More Contrarian News for Old Codgers (OATS3)

 The News Continues to Be Bad

(The Death of Elaine)

   Loyal subscribers will know that OATS is an acronym for Old Age ThemeS and the themes are typically negative in tone. It is produced to offset the propaganda to which you are otherwise subjected. If, like most of my friends, you are determined to avoid decrepitude and are going to live healthily and happily until you die while exercising at the age of 110, give or take a few years, you should stop reading now.

MAID

   MAID is a Canadian acronym for Medical Assistance in Dying.  Those of us codgers who have a more realistic view of our future generally welcomed the news back in 2016 when it was decided that we had a constitutional right to determine when we might choose to leave. There were those, however, who disagreed and were determined to erect speed bumps so we could not exercise too quickly the right we were granted. The number of obstacles that were to be encountered if you were attempting to pull the plug, were so numerous that you were more likely to die of old age than you were from having a last shot of Single Malt and an injection from your doctor. Even as I type, Bill C-7 is being re-considered in an attempt to make dying easier. But not too easy. 

No Way To Go

   I am actually feeling well and had not been thinking about MAID until I remembered an article from a few months ago. It was about an 83 year old gentleman from Nova Scotia who was suffering from COPD and had had enough. He did all the hard work that is required to overcome the obstacles constructed by those who did not want him to have an easy passage. His MAID request was finally approved, however, and he was good to go. Although it is difficult for Canadians to choose to die, what made this story newsworthy was the fact that another hurdle was erected right before the finish line and placed there by his wife and her lawyers.

Husband Wins - He Dies

   The article from a few months ago which caught my attention was about the efforts of the wife of the gentlemen above, who initiated court proceedings to prevent his passing. About this, he was not happy and they stopped speaking after nearly 50 years of marriage. It was one of those 'He said', 'She said' situations. He said he was suffering and suffocating, she said he was anxious and mentally incapable of making such a decision. More important, one suspects, were her moral objections to MAID. He moved out. I wondered what happened.

  In this case, the husband did have the last word. After a few months of legal proceedings, the wife's request was denied. He pulled the plug. It is a sad story. The ones included in OATS usually are.

Sources:

  "Husband, 83, Dies With Medical Assistance After Wife's Court Bid To Stop Him Fails: Jack Sorenson of Bridgewater, N.S., Died on Saturday Following Legal Battle With Wife Over MAID," Taryn Grant, CBC News, Oct. 6, 2020.

  For Bill C-7 see this recent G&M editorial: "Reasonably Forseeable Litigation," Oct.16, 2020. 

   Given that the Bill attempts to make dying a little easier, there are many who are opposed. See, for example, this statement from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops:
"Today, more than 50 religious leaders from across Canada released an open letter to all Canadians in opposition to Bill C-7 An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying). This ecumenical and interfaith message is a response by religious leaders to the legislation introduced by the federal government on 5 October 2020 which seeks to expand the eligibility criteria for euthanasia and assisted suicide (euphemistically called “medical assistance in dying”) by removing the “reasonable foreseeability of natural death” criterion currently in the Criminal Code, and by loosening some of the existing “safeguards” allowing patients whose death is “reasonably foreseeable” to waive final consent to receiving euthanasia by making an advance directive."

   If you think MAID is a good idea, support for making the process easier is found here:
Dying With Dignity: It's Your Life. It's Your Choice. 

For the official government web site see MAID. 

For more postings in the OATS Series see here and here. 

The Bonus:

  Usually the OATS postings are accompanied by this image:

  The new one at the top is a painting by Homer Watson, The Death of Elaine. Now you know who the boulevard in Kitchener is named after. The image is from Homer Watson: Life & Work, by Brian Foss. Both the image and the biography are found on the website of the Art Canada Institute.