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00:00:16You
00:01:12I want you to just move the chair around there so she can face the attorneys.
00:01:17Would you like to write them right here, John?
00:01:19Just have her it over around so she can face generally in that direction.
00:01:22Can you please?
00:01:26I want her microphone to be convenient.
00:01:36Just a little close to Council for a word you can use the microphone.
00:01:57Mrs. Bouvet, are you the plaintiff in the action before the court today?
00:02:00Yes, I am.
00:02:02Do you presently reside in Riverside General Hospital?
00:02:05Yes, I do.
00:02:05How long have you been there?
00:02:07Three months.
00:02:12And what was your purpose in being admitted to Riverside General Hospital?
00:02:15To just be left alone, to just be left alone and not to be bothered by friends or family
00:02:27or anyone else.
00:02:28I had to ultimately starve myself to death.
00:02:33Do you pronounce your last name?
00:02:36Bouvet.
00:02:37Bouvet or Bouvet?
00:02:37Bouvet.
00:02:39Bouvet.
00:02:39Bouvet.
00:02:40Bouvet.
00:02:40Bouvet.
00:02:41Okay.
00:02:42I will come back.
00:02:43I will come back.
00:02:44Elizabeth Bouvet is asking for help.
00:02:46She wants to die quietly in a California hospital and needs legal help to do so.
00:02:51Crippled with cerebral palsy, she said she's tired of depending on someone for every need.
00:02:56Thousands of handicapped people are watching her to see what's going to happen here.
00:02:59If she succeeds in being able to wheel herself into a hospital and say, I want to die,
00:03:05then she becomes a forerunner and how many others follow suit?
00:03:08Bouvet's lawyers call this a case of the right to refuse medical treatment.
00:03:12Lawyers for the hospital call it suicide.
00:03:15The plaintiff is asking the court to sanction her suicide in a hospital devoted to life.
00:03:21It's the patient's body, it's the patient's decision, and it may be the wrong decision
00:03:26in the view of the doctors and the nurses, it's still the patient's decision.
00:03:33Here I see a very attractive young woman who has her eyebrows taken care of by somebody.
00:03:39Do you have makeup on?
00:03:40A little bit.
00:03:41A little bit.
00:03:42Both above your eyes and on your cheeks.
00:03:45So there is something left in life for you, a kind of self-pride.
00:03:50Do you want to die?
00:03:53I feel that, you know, I've made a confident, rational decision.
00:03:57And, you know, I feel that as an individual I should be given the chance to receive this ride.
00:04:04I think I've done what I can do, and the quality of my life is over.
00:04:21Okay.
00:04:24Headed to my disability propaganda bookshelf.
00:04:36So I was reading this anthology by Paul O'Moore.
00:04:44And I read this article about Elizabeth Bruve and her quest to die.
00:04:53And I found it really compelling.
00:04:57So I started Googling her, and the Wikipedia page didn't have a year of death.
00:05:06And the more I researched, the more I began to think that Bruve was possibly still alive.
00:05:45I see myself in Halloween.
00:05:48Elizabeth Bruve moved to the world.
00:06:00I find it difficult to accept defeat when I believe I've been disregarded.
00:06:15In her quest to die, I cannot tell whether Elizabeth was violated or whether she was simply giving up.
00:06:30I need to find her.
00:06:33There are too many unanswered questions.
00:06:36There are too many unanswered questions.
00:07:06I can.
00:07:07Thank you, sir.
00:07:09All right, Reed, you're all set.
00:07:11You got it?
00:07:12Yep.
00:07:12Okay, down the hallway, please.
00:07:13All right.
00:07:14Have a good day.
00:07:15Yeah, you too.
00:07:19As I set out to find a provider four decades after a trial, I want to know what today's
00:07:28society thinks about giving disabled people access to assisted suicide.
00:07:42Requests for medical assistance in dying are increasing across the country.
00:07:47But they're not always from those with a terminal illness.
00:07:51We're beginning to hear more stories about people feeling it's their only recourse from
00:07:57excruciating circumstances.
00:07:58Yeah, it's called made for short.
00:08:01And I think a lot of people don't realize that anybody physically suffering can now apply
00:08:05to have a medical professional to help them dying.
00:08:20Okay, guys, are you rolling?
00:08:25What does made represent to you?
00:08:33For me, made, I think, represents a way out is how I would describe it.
00:08:46For most of my life, my primary caregiver was my mother.
00:08:55When mom got sick, even in her darkest hour when she was hospitalized, she was asking when
00:09:03she can, you know, sign herself out so she can come back home.
00:09:13When we heard mom's diagnosis, I had basically three thoughts.
00:09:19My first thought was, OMG, mom's going to die soon.
00:09:24My second thought was, OMG, I'm going to die shortly thereafter.
00:09:29And then I thought, OMG, how do I get my together?
00:09:41I have a job, I'm able to support myself financially, and yet I still wouldn't be anywhere close to
00:09:49having enough funds if I were to have to pay for my home care out of pocket on an annual,
00:09:56ongoing basis.
00:10:00Even before mom got diagnosed with her illness, I was receiving approximately 24 hours a week of home care
00:10:11through the government healthcare system.
00:10:13During the pandemic, I basically canceled services for fear of, you know, catching COVID.
00:10:21But once mom got sick, we needed help.
00:10:25And when I approached my agency saying, I'd like to reinstate my service,
00:10:30they basically offered 11 hours per week.
00:10:34And that was with full knowledge of what kind of situation I was facing here at home.
00:10:45The government's solution to my care need was to put me in a long-term care institution.
00:10:53I would be warehoused in conditions that are effectively debilitating.
00:10:59People are kept alive, they're fed, and they're sheltered.
00:11:02But ultimately, it feels like it's an incarceration.
00:11:07My life would be over.
00:11:09I would have no control over it.
00:11:12You know, there was even a point in time where I started wondering,
00:11:17I mean, could they somehow come and say, you're coming with us, right?
00:11:21And then lock me up in long-term care.
00:11:24A trip to long-term care is basically a one-way trip.
00:11:43Hello. I'll be speaking to what the MAID application process looks like in Ontario.
00:11:50Clinicians will ask to understand how your conditions have affected your quality of life.
00:11:55Further, Dying with Dignity Canada is available to talk through any access issues you may encounter.
00:12:03I couldn't get any sort of traction negotiating with the government for additional home care hours.
00:12:09And I have no other family able to act as primary caregiver.
00:12:14So it looked like my only choice was between long-term care or MAID.
00:12:20And in my mind, MAID is the lesser evil.
00:12:28When mom passed away, my sort of estimate was that maybe I could manage to survive for somewhere between six
00:12:36and eight months.
00:12:40I didn't want to really end my life.
00:12:43But, you know, it really just came down to a matter of funding at that point.
00:12:54There's a facade of universal health care in this country that claims to take care of anyone who gets ill.
00:13:01But the truth is, we have these points of crisis in our health care system where people are falling through,
00:13:07not cracks, but massive openings in the system.
00:13:17Elizabeth Bouvet had been stricken with cerebral palsy at birth.
00:13:21She was quadriplegic.
00:13:23And because of her unremitting pain, she wanted to end her life.
00:13:27But in a celebrated case in 1984, a California judge ruled she had no right to die, no right to
00:13:35starve herself to death.
00:13:36Whatever became of her?
00:13:38Elizabeth Bouvet is still very much alive.
00:13:48Starvation is not an easy way to go.
00:13:50You can't just keep doing it and keep doing it.
00:13:52It really messes up your body. And my body was already messed up.
00:13:57What's your life like? What is your day-to-day life like?
00:14:01It's pretty much making sure my care is taken care of, you know, scheduling nurses.
00:14:06And what does it cost for Elizabeth's existence?
00:14:10Nearly $150,000 a year, much of it coming from state and federally funded agencies.
00:14:17I just feel that this is a burden to society. I really do.
00:14:22You feel that you are a burden to society?
00:14:24I feel my physical being is, yeah. It is, financially it is, obviously.
00:14:31Elizabeth told us she doesn't want to be here should we come back in ten more years.
00:14:36In the meantime, she simply wants to stay out of the headlines
00:14:40and away from the never-ending debate over the right to die.
00:14:49This is when the coverage of Burberry stops.
00:14:56Had the media got all that they wanted from her?
00:15:01And if so, what have they left behind?
00:15:10So did I ever show you the picture of purportedly Elizabeth from the past few years?
00:15:22This is supposedly her? It's from 2018.
00:15:24Yeah. But that thickens.
00:15:28And so it's just labeled with her name and that's the only clue we have.
