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A Paralympic Army veteran told stunned lawmakers in Canada when she claimed a government official offered to give her euthanasia equipment while she campaigned to have a wheelchair lift installed in her home.
Retired corporal Christine Gauthier, who competed in the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, testified Thursday that the unnamed veterans’ affairs clerk wrote to her offering to provide her with a medically-assisted euthanasia device, the CBC reported.
“I have a letter that says we can offer you MAID, madam, if you are that desperate, medical assistance in dying,” Ms Gauthier, 52, told a House of Commons Veterans Affairs Committee, according to CBC.
According to Global News, three other disabled veterans were said to have been offered the same equipment.
Testifying in French, Ms Gauthier said she had written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to express her concerns.
Mr Trudeau on Friday said the incident was “completely unacceptable,” the CBC reported.
“We are conducting investigations and changing protocols to ensure that it should seem obvious to all of us: that this is not the place for Veterans Affairs Canada to be, to support the people who are committed to their service have land to offer them medical assistance when they die,” Mr Trudeau is said to have said.
Medical assistance in dying has been legal in Canada for terminally ill residents since 2016.
The law was expanded in 2022 to include people living with debilitating disabilities or pain, even if their lives are not in immediate danger.
Advocacy group Dying With Dignity describes the process as “driven by compassion, the end of suffering and discrimination, and a desire for personal autonomy.”
Christine Gauthier competes in the Women’s KL2 Canoe Sprint at Lagoa Stadium during the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
(Matthew Murnaghan/Canada Paralympic Committee)
However, some human rights defenders and religious groups say the rules are open to abuse, lack necessary safeguards and can devalue the lives of people with disabilities.
Canada’s Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay testified before the same committee last week that up to five cases of veterans who were offered the euthanasia equipment by a Veterans Affairs officer had been referred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
He said all cases involved a single employee who has since been suspended.
Lawmakers apologized to Ms Gauthier, a five-time world skydiving champion who also competed in this year’s Invictus Games.
She lost her legs after sustaining an injury during military training in 1989.