I really wish that instead of bickering about masks, we could pour all of that energy into discussing the ugly scandal of how we warehouse our elderly, abandon them to die when pandemics hit, and worst of all, leave them so isolated and alone that many of them simply want to die. Consider this, from the National Review:
Good grief. We are told that euthanasia is “compassion.” But how compassionate is it when last year in Canada, hundreds of sick people were euthanized because of loneliness?
The country’s 2019 MAID [medical assistance in dying] Annual Report found that 13.7 percent of the 5,631 Canadians killed by doctors asked to be lethally injected because of “isolation or loneliness.” If my math is right, that’s about 771 people, or 64 a month, or two per day. Good grief!
Some of the other reasons people gave for asking to be killed:
Loss of ability to engage in enjoyable activities, 82.1 percent. That’s a serious concern, but with proper interventions, it can be overcome.
Loss of ability to perform activities of daily living, 78.1 percent. Ditto.
“Inadequate control of pain (or concern about it),” 53.9 percent. That’s a scandalously high percentage. Palliative and hospice pain-control experts will tell you that most serious pain in terminal illnesses can be successfully alleviated.
Loss of dignity, 53.3 percent. Again, this is a serious concern but can be overcome with appropriate care.
Perceived burden on family, friends, and caregivers, 34 percent. In other words, people put themselves out of their loved one’s misery.
These statistics are scandalous and should make Canada deeply ashamed.
Alas, most Canadians are proud that their doctors can legally kill sick people whose deaths are “reasonably foreseeable.” Not only that, but the country is now engaged in the process that will expand the conditions qualifying for lethal injection, including incompetent people with dementia if they asked to be put down in an advance directive. It’s so bad, that in Ontario, if a doctor refuses to euthanize a legally qualified patient or find another doctor he or she knows will kill, they risk professional discipline.
Keep in mind that these stats are from 2019—before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With months of enforced lockdown and the elderly who do have loving relatives barred from visiting with them or experiencing physical touch with loved ones, the 2020 numbers will probably look much, much worse.
