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Letter: Be careful in using the term euthanasia

Re: Bill Catalano’s letter “ Actually, euthanasia is all about care ,” published Aug. 21. In his letter, Mr. Catalano makes reference to two different end-of-life scenarios: the termination of life-sustaining medical care and assisted suicide.

Re: Bill Catalano’s letter “Actually, euthanasia is all about care,” published Aug. 21.


In his letter, Mr. Catalano makes reference to two different end-of-life scenarios: the termination of life-sustaining medical care and assisted suicide.

Assisted suicide involves the performance of an action in order to cause death (e.g., the administration of a drug). On the other hand, the termination of life-sustaining care involves not administering treatments without which death will ensue naturally.

It is unfortunate that the term “euthanasia” is sometimes used for both cases, but from an ethical and legal perspective, they are quite different.

In Canada, assisted suicide is currently an offence under the Criminal Code. On the other hand, withholding life-sustaining care can be permissible when there is no hope of recovery.

In the latter case, court challenges can still sometimes ensue when there is disagreement between the patient, the family and the medical staff as to what should be done. Allowing life to end is not at all the same as choosing to end life.

As anyone who has worked in palliative care can attest, the final moments of life, even in pain and debilitation, can be immensely meaningful both for patients and for their loved ones.

Even when drugs can no longer keep pain in check, it has been shown that good palliative care can both reduce the level of perceived pain and make it bearable.

The cognitive decline and personality changes present in the advanced stages of dementing illnesses like Alzheimer’s can often be immensely distressing for family and loved ones, but it does not necessarily mean that the subjective experience lived by the patient at that point is unbearably painful.

It is important to approach cases like this with great humility, because the truth is, we really don’t know what is going on inside such individuals. Moments of lucidity in even the most severe cases suggests that they may be more alive than we think.

J.P. Rank
Sudbury