed whilethe doctor
administers a lethal injection.
In fact, most of these deaths involve people over the age of 65. Very few are old enough to leave young people behind.
It is their adult children or grandchildren who are with them in their final moments.
What about people with young children? An experienced MAiD doctor suggests that young children will benefit from their participation.
In a blog entry on a University of British Columbia website, Dr. Susan Woolhouse,who has been involved in some 70 "assisted deaths," says "instinct told me that involving children in the AMM process of their loved one was perhaps one of the most important and therapeutic experiences for a child. My past experiences during my palliative care internships have reassured me that children could benefit
from witnessing the death of a loved one. Why would MAID be different? "
hilarity - until the doctor arrives. Friends and relatives gather around the bed whilethe doctor
administers a lethal injection.
In fact, most of these deaths involve people over the age of 65. Very few are old enough to leave young people behind.
It is their adult children or grandchildren who are with them in their final moments.
What about people with young children? An experienced MAiD doctor suggests that young children will benefit from their participation.
In a blog entry on a University of British Columbia website, Dr. Susan Woolhouse,who has been involved in some 70 "assisted deaths," says "instinct told me that involving children in the AMM process of their loved one was perhaps one of the most important and therapeutic experiences for a child. My past experiences during my palliative care internships have reassured me that children could benefit
from witnessing the death of a loved one. Why would MAID be different? "
She gives some advice on how to explain the
process of death to young children:
Assuming that children receive honest, compassionate and non-judgmental information about the WMA, there is no reason to believe that witnessing a medically assisted death cannot be integrated as a normal part of their loved one's end-of-life journey.
If the adults around them normalize the WMA, so do the children.
"These conversations can easily take place with children as young as 4 years old," she says.
Dr. Woolhouse estimates that between 6 and 7 per cent of MMA deaths are among people under the age of 55. As the numbers increase,
"this will result in more children affected by the assisted death of a loved one."
process of death to young children:
Assuming that children receive honest, compassionate and non-judgmental information about the WMA, there is no reason to believe that witnessing a medically assisted death cannot be integrated as a normal part of their loved one's end-of-life journey.
If the adults around them normalize the WMA, so do the children.
"These conversations can easily take place with children as young as 4 years old," she says.
Dr. Woolhouse estimates that between 6 and 7 per cent of MMA deaths are among people under the age of 55. As the numbers increase,
"this will result in more children affected by the assisted death of a loved one."
Here's how she would explain
euthanasia to a child:
"In Canada, when a person has a disease that will kill their body, they can wait for it to happen or seek the help of a doctor.
The doctor or nurse uses a medication that prevents the body from functioning and causes death.
This is done in a way that is not painful...
"I will give your [dear] medication over a period of about ten minutes. This medication will make her very tired, and then she will fall into a coma very quickly. This means that she will no longer be able to hear, see or feel pain. You might hear strange breathing noises, but these don't cause him any pain. Its skin will become colder and maybe even change color. She'll stop moving her body.
His heart will eventually stop beating and that means his body is dead. When a body dies,
it can no longer see, feel pain or hear. It can never be repaired. "I
wonder if a child will find this explanation convincing. The doctor will not be there to answer her questions when she becomes a teenager, a young adult and a parent. One researcher found that, years later, some children still described the death of an animal as "the worst day of their lives. How much worse will you feel about remembering the day your mother or father was shot?
Dr. Woolhouse's brief essay leaves questions unanswered. The obvious question is "where's Dad now?"
It cannot offer the child the comfort of a life after death. Dad is nowhere; He's just dead.
In his description of the last hours of his hypothetical patient, it is clear that he does not suffer unbearably, at least at that time. Why,
the child is forced to ask, did Dad want to leave me? Why did he choose to die and leave me an orphan?
But Dr. Woolhouse is right about one thing: if you want to normalize euthanasia,
what better marketing method could there be than pictures of little children watching her do a lethal injection?
euthanasia to a child:
"In Canada, when a person has a disease that will kill their body, they can wait for it to happen or seek the help of a doctor.
The doctor or nurse uses a medication that prevents the body from functioning and causes death.
This is done in a way that is not painful...
"I will give your [dear] medication over a period of about ten minutes. This medication will make her very tired, and then she will fall into a coma very quickly. This means that she will no longer be able to hear, see or feel pain. You might hear strange breathing noises, but these don't cause him any pain. Its skin will become colder and maybe even change color. She'll stop moving her body.
His heart will eventually stop beating and that means his body is dead. When a body dies,
it can no longer see, feel pain or hear. It can never be repaired. "I
wonder if a child will find this explanation convincing. The doctor will not be there to answer her questions when she becomes a teenager, a young adult and a parent. One researcher found that, years later, some children still described the death of an animal as "the worst day of their lives. How much worse will you feel about remembering the day your mother or father was shot?
Dr. Woolhouse's brief essay leaves questions unanswered. The obvious question is "where's Dad now?"
It cannot offer the child the comfort of a life after death. Dad is nowhere; He's just dead.
In his description of the last hours of his hypothetical patient, it is clear that he does not suffer unbearably, at least at that time. Why,
the child is forced to ask, did Dad want to leave me? Why did he choose to die and leave me an orphan?
But Dr. Woolhouse is right about one thing: if you want to normalize euthanasia,
what better marketing method could there be than pictures of little children watching her do a lethal injection?