Canadian MAiD case erupts in controversy as family alleges that an 83 year old grandmother died without her consent.

 

Brigitte Stegemann (left) and her granddaughter Brigitte Kranendonk. Fox News. 

The family of a 83 year old woman who died under Canada's Medically Assistance in Dying program is alleging that she was killed against her will. Fox News. The woman, Brigitte Kranendonk, suffered from stomach cancer and her granddaughter, Brigitte Stegemann, had power of attorney over her. She was in an elderly care program and while the daughter was on vacation, a nurse recommended MAiD for Kranendonk. Stegemann claimed that Kranendonk had opposed MAiD for religious grounds, but when she returned Kranendonk had already been signed up. She also alleges that the doctors misled her grandmother and that she appeared to not understand what was happening. The incident brings further criticism of Canada's MAiD program, which is now responsible for 1 in 20 deaths in the country. An investigation into this case is ongoing and could lead to charges. 

My Comment:

I don't think I have changed my mind on any other issue more than these assisted suicide laws and what is happening in Canada is a major reason why. "Canadian healthcare" use to be a left wing talking point in favor of socialized medicine but now? Now it's shorthand for a government killing its citizens. 

To be fair, nothing in this case has been tried yet. It's possible that the granddaughter is wrong and that Kranendonk truly did want to die. She did have cancer and could have been in pain. It's possible the granddaughter was seeing things that weren't there or is trying to be an advocate. 

However, that seems unlikely. I can't say for sure that this case is exactly how it has been described, but I would put money on it given what I have heard in similar cases from Canada. I am guessing that Stegemann is telling the truth. And if she is? Then this is murder, not assisted suicide, even by the laws of Canada. 

I don't really trust Canada to actually investigate this either. Sure, there is the idea that they might want to come down hard on any violators of the law so folks will have faith in the program, but I doubt it. Canada has made MAiD a keystone program of their healthcare and I doubt they would relish a case that calls it into question. I don't think they will be able to cover anything up, but I don't think the investigation will be valid either. 

Regardless, I do think that this case shows that the MAiD program is a mess. It seems very clear that the nurses and doctors are pushing MAiD as hard as they can. I won't speculate too much what the motivation in this case is, but it could be that they were true believers and actually thought they were helping, regardless of what Kranendonk wanted. 

But my real fear is that MAiD is mostly used to save money for Canada's socialized medicine. End of life care is expensive and by ending the life of 1 in 20 Canadians is probably saving millions of dollars. So there is a real incentive there to push it on vulnerable people, like this 83 year old grandmother. That might not have been what happened here, but it seems very possible.