Sick Kids hoping to change Ontario’s euthanasia policy

By Ashley Gholampoor 

Toronto’s Hospital of Sick Kids is drafting a policy to permit children under the age of 18 to have the decision to euthanize themselves.

The Sick Kids’ group said the hospital has doctors who are more than capable of performing euthanasia to youth safely. The law in Ontario allows any person over the age of 18 to make the decision as long as they are deemed mature. In a National Post article it states that certain requests from youth would be very small numbers and any changes would include the hospital policy as well.

A Windsor man is against the proposed policy. Kristopher Roehler said his son’s death was the hardest thing he has ever had to deal with. Christian was just a year and a half old when he died in the summer of 2008 from Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.

“It was peaceful in a strange way,” said Roehler.

Lucas, Roehler’s second son was born in 2011, also with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. Lucas was only three months old when he was diagnosed.

“You do whatever you can because it’s your child,” said Roehler.

He said it was a miracle Lucas recovered.

“I hug that kid every single day,” said Roehler.

Roehler said no child should ever be given the option to euthanize. He thinks children may not always be completely informed and neither are their parents. He said parents sometimes make decisions without knowing which answer is the right one.

“Life is very valuable and I don’t think we should take it prematurely,” said Roehler.

A Belle River woman said she had not heard about the policy, but she’s not too surprised because the hospital is a very patient-focused institution.

Connie Davies’ 13-year-old daughter has been in and out of surgeries for intestinal failure. Her large intestine was removed when she was six years old and she uses a feeding tube.

“At a certain point we would need to stop and allow that child to decide what is next for them,” said Davies. “That being said you’d be looking at how much that child has been through and know that the child would never be considering euthanasia if they truly knew they were done fighting.”

Davies said the policy may only work at major hospitals. She said Windsor does not treat these kinds of patients because the pediatric facility is too small.

“I am torn. I am for it because I know the suffering and the decision to die is not by any means one wants to make if they know or thought they could live,” said Davies. “I just find it difficult to think about becoming an answer and afraid that it may lead to other issues. The elderly, the disabled, where will it stop?”

Both Davies and Roehler said fighting and trying is very important.

“I truly hope that they meticulously contemplate every aspect of every possible situation before they do and define the absolute legislative medical treatment, medical diagnosis and medical outcomes that provide patients and families all information before they are given euthanasia as an option,” said Davies.