00:15:31Yeah, but like, I mean, conceivably it resembles how old she would be.
00:15:41She's done such a good job of hiding herself from any public sort of spotlight.
00:15:47Right.
00:15:47I understand she wants to be left alone, but maybe the fact that we have a shared experience
00:15:58that might make her more willing to talk to me because we are not the media that covered her so
00:16:11problematically.
00:16:16She looks happy.
00:16:17She does. She really does.
00:16:22I mean, there is no trace of her death anywhere.
00:16:29And so, like, what does that say ultimately?
00:16:35That she died invisibly.
00:16:50Elizabeth.
00:16:51Elizabeth Bouvet's whole life now is made up of needles and bags because her body simply doesn't work.
00:16:58She's so twisted by cerebral palsy and severe arthritis and scoliosis that she can't do anything for herself.
00:17:06There's no way out of this.
00:17:08I think I'll probably live another 10, maybe even longer years.
00:17:13You know, I'll probably get some kind of pneumonia or something.
00:17:16You know, but I don't think it's going to be a happy ending unless I control it myself.
00:17:24Reed, check your email.
00:17:27That PI that we reached out to, she found relatives, a couple sisters.
00:17:34Interesting.
00:17:36Rebecca Kastner, who lives in Seattle.
00:17:40Do you want to text her?
00:17:41Could you?
00:17:42Yeah.
00:17:42Yeah.
00:17:43Hi, Rebecca.
00:17:44My name is Reed David Poole.
00:17:46And I'm a documentary filmmaker.
00:17:49I have a disability.
00:17:52I'm doing a film on her sister's two-sided disability.
00:17:56And if I'm not mistaken, I believe you're Elizabeth Bouvet's sister.
00:18:01You can give me a call at this number.
00:18:05Thanks so much.
00:18:08Send.
00:18:10All right.
00:18:21Hello?
00:18:23Hi, Rebecca.
00:18:24Drude.
00:18:26Hi.
00:18:27We're looking for relatives of Elizabeth.
00:18:33And, um, well, as I present, um, since, um, we're looking for relatives of Elizabeth.
00:18:38She was, um, a big part of the news.
00:18:46Yeah.
00:18:47It's a, it's a tough one.
00:18:49Um, she didn't want to die.
00:18:52But, um, the quality of her life was really bad because she was in so much pain towards her end.
00:19:02And she died about 10 years ago.
00:19:06I have to say, she, she went peacefully.
00:19:09She had been sick.
00:19:10Well, uh, she, she had some kind of lung infection.
00:19:13And she passed out.
00:19:15She had a DNR because, uh, that was her choice.
00:19:19We, we, we weren't even sure if she was alive or not because we couldn't find an obituary.
00:19:32Um, this is hard for me to talk about.
00:19:37Um, but my other sister, Teresa, Elizabeth and Teresa were extremely bonded.
00:19:44Uh, and she may not talk to you.
00:19:46I don't know.
00:19:48Is this information helpful?
00:19:50It's very helpful.
00:19:52I really appreciate you talking to us.
00:19:56Take care of me.
00:19:57Bye.
00:19:58Bye.
00:20:02Whoa.
00:20:26I, I keep thinking of that picture and wanting to believe that was her, like, smiling.
00:20:35We haven't seen that in the New York Haver.
00:20:39It's her fighting in court.
00:20:43It's her in a hospital bed with creepy Mike Wallace and things.
00:20:51But this picture is the total opposite of that.
00:20:55I don't know if you give me hope.
00:20:58I mean, I was, I was hoping that we could maybe talk off camera or on and I could just
00:21:13find her in a very peaceful place in her life where she isn't fighting ableism or the media.
00:21:28Yeah.
00:21:29That would have been nice for me personally.
00:21:34Um, and I think I could have pointed to Elizabeth and say, oh, look at this. Look at her.
00:21:48She lived.
00:21:51She lived.
00:22:03Learning that Elizabeth died 10 years ago was a turning point for me.
00:22:14But I didn't answer my questions.
00:22:18My life after being at the center of controversy is key to understanding her.
00:22:37I'll have you sit back in again.
00:22:39We'll try it with this chair.
00:22:41Maybe.
00:22:41Okay.
00:22:53so we're here to talk about your sister and i guess i'm wondering if you could describe
00:23:02the relationship you've had with this
00:23:07wow that's um it's a long circuitous kind of trip journey um
00:23:16i had been carrying a lot of guilt over the years when she died on march 29th 2014
00:23:25and it was probably one of the most painful times in my life to lose her and only my my
00:23:33closest
00:23:34friends know who my sister is um it's not something you know i i talk about too much
00:23:59look at grandma that's liz oh my god 50 58 that's liz oh my gosh do you remember that no
00:24:09oh do you remember this board that she they would wrap her up on that i remember that yeah and
00:24:18there's
00:24:18you and there's me what was the purpose of it to to get her to stand oh my god you
00:24:26know right yeah
00:24:30liz was about four or five when i was born and of course i don't remember much of that
00:24:37i do remember you know my sister needed 24-hour care and um so i think that really put a
00:24:46strain
00:24:46on on on the family and then my dad ended up filing for divorce we were pretty poor and you
00:24:57know i think
00:24:57we were on welfare for a big chunk of that time and then my mom remarried and liz and i
00:25:07just depended
00:25:08on each other emotionally and i was also her kind of caretaker but that didn't last for too long
00:25:16because my stepfather and mother decided to send her to um a facility called angel view
00:25:23and um that was really really devastating really really devastating that's at angel view
00:25:31this was her bed that she lived for for like eight years
00:25:41do you remember visiting her oh yeah
00:25:49how do you think that affected her
00:25:53i know that it was probably the saddest moment for her in her life
00:25:58you know you're in an institution and she really didn't want that
00:26:06but i think you know in retrospect being in that institution was better than being at home
00:26:12with us honestly
00:26:19my mom and my stepfather started drinking and there were a lot of fights
00:26:25my stepfather was abusive physically
00:26:30um that was kind of the
00:26:34when she we were really separated for for a long time
00:26:44i believe teresa
00:26:46i believe that the home was no place for this
00:26:51or for anyone
00:26:56but i am still not convinced
00:26:59that angel view was better
00:27:17segregation is part of the trauma of being disabled
00:27:24institutionalization is segregation's absolute
00:27:45during that time
00:27:47liz had undergone a bunch of surgeries
00:27:51that were approved by my mom and stepdad
00:28:05can you talk about the surgeries
00:28:08they were god awful
00:28:10she had long incisions in the back of her leg
00:28:14on both legs
00:28:16as i recall that they were cutting
00:28:19the tendons or something so that her legs
00:28:24wouldn't be so tight so that she would be able to use them
00:28:27her hands were severely bent and so they did put pins
00:28:33and little rods
00:28:35in her hands to try to straighten them out
00:28:39i think at least one hand
00:28:45she had a dislocated hip
00:28:48her hip would like pop out
00:28:50they would put her in this cast
00:28:54and evidently they didn't set it right
00:28:56and she was in excruciating pain
00:28:58and nobody would listen to her
00:29:00and finally she had no
00:29:02she just started screaming
00:29:03and didn't stop screaming
00:29:04until they took the cast off
00:29:06and found they had pinched
00:29:08a nerve in her hip
00:29:10her body was like a battlefield
00:29:19we were led to believe that this surgery
00:29:22or that surgery
00:29:22or a body brace
00:29:23or the leg braces
00:29:25or the physical therapy
00:29:28all these things would lead to
00:29:31kind of a normal life
00:29:34do you think that these surgeries
00:29:36contributed to the pain she felt
00:29:41for the rest of her life
00:29:43yeah of course
00:29:45i mean
00:29:47they think it's worth the risk
00:29:51because how could you live like that
00:29:54there's a very medical mentality
00:29:58to make her like me
00:30:00normal
00:30:01right
00:30:01this whole normal thing
00:30:03yeah
00:30:03and that against
00:30:05is this a suicide
00:30:07but
00:30:08it worries me
00:30:11to put so much
00:30:13power into doctors
00:30:15hands
00:30:16because
00:30:18they still treat
00:30:20every ailment
00:30:22every disability
00:30:23as a deficit
00:30:26and if they can't fix it
00:30:28they want to eliminate
00:30:36me
00:30:48hello
00:30:49my name is melissa hickson
00:30:51and i'm the wife of michael hickson
00:30:54I'm making this video because I know there have been a lot of questions
00:30:57surrounding what happened to him um so could you tell us who Michael Hickson was
00:31:09Michael Hickson was my husband my children's father he was as a person he
00:31:18was a loving giving person in 2017 Michael went into Sutton cardiac arrest
00:31:29while he was driving me to work as a result of that he had an anoxic brain
00:31:34injury he was blind and had a spinal cord injury that caused him to be
00:31:39quadriplegic um originally he was in a coma several doctors kept saying to me it's
00:31:48so you know we can just let him go you know if you want us to we can in fact
00:31:53they encouraged it and when he came out of the coma people that have brain
00:31:59injuries tend to not want to verbalize a lot sometimes but the doctors would
00:32:05assume if he didn't respond quickly they would just dismiss him
00:32:11are you talking smack yes
00:32:15do you feel bad about it no
00:32:21so you only talk this much to roast me
00:32:39from 2017 to 2020 no one wanted to treat him no one wanted him to get any type of
00:32:46rehabilitation did you expect doctors to be discriminatory or was this a shock for you
00:32:56I think as most people believe that doctors are healers that they're there to help you get better
00:33:04I never thought that a doctor would ever question life the court appointed temporary guardians to make
00:33:14decisions on his behalf the hospital wanted him to be discharged so the
00:33:22guardian came in and they moved him into a nursing home where he contracted
00:33:26COVID-19 on June 5th Melissa Hickson went to see her husband on the ICU at st.
00:33:35David's South Austin Medical Center on that day of the hospital Hickson found her
00:33:41husband's doctor in the hallway what Melissa Hickson says happened to her
00:33:45husband what the hospital says are in conflict
00:33:51at this point the decision is do we want to be extremely aggressive with his
00:33:56care or do we want do we feel like this this will be futile the issue is will
00:34:03this help him improve his quality of life will this help him improve anything and
00:34:07will he will it ultimately change the outcome and the thought is none of the
00:34:12answer is no to all of those because as of right now his quality of life he
00:34:20doesn't have much of one
00:34:23what do you mean
00:34:26because he's far out of liberalism he doesn't have quality of life
00:34:30correct
00:34:34who gets to make that decision whether somebody's quality of life if they have a disability
00:34:38well it's definitely not me
00:34:39quality of life is not good so it's not me I don't make that decision however will it improve his
00:34:47quality of life
00:34:53so I can count with one hand of the three people that have made it through however his quality of
00:35:00life is different than theirs they were walking talking and I don't mean to be free or or brace for
00:35:04anything but at this point we we're gonna do what we feel like it's best for her along with the
00:35:10state and this is what we decided I mean that this doesn't make any sense to me to not try
00:35:16I don't I don't I don't I don't I don't I don't I don't I don't I'm
00:35:17I don't get that part.
00:35:18And it's not easy.
00:35:21And this is a calculated decision.
00:35:23And we feel like this is what's going to be best for him.
00:35:30All that week, I contacted the hospital and tried to have FaceTime visits with my husband.
00:35:36And each day, the hospital responded that they would call me back.
00:35:39But they never did.
00:35:41On June 11th, he passed away at 10.10 p.m.
00:35:44And I was not contacted until June the 12th at approximately 11.30 a.m.
00:35:52And I never had a chance to even say goodbye.
00:36:28Michael was my best friend.
00:36:34And it's really hard to figure out where I go from here without him.
00:36:43Can I give you a hug?
00:36:45Yeah.
00:37:35You need an ambulance or are you fine?
00:37:45No, somebody just said that you might have looked like you was in distress or something, so that's why I'm
00:37:49asking.
00:37:50No, I'll keep you busy, y'all.
00:37:52Oh, okay, no problem. No, I'll just, we gotta do our job. You know, somebody had a concern and so
00:37:56we stopped.
00:37:57Okay, thank you.
00:37:58Have a good one.
00:38:26Disabled people aren't threatened by our bodies.
00:38:36We're threatened by other people's bodies.
00:38:50In Ottawa, Senators are set to begin the final debate on an amended version of Bill C-7, which aims
00:38:56to expand access to medically assisted dying.
00:39:04At the time when MAID was expanded to disabled people, it wasn't on my radar.
00:39:10I think that happened basically a year or so before things started to crumble around my life.
00:39:18So, it was something that I, you know, became aware of after the fact.
00:39:25We may even have a news conference tomorrow.
00:39:27Publicly, the government keeps saying, wait until tomorrow.
00:39:31Sources say the Liberal cabinet struggled with several issues as it crafted this proposed legislation.
00:39:37In 2016, legislation was passed through the Canadian Parliament that allowed medical assistance in dying, or MAID.
00:39:46At the time, it was seen as a progressive legislation, a move forward, because the process only allowed for people
00:39:54if they had a reasonably foreseeable death.
00:39:57But, the Quebec Court directed our federal government to broaden the legislation to allow people to access MAID, even if
00:40:06they weren't going to die in the immediate or foreseeable future.
00:40:10And that includes people living with disabilities.
00:40:15That resulted in the addendum of Bill C-7.
00:40:20Minister Lamedi, we'll start with you. The floor is yours. Please go ahead.
00:40:24Bill C-7 proposes an important change to our medical assistance in dying, or MAID regime.
00:40:31This legislation will prioritize the individual autonomy of Canadians who are suffering to choose a peaceful death if they determine
00:40:38that their situation is no longer tolerable to them, regardless of proximity to death.
00:40:46So, who are we talking about?
00:40:49This is Linda Jarrett. Linda was diagnosed at the age of 50 with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.
00:40:57She does not want to stay in a 24-7 long-term care facility for what could be years on
00:41:02end.
00:41:03She wants the comfort of knowing that she will be able to make a choice if her condition and her
00:41:08suffering becomes too much to bear.
00:41:11For 40 years, Dying with Dignity Canada has been committed to advancing end-of-life rights and helping Canadians avoid
00:41:17unwanted suffering.
00:41:22We're here today to speak in support of the legislative amendments that have been put forward in Bill C-7.
00:41:28There were, I believe, more than 120 experts that sat in front of Parliament and gave their recommendations on Bill
00:41:35C-7.
00:41:37And around 50 organizations, doctors and individuals and advocates spoke vehemently against the legislation.
00:41:46It is very interesting that out of everybody who is here, most of them are made lobbyists.
00:41:55You guys need disability experts to speak to you about what they consider as dangerous in this bill.
00:42:04I think when witnesses refer to other witnesses on the panel as lobbyists in a derogatory manner, I think that's
00:42:10not really respectful.
00:42:15We did hear various voices, including voices from the disability community.
00:42:21We took the decision, put quite simply, to reduce suffering.
00:42:30Why, uh, why only, uh, why only people whose bodies are altered?
00:42:37Why not everyone who decides that their quality of life is in the ditch?
00:42:45Disability advocates recognized and raised flags that said this opens up a quagmire where people with disabilities could be pressured
00:42:54to access MAID instead of receiving the proper supports and services.
00:43:03It looks as though the government is rushing legislation to allow people the right to die without also supporting the
00:43:09right to live.
00:43:10And that's where I get worried.
00:43:15What we're doing with track two or bill C seven is we're singling out one group of Canadians and saying,
00:43:22boy, it must be terrible to live your life.
00:43:26And we, we think it's so terrible that we're going to assist you to end it.
00:43:29Our biggest fear has always been that having a disability would become an acceptable reason for state provided suicide.
00:43:37Bill C seven is our worst nightmare.
00:43:46More Canadians now have access to a medically assisted death than ever before.
00:43:50After the controversial bill C seven was signed into law late last night.
00:43:55Now, previously death had to be reasonably foreseeable for you to be granted.
00:43:59What's also known as MAID.
00:44:01That isn't the case anymore.
00:44:22It usually takes us up to about a week to arrange all the things that are required for your assisted
00:44:30death.
00:44:30Such as arranging nursing for helping with the IV.
00:44:35And arranging medications through a pharmacy.
00:44:38I just want to finally stress how important it is to start this process early.
00:44:44So that you don't miss out on your chance to have an assisted death.
00:44:48If that is what's most important to you.
00:44:54Don't miss your chance.
00:44:57Okay.
00:44:58Okay.
00:44:58Let me go through incolo that.
00:45:05Feels like I'm at the DMV.
00:45:09In your opinion.
00:45:12Do you have a disability?
00:45:15In my opinion I do.
00:45:19If he has four types of disability, mobility, dexterity.
00:45:28That was very dexterous, though.
00:45:30I know.
00:45:31I'm a miracle.
00:45:33You're so brave.
00:45:35Inspiration to us all.
00:45:37Yeah, you're welcome.
00:45:39How often does your disability limit daily activities?
00:45:44Always.
00:45:49I'm scared.
00:45:50This is making me scared.
00:45:54Yeah.
