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Quebec will be the first province in Canada to allow sick people to get help ending their own lives.
This new program will allow people with serious diseases like Alzheimer’s to apply for assistance in ending their lives while they are still able to make their own choices.
However, the program might create problems with the Canadian government which has laws about assisted death. Quebec’s Health Minister plans to discuss this topic with the federal government because the current law does not allow requests in advance like Quebec has approved.
Quebec has the power to expand the program because provinces in Canada have control over healthcare while the federal government is in charge of criminal laws.
The lawmakers in Quebec, which is the second most populated province in Canada, voted strongly in support of this rule.
People who meet the requirements can ask for help with ending their own life up to two years in advance.
Georges L’Esperance, an advocate of the new program says that people with serious diseases that become worse over time can now have a peaceful end to their lives with medical help.
After receiving criticism, the Canadian government recently decided that people who suffer from only mental illness are excluded from requesting assisted death for an additional year.
Disability advocates in Canada have criticized the assisted death program. They say that accessing assisted death has become easier than accessing resources and support to improve the quality of life of disabled people.
Vocabulary
- Province – a smaller part or region within a country, like a state or territory
- End a life – to make someone die, to cause them to no longer be alive
- Disease – illness; sickness; disorder; something that attacks the body
- Apply for – to formally request something; register
- Assistance – help or support
- Minister – a government person in charge of a department; government secretary; politician
- Discuss – to talk about something with other people, sharing ideas, opinions, or information
- Federal government – the main government of a country, responsible for making decisions and laws that apply to the whole country
- In advance – before a particular event or deadline; earlier than the expected or required time
- Request – to ask for something
- Approve – officially agree; accept; to say “yes”; authorize
- Expand – to increase in size or number; to open out; spread
- Healthcare – the services and treatments related to keeping people healthy, preventing and treating illnesses, and providing medical care
- Criminal – an act that is against the law; relating to crime;
- Lawmaker – a person, usually a politician, who makes laws; legislator;
- Populated – an area where people live; inhabited
- Vote – to give your opinion and make an official choice; a way of making a decision by asking a group of people
- Meet the requirements – to be good enough; to match or fit; to fulfill or satisfy the necessary conditions or standards
- Advocate – someone who supports or speaks in favor of a particular cause, idea, or group of people
- Over time – gradually; as time passes; refers to a change or development that happens slowly
- Criticism – a negative comment or negative opinion about something;
- Suffer – to experience pain, distress, hardship, or difficulties
- Mental illness – conditions or disorders that affect a person’s thoughts, emotions, or behavior, causing distress or impairment;
- Excluded – left out or not included in something
- Disability – a physical or mental condition that affects a person’s ability to do certain things or participate fully in daily life
- Access – to be able to use, enter, or get near something; use a service
- Resource – information or tools that can be used to help or support something else
Quiz
Discussion Questions
- What are your thoughts on Quebec’s decision to allow sick people to end their own lives? Do you believe it is the right approach?
- What are some moral or ethical problems that can come up with the assisted death program in Quebec?
- Do you think it’s right to allow people with mental illness to choose assisted death? Why or why not?
- What rules or actions do you think should be in place to make sure that the assisted death program is not used wrongly or unfairly?
Original Story
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