Self-administered death made easier
KAMLOOPS — A new drug in Canada will make medically-assisted death easier. It can’t come soon enough.
If I had a terminal illness that made my life a living hell, I would want medical assistance in dying (MAID). Since it has been legal in Canada since 2016, it should be easy. All I have to do is find a doctor who is willing to administer the drugs. And then make sure I’m living in the right place. That’s where things get tricky, as Horst Saffarek found out.
Horst Saffarek lived in a Catholic residential care facility in Comox, B.C. When his lungs began to fail, he wanted help in dying. The publicly-funded Catholic institution wouldn’t allow MAID at their facility, citing moral principles.
Horst was becoming frailer each day and breathing became difficult. His daughter, Lisa Saffarek, told CBC’s The Current: