13-year-old Lia Mills, who wowed judges and garnered widespread
international attention last year for her bold speech on abortion (a
video of that speech has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times),
has taken on euthanasia this year.
In another powerful and articulate address, the young Toronto native
explores the devastating consequences Canada would face if it welcomed
euthanasia, and implores Canadians to find ways of caring for suffering
patients rather than killing them.
"Imagine a society where people live in constant fear of their lives,”
she begins, “where hospitals don't treat people for their illnesses,
but kill them instead, because someone determines that their lives are
no longer worth living, where we no longer struggle with accommodating
people's disabilities because the disabled are simply disposed of
before they become a problem.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is precisely this kind of society that is
waiting for us if we openly embrace the concept of euthanasia,” she
continues.
Lia then gives a clear definition of euthanasia as the direct and
intentional killing of a patient, “originally suggested as a
compassionate means to end pain and suffering.”
Lia's speech on abortion last year, which won her school's public
speaking competition, has now been viewed over 850,000 times on
Youtube. The story was LSN's most popular good news story of
2009, and
she shared a revised version of the speech at last year's National
March for Life in Ottawa.
A description attached to the Youtube video of her speech on euthanasia
notes that Lia did not win the school's competition this year, but that
she got an A nevertheless.
Explaining that euthanasia advocates argue “we should end lives that
are no longer worth living,” Lia asks, “what makes your life worth
living?”
"Does suffering or pain make life not worth living?” she
continues.
“If so, how should we define pain and suffering? You see, for
those
who support euthanasia, the categories known as 'pain and suffering'
have grown and continue to grow.”
"Why should we resort to treating the mentally and physically ill by
killing them?" she asks further, emphasizing that “we need to pursue
advances in palliative care.”
Throughout the speech, she focuses on the example set by the
Netherlands, which legalized euthanasia in 2002. In particular,
she
highlights the fact that a large percentage of victims in that country
have been euthanized without their consent.
She also relates how Dr. Els Borst, the “architect” of the Dutch
euthanasia laws, as she says, has admitted recently that palliative
care in the Netherlands is so inadequate that "patients often ask for
euthanasia out of fear of dying in agony." Dr. Borst, the former
Dutch
Health Minister, has stated that the Netherlands should have focused on
improving palliative care rather than on legalizing euthanasia.
"We need to learn from the Dutch,” says Lia. “As a nation we need
to
kill the pain not the patient. If euthanasia is allowed, the
frail
line of trust between doctor and patient would be destroyed.”
She also refers to the experience in Nazi Germany, where the practice
of euthanasia eventually led to greater atrocities, such as the
Holocaust.
Euthanasia advocates, she explains, have framed the practice as being
about “death with dignity.” "To be honest, I must admit that I am
a
death with dignity advocate,” she concedes. “I believe that every
person has the right to die knowing that she's loved and that his
doctors did everything they could to make him well and
comfortable. I
believe that palliative care is the best option for patients who truly
want to die with dignity."
Euthanasia is a threat to Canadians' Charter-protected rights to life,
liberty, and security of person, she concludes. "If
euthanasia is a
threat to even one person, it is a threat to us all,” she says.
“When
will someone else decide that your life is no longer worth living?"
The IFRL is the largest grassroots pro-life organization in
Illinois. A non-profit organization, that serves as the state
coordinating body for local pro-life chapters representing thousands of
Illinois citizens working to restore respect for all human life in our
society. The IFRL is composed of people of different political
persuasions, various faiths and diverse economic, social and ethnic
backgrounds. Since 1973 the Illinois Federation for Right to Life has
been working to end abortion and restore legal protection to those members of the
human family who are threatened by abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. Diverse though we are, we hold one common belief - that
every human being has an inalienable right to life that is precious and must be protected. IFRL is
dedicated to restoring the right to life to the unborn, and protection
for the disabled and the elderly.Click here to learn more about the IFRL.
