Assisted dying can be a gift
· Citizen
The question of whether you should legally be allowed to take your life by choosing the time and day of your death is much more than something for an esoteric high school debate.
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In Canada, where “assisted dying” has been legal since 2016, one in 20 people who died in 2023 chose themselves when they would go.
For many families living with a member who is terminally ill, the law has brought grace and peace.
Josee Poissant’s mother died surrounded by her children and their partners, listening to the music she loved.
“She was at peace. She sang until she went to sleep.”
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Poissant remembers it as a beautiful and moving moment. “There isn’t a good way to die, but for me this was the best” and it was “a privilege to have the time to say goodbye”.
A parliamentary committee is set to start work next month on whether assisted dying should be extended to those suffering exclusively from mental illness.
Among critics, there are fears that assisted dying can become a “form of therapy” when all life should be fought for until the end.
But, if life is the ultimate gift, should we not think of a peaceful and merciful death as an equally important gift?