CALLS FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION FOR SOME WHILE WELCOMING ASSISTED SUICIDE FOR OTHERS

The Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) editorial has called for a National Suicide Prevention Strategy to combat suicide amongst certain vulnerable populations such as young people and aboriginal populations. That is good. In fact, in October of 2012, Canada's Parliament gave UNANIMOUS support to the idea of establishing a national suicide prevention strategy. That included Justin Trudeau whose government passed an assisted suicide law for the sick and disabled earlier this year.  

So the CMAJ publishes an editorial calling for a suicide prevention strategy yet earlier in this past summer the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) also issued a statement that "welcomes" the legislative changes permitting assisted suicide for the sick and disabled. Their statement said:

"The CMA was pleased that historic federal legislation on medical aid in dying was passed by Parliament in mid-June. For the CMA, this important new law represents the culmination of years of work and consultation with physicians and the public."[2] 

They call it medical aid in dying, I call it medical killing.

It smacks of anti-disability prejudice. To me it says that to the CMA and Canada's government, the lives of sick and disabled Canadians are worth less than other Canadians.

Mark

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[1] Laura Eggerston and Kirsten Patrick, "Canada needs a national suicide prevention strategy", Canadian Medical Association Journal, 6 September 2016, http://www.cmaj.ca/content/early/2016/09/06/cmaj.160935

[2] "The CMA welcomes federal law on assisted dying" https://www.cma.ca/En/Pages/end-of-life.aspx