From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

A study reveals Ontario emergency rooms struggle to manage cancer diagnoses, leaving patients without adequate follow-up care, while euthanasia remains readily available.

Research has found that Canadians diagnosed with cancer in the emergency room are often sent home without treatment; however, euthanasia remains readily available.

According to a study published September 8 by the National Library of Medicine, Ontario emergency room doctors are struggling to serve patients diagnosed with cancer while Liberals continue to push Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD).

“It’s kind of a little bit shocking to me that given how many people cancer affects and how devastating a diagnosis it can be to receive, that we haven’t figured this out better,” one doctor told researchers.

The study found that limited primary care access, specialist shortages, and long wait times have pushed patients to seek care from the emergency room. As a result, emergency doctors are giving out cancer diagnoses but are unable to provide sufficient follow up care. “We don’t often have enough information to know further what that means, in terms of prognosis, in terms of the type of treatments that they’re going to get,” another doctor revealed. “Then, to also add on the burden and say, ‘I also don’t know when you’re going to be seen’ is just a gut punch for them.”

According to the study, poor communication between EDs, primary care, and specialists often results in “lost” patients who are either delayed or prevented from receiving the proper care. Doctors called for standardized referral pathways, patient navigators, and better support to ensure timely follow-up.

The study discovered that the lack of timely care has resulted in “higher stages of diagnosis and increased mortality.”

At the same time, Liberals are focusing on expanding MAiD rather than addressing the medical staff shortage crises. In February 2024 after pushback from pro-life, medical, and mental health groups as well as most of Canada’s provinces, the federal government delayed the mental illness expansion until 2027. Liberals are also working to expand MAiD to children.

The most recent reports show that MAiD is the sixth highest cause of death in Canada. However, it was not listed as such in Statistics Canada’s top 10 leading causes of death from 2019 to 2022.

Asked why MAiD was left off the list, the agency said that it records the illnesses that led Canadians to choose to end their lives via euthanasia, not the actual cause of death, as the primary cause of death.

According to Health Canada, in 2022, 13,241 Canadians died by MAiD lethal injections. This accounts for 4.1 percent of all deaths in the country for that year, a 31.2 percent increase from 2021.

Illustration from Robert Munsch classic I Will Love You Forever

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

Children’s writer Robert Munsch, diagnosed with dementia, has decided to end his life through euthanasia and has been approved to receive the lethal injection.

Famous Canadian author Robert Munsch has announced that he plans to end his life through euthanasia after being diagnosed with dementia.

In a September 14 interview with the New York Times, 80-year-old Canadian writer Robert Munsch revealed that he has been granted permission to be euthanized as his mind begins to deteriorate due to dementia.

“I’ve had a good life,” he reflected. “I’ve told my stories. Now I want to decide how it ends.”

Munsch is beloved to Canadians for his more than 70 children’s books, including The Paper Bag Princess, Love You Forever, Thomas’ Snowsuit, and Angela’s Airplane.

He has also received a Juno Award, induction into the Order of Canada, a star in Canada’s Walk of Fame, and has two public schools in Ontario named after him.

In 2021, Munsch was diagnosed with dementia, leading him to lose the ability to perform tasks such as riding a bike and driving. Munsch lamented that he wonders if in a year he lose all his mental facilities and become a “turnip” – a denigrating reference to the disabled.

Munsch noted that he can feel his creativity slipping “further and further away.” He added that he plans to end his life “when I start having real trouble talking and communicating. Then I’ll know.”

Sadly, Munsch is hardly the only Canadian to believe that ending his life through euthanasia is the only solution to suffering. In a recent podcast interview, Cardinal Timothy Dolan revealed that euthanasia is not only the “cheapening of human life,” but also removes the power of redemptive suffering.

He revealed that while his mother suffered for a long time in the hospital, she valued her life and would not have ended it prematurely.

“God’s ways are not our ways,” he explained, noting that sometimes suffering can seem pointless but God always has a greater plan.

Similarly, Bishop Joseph Strickland explained that “True compassion does not eliminate suffering by eliminating the one who suffers. Rather, it means walking with the sick and dying and offering authentic palliative care, emotional support, and spiritual accompaniment. It is in these moments – when we are most vulnerable – that we must be reminded that our worth is not measured by our health, our productivity, or our independence, but by the fact that we are beloved children of God who are made in His image and likeness.”

The dangerous effects of a euthanasia culture are visible in Canada, where patients are waitlisted for health care but have ready access to euthanasia.

The most recent reports show that euthanasia is the sixth-highest cause of death in Canada. However, it was not listed as such in Statistics Canada’s top 10 leading causes of death from 2019 to 2022.

According to Health Canada, in 2022, 13,241 Canadians died by euthanasia lethal injections. This accounts for 4.1 percent of all deaths in the country for that year, a 31.2 percent increase from 2021.