this post was submitted on 15 Jul 2023
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[–] [email protected] 145 points 1 year ago (8 children)

I am a proponent of MAID, but I find it extremely disturbing that we're opening up MAID to conditions that aren't even covered under our social health system. We are openly saying that we consider mental health issues too expensive to treat and would prefer that people with these conditions just die already. Social supports for people with disabilities and expanding health care to include mental health coverage should absolutely be part of this, or we're just being murderous ghouls as a society.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I agree in principle, but that's not what's happening in the real world.

My husband has ME/CFS. It's a life-destroying disease, even though it doesn't usually kill you. There's no treatment, no cure, and no idea about the underlying cause, after many decades of research.

It's heartbreaking to read messages from people who caught it as a teen, seen all their schoolfriend grow up, experience life, find love etc, all while the sufferer is in pain all day, no hope of improving, relying heavily on what family they have who are willing to support.

This is by no means ideal, but neither is decades of suffering. I err on the side of reducing the constant pain.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

To be fair, that's a poor example, as the research on ME/CFS is dogshit. It never gets the attention it deserves and its victims suffer in deafening silence, because it's not some sexy field to research and there's no immediate, highly visible threat to the almighty economy.

We're seeing this mirrored with long COVID. At least 16 million Americans are suffering from it β€” nearly 1 in 20 β€” and, even with rates that enormously high, research is moving at a glacial pace. There's no operation warp speed, no coordinated global effort, nobody in world leadership gives a fuck.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Mental illness treatments are often ineffective. Those with mental illness tend to suffer lifelong, even if they can afford care.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago

I’m not sure it’s as crystallized as that yet, but I agree with your sentiment. Everyone should have the right to choose to die but if the reason is β€œthere was no other option,” then, we should be damn well sure we offered everything we could. Let’s not be taking societal shortcuts to β€œoh well, we gave it our best shot.”

I support someone’s right to end their own suffering, 100%, but it is very bad form to: be ABLE to help someone, INGORE that they are suffering, but SMILE while helping them polish their gun.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yep. I believe people should have choices, but after proper care. My daughter has Anorexia, but since she was still not an adult she had access to a counsellor, medication, and programs. It turned her life around. But once you are 19+ there is nothing unless you have lots of money

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

unless your have lots of money

That's the key right there isn't it?

Why should the wealthy elite of this society be the only ones to get access to the care they need to stay alive and well???

We are becoming a society with castes. This will not go well.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

πŸŒπŸ‘¨β€πŸš€πŸ”«πŸ‘¨β€πŸš€

It's getting exacerbated though.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It doesn't help when a government offical got in trouble for suggesting a veteran apply for MAID when they complained about having chronic pain.

There's a conspiracy theory that the government has rolled out MAID as a way to lower healthcare costs by just killing people instead of treating them and stories like these add fuel to that fire.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Man I wouldn't even be surprised at this point.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Right! This is just assisted suicide. What our government is saying is basically that they prefer you go and die instead of giving you treatment.

What the fuck.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

To be honest, I'd be in support of assisted suicide. I support total bodily autonomy, in all aspects.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

I agree with this as long as the solution is more healthcare, not less MAID. The latter is just cruelty.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah, like I think the option should exist once you've passed certain qualifiers. But being mentally ill has so many consequences from capitalism. I myself struggle with metal health at times, and those times are always at their absolute worst financial problems come up. And our society is extremely difficult to get started in. Most people my age are only one paycheck away from desperation. When you're mentally ill poverty is a symptom, you're that much less capable of working. And society refuses to help you in the long term. You'll always have to face your own unreliability as an existential threat, which worsens how unreliable you are.

It is morally wrong to euthanize people because capitalism has decided they have no worth, and because they can never have a life worth living without society changing. But thats almost never what people want to talk about, they want to talk about how it's just wrong to let the unwell die. Never about how they can prevent us from becoming so unwell we cannot function.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

You could give free mental health to every Canadian and still 3/4 of it would never use it due to stigma, so it wouldn't even cost as much as they think