{"id":323300,"date":"2024-12-19T10:39:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T16:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=323300"},"modified":"2024-12-18T14:49:17","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T20:49:17","slug":"email-found-euthanasia-advocate-death-might-saved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/email-found-euthanasia-advocate-death-might-saved\/","title":{"rendered":"Shocking email found after euthanasia advocate’s death reveals his life might have been saved"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

(Right to Life UK)<\/a> A lead campaigner for Canada\u2019s euthanasia programme may have chosen to live if adequate care had been available, according to reports.<\/p>\n

Jean Truchon, who had cerebral palsy, was one of the key figures in\u00a0campaigning<\/a>\u00a0to expand the scope of euthanasia and assisted suicide legislation in Canada in 2019 so that the law did not only apply to people whose death was \u2018reasonably foreseeable\u2019. Following his successful legal challenge in Quebec, in 2021, the Canadian Parliament ultimately\u00a0repealed<\/a>\u00a0the requirement that the natural death of those applying for euthanasia or assisted suicide be \u201creasonably foreseeable\u201d.<\/p>\n

After Truchon\u2019s life was ended by euthanasia in 2020 aged 51, he was\u00a0praised<\/a>\u00a0for his contribution to the assisted suicide debate by Fran\u00e7ois Legault, the Premier of Quebec, and then-Health Minister Danielle McCann.<\/p>\n

However, in an\u00a0email seen by\u00a0The Telegraph<\/em><\/a>\u00a0from 2016, Truchon suggested he may not have wished to die at all if he had been able to access better care.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn response to your question regarding home care, I think that indeed if there were services for 70 hours or more, I would have preferred to stay at home and possibly I would not have had the same desire to die\u201d, he said in a letter transcribed by his psychologist.<\/p>\n

Lives of disabled people \u201cdevalued\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Experts warned that the 2019 ruling risked \u201cdevaluing\u201d the lives of people with disabilities and that assisted suicide would become an option for patients before all other options had been explored. Canadian MP Michael Cooper\u00a0wrote\u00a0<\/a>\u201cNow persons with disabilities qualify for state-administered death on the basis that they are disabled \u2013 stigmatising and devaluing the lives of persons with disabilities\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy removing any connection to the foreseeability of natural death, eligibility has become significantly more subjective. This has widened the door for potential abuse\u201d.<\/p>\n

Trudo Lemmens, professor of law at the University of Toronto, who\u00a0initially supported<\/a>\u00a0Canada\u2019s assisted suicide and euthanasia law, also highlighted the ease of access to assisted suicide in Canada, saying \u201cIt is a problematic oversight in Canadian law that people have access to [euthanasia and assisted suicide] even if there are other medical or social support options that could relieve their suffering\u201d.<\/p>\n

Dr Sonu Gaind, professor in the faculty of medicine at the University of Toronto, noted that assisted suicide was being readily offered as a \u201ccompassionate option\u201d for \u201cmarginalised\u201d Canadians. He said \u201cThough Canadians have been reassured [euthanasia and assisted suicide are] compassionate option[s] only for those with incurable illness, our laws allow all sorts of social suffering to fuel [euthanasia and assisted suicide] requests\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s \u2018compassionate\u2019 for the most marginalised people in society who suffer from poverty, lack of access to care or housing insecurity, to see state-facilitated euthanasia as their only option for relief\u201d.<\/p>\n

This was recently highlighted in the first official\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0on euthanasia and assisted suicide in Ontario, Canada: the \u2018MAiD Death Review Committee Report\u2019, in which 16 experts from various disciplines who reviewed MAiD (Medical assistance in dying) deaths in Ontario found that vulnerable people face \u201cundue influence\u201d and \u201cpotential coercion\u201d.<\/p>\n

Most<\/a>\u00a0of the committee \u201cagreed that the MAiD process should give way to urgent social services intervention and maximize supportive healthcare options to reduce symptoms and suffering prior to proceeding with MAiD\u201d.<\/p>\n

