Canadian Paralympian: I asked for a disability ramp - and was offered euthanasia
STEVEN EDGINTON
September 2, 2023
Christine Gauthier, pictured with George W Bush at the 2016 Invictus Games, also competed at the Paralympics that same year - AP Photo/John Raoux
A Canadian army veteran and former Paralympian said she was offered euthanasia after enquiring about installing a disabled lift in her home.
Christine Gauthier, who served 10 years in the Canadian armed forces and represented her country in the 2016 Paralympic Games, was told she had the “right to die” by a caseworker from Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), a government agency.
The comment, said to have been made last year, followed the introduction of new laws by Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party in 2016 legalising euthanasia for terminally ill Canadians.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Ms Gauthier, who requires a wheelchair because of irreversible injuries from her time in the military, said after initially submitting her request for the disabled equipment in 2018, in 2022 a VAC employee “called me to make a point of where we’re at [with the lift]”.
She continued: “And I said, I just can’t keep going like this. I can’t keep living like this. Like, this has to be done. This has to be resolved.”
“And the person stated, ‘You know, Madame Gauthier, if you really feel you can’t go on like this, if you feel that you can’t do it anymore, you know, you have the right to die?’”
The veteran said she was shocked at the comments, exclaiming: “I can’t believe after all of this time, not only will you not give me the equipment I need to live, but you will help me die?
“It’s really hard to understand this when you feel, or may be blinded enough, or stupid enough, to believe that your government is there to help you, and not to end your life because you’re becoming too pricey, or too much of a problem.”
Legislators in the UK are considering a Private Member’s Bill, currently in the House of Lords, which would legalise euthanasia.
Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister
September 2, 2023
Christine Gauthier, pictured with George W Bush at the 2016 Invictus Games, also competed at the Paralympics that same year - AP Photo/John Raoux
A Canadian army veteran and former Paralympian said she was offered euthanasia after enquiring about installing a disabled lift in her home.
Christine Gauthier, who served 10 years in the Canadian armed forces and represented her country in the 2016 Paralympic Games, was told she had the “right to die” by a caseworker from Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), a government agency.
The comment, said to have been made last year, followed the introduction of new laws by Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party in 2016 legalising euthanasia for terminally ill Canadians.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Ms Gauthier, who requires a wheelchair because of irreversible injuries from her time in the military, said after initially submitting her request for the disabled equipment in 2018, in 2022 a VAC employee “called me to make a point of where we’re at [with the lift]”.
She continued: “And I said, I just can’t keep going like this. I can’t keep living like this. Like, this has to be done. This has to be resolved.”
“And the person stated, ‘You know, Madame Gauthier, if you really feel you can’t go on like this, if you feel that you can’t do it anymore, you know, you have the right to die?’”
The veteran said she was shocked at the comments, exclaiming: “I can’t believe after all of this time, not only will you not give me the equipment I need to live, but you will help me die?
“It’s really hard to understand this when you feel, or may be blinded enough, or stupid enough, to believe that your government is there to help you, and not to end your life because you’re becoming too pricey, or too much of a problem.”
Legislators in the UK are considering a Private Member’s Bill, currently in the House of Lords, which would legalise euthanasia.
Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister
