In support of medical assistance in dying

Re Medically assisted dying needs better monitoring, Aug. 29

Yes, medical assistance in dying, or MAID, needs monitoring. And the government has announced a plan to do so. But Catherine Frazee is using this issue to continue espousing her opposition to MAID.

She says too little is known about how persons who are eligible for MAID actually experience this new “choice.” This is false. Dying with Dignity Canada has many articles available on its website from people who plan to use MAID, or from families who are so grateful for having had the option — families that share their pain and their relief at having been able to help their loved ones.

Frazee says assisted dying is a departure from the Hippocratic oath. It’s not a departure, but rather an interpretation of the promise that doctors will do no harm.

MAID allows doctors to help ease the suffering of the dying by not prolonging that suffering with endless pointless medical treatments, or bending to the will of religious fanatics.

I do agree with Frazee’s last statement. To monitor MAID responsibly, “we must hear more voices, probe for more answers and be more fearless in the face of what those answers might reveal.” Question is, will Frazee accept what they reveal? Susan Bracken, Toronto

LESLYE DAVIS NEW YORK TIMES FILE PHOTO In 2017, John Shields received medical assistance in dying in B.C. He said it made him feel empowered over his incurable disease, rather than feel crippled by it.