OFFING THE POOR: Canadian man facing homelessness applies for medically assisted death

By kevinhughes // 2022-11-22

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A Canadian man has applied to be legally euthanized as he deemed dying as a better option than being homeless. Amir Farsoud, 54, applied for the drastic measure after the rooming house where he lives was placed on the market. Farsoud lives with exhausting, incurable back pain, which permitted him to qualify for Canada's controversial medical assistance in dying (MAiD) program. (Related: People with disabilities oppose Canada's proposed expansion of euthanasia law.) But it wasn't his back pain that made Farsoud apply, but rather the possibility of homelessness after Canada's social services failed to give him support.

Stranger saves Farsoud's life

Farsoud has already acquired one of the two doctor signatures needed to be accepted in the MAiD program, but he eventually changed his mind when a GoFundMe page established in his name by a stranger raised over $60,000, which is enough to get him a new house. "I don't want to die, but I don't want to be homeless more than I don't want to die. It's not my first choice," Farsoud said in an interview with City News. Farsoud is living off of social services, but the allowance is so meager he is left with just $7 daily for food and hardly anything to pay for rent. When the rooming house he shares with two other individuals went up for sale, he decided to apply for MAiD. With his chronic back pain, Farsoud said he would possibly die on the streets anyway. So he thought he may as well end his life in a simple manner. "I know, in my present health condition, I wouldn't survive it anyway. It wouldn't be at all dignified waiting, so if that becomes my two options, it's pretty much a no-brainer," Farsoud said. Farsoud's back pain began after an accident many years ago left him incapable of living a normal life. "I do nothing other than manage pain," he said. But he was quick to note that in spite of his pain, he wouldn't be close to considering euthanasia if he has an affordable and dependable place to live in. "It would be on my radar because my physical condition is only going to get worse. At that point, I would be probably availing myself of the option, but that would be presumably years down the road," Farsoud said. MAiD was made legal in Canada in 2016 with the goal of offering an option for people whose death is inevitable and expected. Earlier this year, it was extended to include people living with weakening disabilities or pain, even if their lives are not instantly at risk.

Lack of government support makes people like Farsoud consider suicide

Before he was saved, Farsoud said he was scared of dying. "Who isn't? Yeah, I am. Who wouldn't be?" Farsoud told City News. He remarked that it was "horrible" and "backwards" that people like him need to look at suicide because their social services cannot support them. "I think in a country such as ours, people shouldn't be hungry and shouldn't be worried about whether there's a roof over their heads. I think we actually have the wherewithal for that not to be an issue and the fact that we are choosing to not help the most vulnerable members of the society is tragic," Farsoud said. After Farsoud's story made headlines, an anonymous woman called Effy set up a GoFundMe for him. The $60,000 it raised was adequate for Farsoud to have a place to live in and change his mind about ending his life. "I'm a different person. The first time we spoke, I had nothing but darkness, misery, stress and hopelessness. Now I have all the opposite of those things," Farsoud said. Meanwhile, Canada has introduced a bill that will allow mentally ill people to have medically assisted death or euthanasia. Beginning March 17, 2023, Canada's MAiD law will allow people whose lone basic medical condition is mental illness to be eligible for assisted death. Watch the video below to know more about Canadian euthanasia laws. This video is from the short fat otaku channel on Brighteon.com.

CITIZENS NEWS

Stranger saves Farsoud's life

Lack of government support makes people like Farsoud consider suicide

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