To the editor,
In early spring 1957 my Grandma went into her garden and picked a bunch of snowdrops to send to me. A couple of weeks later she collapsed into a deep coma and died in her own bed within three weeks. At 83 she had lived an independent life to the end, with some help from the family.
Come summer 1993 my Mum and I went on a trip to Wales and had a visit down a slate mine. A couple of weeks later she went into a deep coma but this time we had to watch her for six months before she died. At 88 she had lived an independent life with some help from the U.K. government and family.
In a few weeks I will be 89 and I live an active, interesting, and independent life with help from 211 and my friends.
But even though I carefully made a decision about medical assistance in dying after discussions with close friends and my doctor some years ago, under the proposals in Bill C-7 my wishes will, in all likelihood, be ignored. I will have no choice over my own body.
Pat Portsmouth, Nanaimo
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