{"id":282976,"date":"2023-01-09T10:40:30","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T16:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=282976"},"modified":"2023-01-07T00:16:02","modified_gmt":"2023-01-07T06:16:02","slug":"canadian-official-against-assisted-suicide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canadian-official-against-assisted-suicide\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian official speaks against assisted suicide: ‘People need hope, not suicide’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Canada has decided to temporarily delay<\/a> its decision of whether to allow Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) for people with mental illness, and one politician continues to condemn the practice.<\/p>\n

Pierre Poilievre is the head of the Conservative Party of Canada and has served in Parliament since 2004. In a recent interview, he was asked about the delay in the implementation of MAiD for people whose only affliction is mental illness, and whether or not he supported it.<\/p>\n

“Conservatives do not believe that medical assistance in dying is a solution for mental illness,” he said. “Conservatives believe that we should provide mental health care to people to improve their quality of life, help heal the psychological wounds that are afflicting them rather than giving up. And we’re very worried about the slippery slope that we see. We see now cases where, you know, certain groups are advocating that small infants should be given medical assistance in dying. Obviously, they could not consent to that. We see our Veterans Department telling our heroes that instead of getting the services that they deserve, they should consider ending their own lives. We had the CEO of the Mississauga Food Bank saying that she has people coming into her facility, asking not for food, but for help ending their lives, because \u2014 not because they’re sick, but because they can’t afford to eat.”<\/p>\n

He further reiterated that Canada has gone down the slippery slope many feared it would, and said Canadians deserve better.<\/p>\n

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Medical Assistance in Dying is not the solution to addressing mental health issues. Most mental health conditions are treatable, and we should be offering a way to improve people\u2019s lives, not end them. Thank you @pierrePoilievre<\/a> for taking a position of real compassion. #cdnpoli<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/3g2O1NG6Ln<\/a><\/p>\n

— Dr. Leslyn Lewis (@LeslynLewis) January 3, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n