Government Will Pay for Disabled Man’s Assisted Suicide, But Not for Independent Living Services

International   |   Wesley Smith   |   Mar 19, 2018   |   4:07PM   |   Ottawa, Canada

Will euthanasia be about money? Does CNN hate Donald Trump?

In 2008, two Oregon terminally ill patients on rationed Medicaid were denied coverage for life-extending chemotherapy, but received letters from administrators offering to pay for their assisted suicides.

Now, a Canadian man with serious disabilities has been refused coverage for independent living services — but offered payment by Canadian Medicare for the costs of obtaining a lethal jab. From the CTVNews story:

Foley’s request to the Centre for Independent Living in Toronto (CILT), where he was directed to apply, was denied last year. Foley asked for a review of that decision, but his lawsuit alleges that the review process has been delayed multiple times as the CILT defaulted on deadlines.

So he hired lawyer Ken Berger.

“We don’t really understand why it’s not being solved and why we’ve had to file this lawsuit for Roger,” Berger, who specializes in health law, told CTV News. “We really didn’t want to reach this stage, but we were left with no alternative.”

According to Foley’s statement of claim, the only two options offered to him have been a “forced discharge” from the hospital “to work with contracted agencies that have failed him” or medically assisted death. Refusing to leave the hospital and unwilling to die by a doctor’s hand, Foley claims he has been threatened with a $1,800 per day hospital bill, which is roughly the non-OHIP daily rate for a hospital stay.

Can you imagine the screaming if a private health-insurance company were alleged to have forced these alternatives to a man with disabilities wanting independent living assistance? The screaming would be heard in China.

But this is socialized single-payer socialism. So, expect a much more muted response.

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Coercion to “choose” assisted suicide/euthanasia will come in many guises. This is one of them.

Those with eyes to see, let them see.

LifeNews.com Note: Wesley J. Smith, J.D., is a special consultant to the Center for Bioethics and Culture and a bioethics attorney who blogs at Human Exeptionalism.