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Joelle

I am deeply disgusted about the revision of Bill C-7 and the extension of MAiD eligibility to Canadians with mental illness as the sole condition underlying their request after March 2024. Since the legalization of Medical Assistance in Dying in 2016, the number of Canadians accessing MAiD has increased significantly. Normalizing euthanasia will reinforce the hopelessness inherent in mental illness and erode the support offered them by the community. To be human is to be vulnerable. To be a citizen of Canada with a mental disorder or disability will be dangerous if Bill C-7 amendment is passed. As a person who did not wish to live any longer due to mental illness years ago, if MAiD was available then, I'd just be talked into ending my life instead of getting the help I needed??? Well if that were the case, I would not have gotten help, not completed university, not gotten married, not had a child, and not enjoy the life I live now. My parents would have been without a daughter, my siblings withouot a sister, my aunts and uncles without a niece, my friends without a friend, my husband wouldn't have met me, and my and my precious child wouldn't exist. I am utterly disgusted that my life and the lives of many I know are not as valuable as someone without mental illness. And you should realize that a mentally ill person often in the moment wants to kill themselves and often needs to be certified in an institution until they can get healthy again and not want to end their life. Mentally ill people were some of those killed back in the holocaust, because they didn't measure up to the "perfect society" Hitler was trying to create. You really want to do this to a large group of our society, thus aligning yourself with Hitler's values?? Reguarding other disabilities, loneliness, vulnerability, and the fear of being a burden are just some of the issues that have been brought forward regarding people facing end of life decisions. If those are the reasons a person might no longer want to live, that may be more a reflection on how our disabled persons are treated than the real desire to end their lives. Euthanasia is not a cure for pain, disabilities, mental anguish, or loneliness: It is a death sentence. As a Christian, I support the sanctity of life from birth to natural death. There are also many doctors who are Christians, as well as from other backgrounds who would have to stop practising medicine if this bill went through as ending someone's life would violate their beliefs. Many doctors still stick to the Hippocratic Oath; "I will do no harm or injustice to them.[their patients] Neither will I administer a poison to anybody when asked to do so, nor will I suggest such a course." Does that mean killing vulnerable people, espcially those not in their right minds? Definitely not! If this Bill is passed, expect to have a shortage of doctors. Many are moving to the US for better pay and many other reasons and this will just give moral doctors the biggest reason to leave Alberta. It is imperative that the fears and concerns of all Canadians be considered before expanding MAiD. Please do not under any circumstances extend Bill C-7’s of MAiD eligibility to Canadians whose sole eligibility arises from mental illness. CHOOSE LIFE!!!

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