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A screenshot still of Achtman's latest interview video with Charles Lewis for Dying to Meet You.
Image courtesy Amanda Achtman
November 1, 2024
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On Oct. 30, the Province of Quebec implemented its highly controversial euthanasia directives that allow certain patients to make advance requests for medical assistance in dying (MAiD), beating any national changes to the current law. Now, patients can request MAiD well before the natural end of life under the guise that the appeal is required before their condition renders them incapable of giving consent.
Despite another disheartening encroachment on the right-to-life battle in Canada, euthanasia prevention advocate Amanda Achtman is humanizing people around the country who are most affected by euthanasia and related suffering by telling their stories.
Achtman is also featured up front in The Catholic Register’s latest magazine, Lives Lived for Life, where she is one of 14 Canadians celebrated for their dedicated work in advancing the pro-life message. Those interested in receiving a copy of the Register's Lives Lived for Life magazine can do so by visiting the online order page.
Achtman created Dying to Meet You, a project to humanize the discussion around suffering, death, meaning and hope. She has published a collection of various conversations, written articles, speeches, events and vignettes with the purpose of denouncing euthanasia while encouraging hope for other members of the right-to-life sphere.
Her latest video features a sit-down interview with Charles Lewis, a journalist from Toronto who recounts his experiences living with stenosis and cancer. In the video, she asks Lewis about the impact he faces knowing cancer is the underlying condition that statistically leads in people requesting MAiD.
“I hate to think it, but I think that doctors are too often saying, ‘Sure, if that’s what you want it’s up to you,’ ” Lewis said. “Rather, they should be saying, ‘I’m a doctor and this makes no damn sense. You can live with this for years without pain.’ ”
While he never applied for MAiD himself, Lewis said due to his stenosis and subsequent cancer diagnosis, he would have been easily eligible for MAiD. Achtman shows how little it takes to be eligible, highlighting Dying with Dignity using stories of trauma and abuse victims and categorizing them as potential MAiD candidates.
“I think it's awful and abusive in itself. Why would I end my life because of the work of someone who did something terrible? It just doesn't seem right. The answer is to live your life healthily,” Lewis said.
The video goes on to highlight Lewis’ volunteer work in palliative care, a practice that has been routinely trampled by the rise of MAiD throughout the country. His stance on suffering, death, meaning and hope is crystal clear by the end of the segment, with Lewis stating his hope for Canadians.
“You may be very healthy and vibrant right now and you walk by people who are not, and you just ignore them. You have to know that this may happen to you some day, and you are going to need love and care,” he said. “It may be happening to your parents, your children, your spouse, and they are going to need love and care. In the meantime, start showing those people that love and care.”
Achtman’s full Dying to Meet You project complete with videos, podcast appearances and interviews can be found at https://www.dyingtomeetyou.com/.
Lives Lived for Life magazine was released in early October and is available while the limited supply of copies last. Those interested in obtaining copies can do so by visiting our online order page or by contacting us at [email protected].
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