Is there a correlation? Some say yes, others no. Assisted dying has been a hot button topic for years, and there will likely be no end to the different opinions and view points. But over the last couple of years the government have rehashed the debate by becoming more open to the idea, including legalizing it with conditions.
On June 17th, 2016 Ontario doctors and nurse practitioners are allowed to provide the option of assisted dying, thanks to new federal legislation.
The legislation was a response to a previous ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada in February of 2015, that struck down the law that prohibited medical assistance in dying.
Dr.Ingrid Mattson is the chair of Islamic Studies at Huron University College at Western, and says that palliative care is aware of a startling trend to society’s outlook.
“This is a system of support that takes a lot of social resources, a lot of personal resources and my concern is that.. in a society where everything seems to come down to dollars and cents and efficiency- Are we going to get to the point where we say…is this life worth spending this amount of money (on)?”
Dr. Mattson says that there is room for improvement in treating patients in palliative care.
Whether you like it or not assisted dying is a choice some make for a number of reasons; such as to ease their suffering and their families, or to go out on their terms and not someone else’s. All signs point to an increase of ‘popularity’ of this route, but at the very least the new laws have made people have the conversation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfWySmysllI