Canadian Virtual Hospice has released a new kids book on their website which normalizes the practice of euthanasia to children. The book, entitled Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) Activity Book and recommended for children ages 6-12, explains the basics of the euthanasia procedure in child friendly language, gives therapeutic activities for the children to cope with their emotions, and offers a list of questions they can ask their doctors or family members.
https://t.co/eZbZLrz4Bu is home to The Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) Activity Book! Created for young people who have someone in their life who may have MAiD, this resources if available for free download. https://t.co/ugopiHYWus pic.twitter.com/um13rVqItL
— Canadian Virtual Hospice (@VirtualHospice) July 26, 2022
Written in a juvenile font with illustrations and bright colors, the book brands itself as a friendly guide to children confronting a difficult topic. This is how it details the procedure of euthanasia:
The three medicines work like this: The first medicine makes the person feel very relaxed and fall asleep. They may yawn or snore or mumble.
The second medicine causes a “coma.” A coma looks like sleep but is much deeper than regular sleep. The person will not wake up or be bothered by noise or touch.
The third medicine makes the person’s lungs stop breathing and then their heart stops beating. Because of the coma, the person does not notice this happening and it does not hurt. When their heart and lungs stop working, their body dies. It will not start working again. This often happens in just a few minutes, but sometimes (rarely) it can take hours.
But LifeSite News explained that we can’t know for certain that the euthanized person doesn’t experience pain when dying.
As reported in a recent National Post article, during the euthanasia procedure: “Monitors aren’t used. There are no monitors measuring brain waves or heart activity. Doctors say it would take away from the intimacy of the experience for the person and the family.” This reassurance has also been challenged by Dr. Joel Zivot, an anesthesiologist and critical care doctor at Emory University School of Medicine who has studied how lethal injections impact prisoners’ bodies.
When addressing the choice of the person recieving euthanasia, the book insinuates that nothing can change the person’s mind when choosing death, saying “When someone decides to ask for MAiD, it is usually after thinking very carefully and having very hard feelings for a long time.”
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What the book fails to point out is that palliative care and emotional support often dissuade a clinically ill patient from choosing death. However, according to The National Review, patients in Canada who request euthanasia are prevented from recieving palliative care. The Review further states that “only 15 percent of Canadians have adequate access to palliative care — a true scandal in a country that pushes euthanasia.”
Euthanasia has not only become a widely available option for the chronically ill in Canada, but even a right, according to another article by the National Review.
The Review says that doctors are told to murder patients elligible for euthanasia, and that if they refuse to do so, the task is past on to another doctor who feels comfortable with the procedure. Either that, or they are told to “get out of medicine.”
Others in Canada are pushing for more people to be eligible for euthanasia, including the legally incompotent, such as children, an option being pushed even by some pediatricians.
It would appear that in Canada euthanasia is not just becoming viable option, but the standard treatment for those medically incapacitated. It is a tragedy that children in Canada are being raised to undervalue human life by being taught that euthanasia is acceptable.