READ:<\/strong> \u2018The slippery slope is real\u2019: The troubling reality of skyrocketing euthanasia rates<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Bill puts \u201cenormous pressure\u201d on disabled, elderly and poor to opt for assisted suicide<\/strong><\/p>\n

MPs shared their concerns during the Second Reading debate before Kim Leadbeater\u2019s assisted suicide Bill passed its first hurdle at the end of November.<\/p>\n

Labour MP Paulette Hamilton\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0the Bill \u201cwould place enormous pressure on disabled, elderly and poor people to opt to end their lives so as not to be a burden on their loved ones\u201d.<\/p>\n

Labour MP Anna Dixon\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0\u201cOlder and disabled people with a terminal illness may feel an unspoken pressure to go down the route of assisted dying to protect their inheritance, or because they do not want to be a burden\u201d.<\/p>\n

Danny Kruger\u00a0referred<\/a>\u00a0to self-coercion, as opposed to external coercion from others such as family and the state, as the \u201cbigger danger\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bill has nothing to say on that. Internal pressure is absolutely fine. If you feel worthless or a burden to others, if the NHS will not offer you the treatment you need, if the local authority will not make the adjustments you need to your home, if you have to wait too long for a hospital appointment, or if you want to die because you think the system has failed you, that is absolutely fine\u201d, he\u00a0said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said \u201cJean Truchon was a leading campaigner for euthanasia and assisted suicide, but his letter, which suggests he may have chosen to live had better care been available, indicates deeper problems with the euthanasia regime in Canada. This man needed assistance to live, not to die\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cTruchon\u2019s reservations should act as a warning for the UK. With the UK healthcare system in a state of crisis, and Health Secretary Wes Streeting\u00a0describing<\/a>\u00a0the NHS as \u201cbroken\u201d, Leadbeater\u2019s dangerous Bill presents an acute threat to vulnerable people and people with disabilities\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bill still has a long way to go and serious concerns remain, even from those who voted in favour of the Bill. It can, and must be, defeated in Parliament\u201d.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: This article was originally published in Right to Life UK<\/a> and was reprinted here with permission.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Tell President Trump, RFK, Jr., Elon, and Vivek:<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Stop killing America\u2019s future. Defund Planned Parenthood NOW!<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Right to Life UK) A lead campaigner for Canada\u2019s euthanasia programme may have chosen to live if adequate care had been available, according to reports. Jean Truchon, who had cerebral palsy, was one of the key figures in\u00a0campaigning\u00a0to expand the scope of euthanasia and assisted suicide legislation in Canada in 2019 so that the law […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":669,"featured_media":254949,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[7077,5,3473],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nShocking email found after euthanasia advocate's death reveals his life might have been saved<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A lead campaigner for Canada\u2019s euthanasia program may have chosen to live if adequate care had been available, according to reports.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/canadian-euthanasia-campaigner-i-may-have-chosen-to-live-if-better-care-were-available\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shocking email found after euthanasia advocate's death reveals his life might have been saved\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A lead campaigner for Canada\u2019s euthanasia program may have chosen to live if adequate care had been available, according to reports.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/canadian-euthanasia-campaigner-i-may-have-chosen-to-live-if-better-care-were-available\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-19T16:39:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-18T20:49:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/GettyImages-1218002420-suicide-euthanasia-pills.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Right to Life UK\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Right to Life UK\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/canadian-euthanasia-campaigner-i-may-have-chosen-to-live-if-better-care-were-available#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/email-found-euthanasia-advocate-death-might-saved\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Right to Life UK\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/150f7162a1227b6c017d7c5a195741fb\"},\"headline\":\"Shocking email found after euthanasia advocate’s death reveals his life might have been saved\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-19T16:39:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-18T20:49:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/email-found-euthanasia-advocate-death-might-saved\/\"},\"wordCount\":951,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Guest Column\",\"International\",\"Newsbreak\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/email-found-euthanasia-advocate-death-might-saved\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/canadian-euthanasia-campaigner-i-may-have-chosen-to-live-if-better-care-were-available\",\"name\":\"Shocking email found after euthanasia advocate's death reveals his life might have been saved\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-19T16:39:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-18T20:49:17+00:00\",\"description\":\"A lead campaigner for Canada\u2019s euthanasia program may have chosen to live if adequate care had been available, according to reports.