Woman with cerebral palsy urged to consider assisted suicide by nurse

Heather Hancock, a long-term sufferer of cerebral palsy, cared for at the Alberta Hospital in Canada, was told to “do the right thing and consider MAiD.”

MAiD is the Medical Assistance in Dying programme in Canada.

Heather was being helped by her nurse to access the bathroom after experiencing muscle spasms at night when the nurse told Heather, “You’re being selfish. You’re not living, you’re merely existing.”

Heather was appalled and told the nurse, “My life has value. You have no right to push me to accept MAiD”. She complained and the nurse was taken off Heather’s care team.

Health Alberta responded that the nurse’s comments were “entirely unacceptable.”

Heather says she has experienced medical staff suggesting she should consider MAiD on three separate occasions.

Here in the UK, there is increasing pressure for assisted suicide to be legalised with legislation currently being considered in Scotland, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

Baroness Ilora Finlay, a professor of palliative medicine and a cross-bench peer, has said that “we should not for­get that laws are more than just reg­u­lat­ory instru­ments. They also send power­ful social mes­sages.

An assisted dying law sends the sub­lim­in­al mes­sage, how­ever unin­ten­ded by legis­lat­ors, that if we are ter­min­ally ill tak­ing our own lives is some­thing we should consider.”