00:45:55If I had to, then he had some of the horrible.
00:46:01So you could confirm all of the above.
00:46:07I, so I would pass this with Larry Collins if I didn't get it.
00:46:14And if he wanted to die.
00:46:16Yes.
00:46:24I believe that my medical condition is serious and cannot be worthy by any means or accept.
00:46:37I have to tell you, I tried to be funny on the first page, but doing this was difficult.
00:46:53What was going through your mind?
00:47:00I think that I'm wondering how I would view my life if I didn't have the support of the
00:47:16of my family.
00:47:18My partner and my friends and how I would view my life because I, you know, obviously I have
00:47:35how it felt.
00:47:37How it felt.
00:47:41It is anything I guess different in the past.
00:47:51It's interesting just hearing you say you don't know what, you don't know how you would view
00:47:57your life necessarily if you didn't have your friends and your family and a support system
00:48:02and everything that, you know, something you love to do that you get to do.
00:48:08Yeah.
00:48:08Making films like I feel the same way.
00:48:11Yeah.
00:48:12What if I didn't have any of those things either?
00:48:14Yeah.
00:48:14I wouldn't be allowed to do this.
00:48:15Yeah.
00:48:17Yeah.
00:48:19I don't know.
00:48:20It's just weird.
00:48:31While making this film, I've been asked directly and indirectly whether I have ever considered
00:48:39killing myself, I resent it, not because I'm ashamed but because a physical question that
00:48:55a non-disabled filmmaker would not be asked.
00:49:01This film is not about suicide.
00:49:04It's about the phenomenon that leaves people desperate to find their place in the world
00:49:13that perpetually rejects them.
00:49:21I have fallen in and out of that desperation my whole life.
00:49:49Look at that.
00:49:50That's in her apartment after she graduated from high school and left Angel View.
00:49:55Yeah.
00:49:56I remember she liked to have her hair feathered.
00:49:59That is so, that's, I love this picture.
00:50:03Yeah.
00:50:04She had her own, her own bitchin' van when she could get around more.
00:50:08Mm-hmm.
00:50:11This is her.
00:50:12Graduation.
00:50:13Yeah.
00:50:15SDSU.
00:50:17Yeah.
00:50:18She was happy.
00:50:19That was a great time.
00:50:20It was such a great day.
00:50:21She's like, give me that champagne.
00:50:24Yeah.
00:50:28And then it just got, a couple years after that, she just, it was kind of going downhill.
00:50:33Mm-hmm.
00:50:35Oh, kind of wondering, what happened?
00:50:40It seemed like she was finally finding a place in college.
00:50:47She had this dose of independence and she carried that momentum into grad school where she wanted
00:50:58to be a medical social worker.
00:51:00How did she go from kind of ready to be of service to other people to wanting to end her
00:51:14life so quickly?
00:51:18There's layers to that, to properly answer that.
00:51:25A professor told her that she would never work and that she shouldn't be in graduate school.
00:51:33And so, she dropped out of college.
00:51:38During that time, she met Richard.
00:51:43I didn't even know she had gotten married until after she was married.
00:51:47She got pregnant, which was probably one of her biggest dreams.
00:51:52She loved kids, but she lost it.
00:51:57And then, she actually left Richard permanently.
00:52:04It was not a good marriage at all.
00:52:06And then, after that, she did not want to go on in this life with what she had.
00:52:15It was an angel to me because when I was in graduate school, I had a professor who wouldn't accommodate
00:52:27me.
00:52:28And I wanted to drop out.
00:52:33Wow.
00:52:33And I don't know what would have happened if I wasn't able to finish graduate school.
00:52:41And we wouldn't keep in.
00:52:43We were both 25.
00:52:46So...
00:52:47Wow.
00:52:48Yeah.
00:52:55So, this lady wrote an article about Liz in this local newspaper.
00:53:00And it immediately went across, just spread like wildfire.
00:53:04Elizabeth Bouvet lies flat on her back in a hospital room in California.
00:53:08Her body is useless to her.
00:53:09Trapped in a useless body.
00:53:11Trapped in a useless body and wants to die.
00:53:13She wants to be helped to starve.
00:53:15A severely handicapped.
00:53:17Physically helpless.
00:53:18And victim of cerebral palsy.
00:53:20The severely disabled woman.
00:53:21She's living in a body that she really can't control, can't do anything with.
