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Lia Mills of Canada: “As a nation we need to kill the pain not the patient. If euthanasia is allowed, the frail line of trust between doctor and patient would be destroyed.”
Thirteen-year-old Lia Mills, who wowed judges and garnered international attention last year for her bold speech on abortion, has done it–again but this time the young Toronto native explores the devastating consequences Canada would face if it welcomed euthanasia, and implores Canadians to find ways of caring for suffering patients rather than killing them.
“Imagine a society where people live in constant fear of their lives,” she begins, “Where hospitals don’t treat people for their illnesses, but kill them instead, because someone determines that their lives are no longer worth living, where we no longer struggle with accommodating people’s disabilities because the disabled are simply disposed of before they become a problem.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is precisely this kind of society that is waiting for us if we openly embrace the concept of euthanasia,” she continues.
Lia then gives a clear definition of euthanasia as the direct and intentional killing of a patient, “Originally suggested as a compassionate means to end pain and suffering.”
Explaining that euthanasia advocates argue, “We should end lives that are no longer worth living,” Lia asks, “What makes your life worth living?”
“Does suffering or pain make life not worth living?” she continues. “If so, how should we define pain and suffering? You see, for those who support euthanasia, the categories known as ‘pain and suffering’ have grown and continue to grow.”
“Why should we resort to treating the mentally and physically ill by killing them?” she asks further, emphasizing that, “We need to pursue advances in palliative care.”
Throughout the speech, she focuses on the example set by the Netherlands, which legalized euthanasia in 2002. In particular, she highlights the fact that a large percentage of victims in that country have been euthanized without their consent.
She also relates how Dr. Els Borst, the “architect” of the Dutch euthanasia laws, as she says, has admitted recently that palliative care in the Netherlands is so inadequate that, “Patients often ask for euthanasia out of fear of dying in agony.” Dr. Borst, the former Dutch Health Minister, has stated that the Netherlands should have focused on improving palliative care rather than on legalizing euthanasia.
“We need to learn from the Dutch,” says Lia. “As a nation we need to kill the pain not the patient. If euthanasia is allowed, the frail line of trust between doctor and patient would be destroyed.”
She also refers to the experience in Nazi Germany, where the practice of euthanasia eventually led to greater atrocities, such as the Holocaust.
Euthanasia advocates, she explains, have framed the practice as being about “death with dignity.” “To be honest, I must admit that I am a death with dignity advocate,” she concedes. “I believe that every person has the right to die knowing that she’s loved and that his doctors did everything they could to make him well and comfortable. I believe that palliative care is the best option for patients who truly want to die with dignity.”
Euthanasia is a threat to Canadians’ Charter-protected rights to life, liberty, and security of person, she concludes. “If euthanasia is a threat to even one person, it is a threat to us all,” she says. “When will someone else decide that your life is no longer worth living?” View Lia’s video on YouTube.com.
