MAID is legal and compassionate

Re: “Christians dedicated to caring for the dying,” letter, April 4.

To refer to the legal and compassionate process of medical aid in dying (MAID) provided by caring physicians as “intentional killing” shows an ignorance of the entire procedure without which hundreds of Canadians are condemned to suffering at the end of their lives.

To use the letter-writer’s words: “Am I the only one offended?” There are several statements in his letter that offend me. However, the main offence is his presumption that he can speak for the suffering.

No one is suggesting that MAID is for everyone or that this is for anyone whose beliefs do not align with the process. However, his belief that relieving the suffering of someone who has chosen this method is unethical is offensive.

Perhaps he was offended by the original article’s comparison to relieving the suffering of animals. But I can’t say it more clearly than in the words of Dr. W. Gifford-Jones from that article: “In our real world, I believe it makes no sense for patients to endure needless pain. And they, only they, should decide when enough is enough.”

The safeguards in place in our process of applying for MAID ensure that only the individual who is suffering can request and confirm, up to the day of their death, that it is their wish to die a peaceful death in this way. This is the right of every Canadian under Bill C-14.

Jane Wilson Victoria