An elderly woman had her life tragically end in a terrible tale from Canada that should remind Americans why assisted suicide laws are abusive and coercive.
An 83-year-old grandmother died July 10 by way of the country’s Medical Assistance in Dying program.
Brigitte Stegemann was a devout Christian; the U.K.’s Daily Mail said she had made it clear that assisted suicide conflicted with her faith.
According to her family and comments she made before passing, doctors allegedly euthanized her against her will.
The Mail says Stegemann received a stage four stomach cancer diagnosis five months before her death.
She had been in assisted living in Ontario for two years.
Her granddaughter, Brigitte Kranendonk, held power of attorney, functioning as “the primary contact for all medical and personal care decisions.”
Two months before Stegemann died, a statement from the family recalled the idea of assisted suicide was discussed. “At that time, GG [Stegemann] clearly stated that she did not wish to pursue it. As a devout Christian, she explicitly expressed that MAID conflicted with her personal beliefs and faith.”
Kranendonk and other family members expressed concern as sometimes Stegemann would appear sedated, but other times clear-minded and talkative. They did not support MAID, saying she “was not mentally capable of making such a significant decision independently.”
A physician asked Stegemann — who had 13 siblings- – how many brothers and sisters she had. The response was one. Despite the family’s misgivings and Stegemann’s lack of knowledge about her life, the same physician concluded, “I have deemed her capable of making her own decisions,” to the family.
What came next was absolutely harrowing. Kranendonk asked her grandmother about the decision. She was shocked.
“I’m going to die Friday? They’re going to kill me Friday?” she said, weeping and saying she’d made a mistake.
This is a barbaric act. An innocent Christian woman should still be with us. Pray for all those involved that the Lord may protect them at this awful, heartbreaking time.
It’s an appalling reminder of what similar laws will bring us in the United States. Wednesday saw New York state’s New York Medical Aid in Dying Act go into effect.
The law aims to allow “a terminally ill, mentally capable adult with a prognosis of 6 months or less to live to have the option to request, obtain and decide to ingest medication to die peacefully in their sleep if suffering is unbearable.”
The state finds itself in a lawsuit with several Roman Catholic organizations for the same reasons Stegemann gave — it is against their faith to engage in something that devalues life.
Several Catholic groups that care for the sick and elderly are involved, along with Bishop John Barres, who noted situations will occur just like Stegemann’s.
“Assisted suicide is a grave moral failure that puts the elderly, the disabled, and those suffering from mental and emotional illness at risk of abuse and manipulation,” he said.
“Christ the Divine Physician calls us to accompany the sick and dying with compassion, not abandon them to death. The court should protect that millennia-old mission.”
Based on the allegations from Stegemann’s family, that’s what happened to this poor woman.
She was abused and manipulated into dying.