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/canadian-euthanasia-campaigner-i-may-have-chosen-to-live-if-better-care-were-available#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/canadian-euthanasia-campaigner-i-may-have-chosen-to-live-if-better-care-were-available\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/canadian-euthanasia-campaigner-i-may-have-chosen-to-live-if-better-care-were-available#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Shocking email found after euthanasia advocate’s death reveals his life might have been saved\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Live Action News\",\"description\":\"Covering Human Rights, Abortion, & Pro-Life Issues\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Live Action\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png\",\"width\":701,\"height\":710,\"caption\":\"Live Action\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/liveaction\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/liveactionorg\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/LiveActionFilms\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/LiveActionFilms\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/150f7162a1227b6c017d7c5a195741fb\",\"name\":\"Right to Life UK\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ee6bbdc4cbe7693ee7cbacf0cff9e7c5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ee6bbdc4cbe7693ee7cbacf0cff9e7c5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Right to Life UK\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/author\/right-to-life-uk\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Shocking email found after euthanasia advocate's death reveals his life might have been saved","description":"A lead campaigner for Canada\u2019s euthanasia program may have chosen to live if adequate care had been available, according to reports.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/canadian-euthanasia-campaigner-i-may-have-chosen-to-live-if-better-care-were-available","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Shocking email found after euthanasia advocate's death reveals his life might have been saved","og_description":"A lead campaigner for Canada\u2019s euthanasia program may have chosen to live if adequate care had been available, according to reports.","og_url":"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/canadian-euthanasia-campaigner-i-may-have-chosen-to-live-if-better-care-were-available","og_site_name":"Live Action News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction","article_published_time":"2024-12-19T16:39:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-12-18T20:49:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":650,"url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/GettyImages-1218002420-suicide-euthanasia-pills.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Right to Life UK","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@liveaction","twitter_site":"@liveaction","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Right to Life UK","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/canadian-euthanasia-campaigner-i-may-have-chosen-to-live-if-better-care-were-available#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/email-found-euthanasia-advocate-death-might-saved\/"},"author":{"name":"Right to Life UK","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/150f7162a1227b6c017d7c5a195741fb"},"headline":"Shocking email found after euthanasia advocate’s death reveals his life might have been saved","datePublished":"2024-12-19T16:39:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-18T20:49:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/email-found-euthanasia-advocate-death-might-saved\/"},"wordCount":951,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Guest Column","International","Newsbreak"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/email-found-euthanasia-advocate-death-might-saved\/","url":"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/canadian-euthanasia-campaigner-i-may-have-chosen-to-live-if-better-care-were-available","name":"Shocking email found after euthanasia advocate's death reveals his life might have been saved","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-12-19T16:39:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-18T20:49:17+00:00","description":"A lead campaigner for Canada\u2019s euthanasia program may have chosen to live if adequate care had been available, according to reports.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/canadian-euthanasia-campaigner-i-may-have-chosen-to-live-if-better-care-were-available#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/canadian-euthanasia-campaigner-i-may-have-chosen-to-live-if-better-care-were-available"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/canadian-euthanasia-campaigner-i-may-have-chosen-to-live-if-better-care-were-available#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Shocking email found after euthanasia advocate’s death reveals his life might have been saved"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/","name":"Live Action News","description":"Covering Human Rights, Abortion, & Pro-Life Issues","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization","name":"Live Action","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png","width":701,"height":710,"caption":"Live Action"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction","https:\/\/twitter.com\/liveaction","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/liveactionorg\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/LiveActionFilms\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/LiveActionFilms"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/150f7162a1227b6c017d7c5a195741fb","name":"Right to Life UK","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ee6bbdc4cbe7693ee7cbacf0cff9e7c5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ee6bbdc4cbe7693ee7cbacf0cff9e7c5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Right to Life UK"},"url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/author\/right-to-life-uk\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323300"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/669"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323300"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":323323,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323300\/revisions\/323323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}