00:53:25She's very bright.
00:53:25She's intelligent.
00:53:26She's attractive.
00:53:27But so what?
00:53:28Her body finally gave up.
00:53:31I just turned off the media.
00:53:33They just made stuff up that wasn't even like they were talking about her.
00:53:38I know what kind of help is available to me.
00:53:40And I'm saying that I do not wish to have that any longer.
00:53:44And I do not want that.
00:53:47Do you realize what the consequences of the court granting your request in this case would be?
00:53:53Yes, I do.
00:53:54What would the consequences be?
00:53:56Ultimately, it would be death.
00:54:01I don't think it was completely out of the blue for you.
00:54:05It was out of the blue.
00:54:06Like it was like a slug in the gut.
00:54:10Really.
00:54:13It was really painful.
00:54:15Painful for the family.
00:54:23Okay, can I stop?
00:54:24Yeah.
00:54:25Just for a second.
00:54:26Yeah.
00:54:26Take your time.
00:54:36Doctors want to discharge Bouvet.
00:54:38They say she's medically ready.
00:54:39But there's no place for her to go.
00:54:41The hospital has contacted care facilities throughout California.
00:54:45And none is willing to take responsibility for her.
00:54:48I can't see myself sitting in a common lesson home or attempting to struggle on the outside.
00:54:56Is the argument a question of her mental competence to make a decision like this?
00:55:01She is totally rational, free of mental disease, and has made this decision after very careful consideration of the options,
00:55:09an understanding of the consequences, a real good try, a heroic try at life, and on the basis of no
00:55:16sort of coercion or overbearingness on anyone's part at all.
00:55:24Richard Scott was a public face.
00:55:28Richard Scott was a public face of Brevet's legal team.
00:55:44Richard Scott was a public face of Brevet's legal team.
00:56:05She was a public face.
00:56:06She didn't even have a public face and she was restricted to her.
00:56:10She was struggling with her in charge and they couldn't do anything.
00:56:11And the other person had several members of Brevet's legal team.
00:56:22out of that, or to give her a line with the right counselors and the right support and
00:56:30looking at alternatives, maybe it would be okay.
00:56:39On the surface, the hospital's orders seem to have a raised interest in mind.
00:56:48But like Richard Scott's, they had their own agenda, which was to protect the hospital.
00:56:58Your Honor, the authority to carry out plaintiff's requests certainly can only be legislative,
00:57:06because what plaintiff is asking flies smack in the face of the civil, penal, and administrative
00:57:14laws of this state. The effect of a ruling in favor of the plaintiff would require hospitals,
00:57:20clinics, physicians, medical professionals, and their personnel to be dispensers of death on demand.
00:57:29The potential for abuse is not hard to imagine. Euthanasia, murder, assisted suicide would be a
00:57:36reality. Your Honor, in a civilized society that values life, the consent of those who are governed
00:57:44would never allow it. And may we never see that day.
00:57:55More than 6,700 Canadians have had medically assisted deaths since it became legal in 2016.
00:58:02I've got some new statistics on how many British Columbians are making that choice, and the numbers
00:58:06are rising. Since May passed, it's been an astronomic increase in the number of deaths.
00:58:18Canada has actually outpaced Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, who've had
00:58:24assisted suicide for 20-plus years. I'm not surprised because in working with the populations and the
00:58:35persons that I work with, they are often made desperate. For example, it can take to see a
00:58:42psychiatrist or a pain specialist a year or two. Now imagine you're waiting, getting sicker the whole time,
00:58:50but then someone offers you very attractively death within 90 days. What kind of choices are we giving people?
00:59:19During the hearings for Bill C-7, the Senate requested that the parliamentary budget officer
00:59:27estimate cost savings of expansion of medical assistance in dying.
00:59:38Based on just people whose lives would be ended many, many years early, who would have needed
00:59:44disability and home supports, the cost savings would be enormous.
00:59:52So these findings were reported in the media before the passing of Bill C-7, and it was part of
00:59:59what the
00:59:59Senate requested in their deliberation to decide whether to go ahead with expansion.
01:00:08In Canada, home care and other assistance, such as cleaning and cooking and home nurses, like, those things have
01:00:15been cut desperately. And at the same time, we're watching this legislation broaden to include more
01:00:22people being allowed to access MAID.
01:00:24A 27-year-old was given the green light to receive medical assistance in dying.
01:00:29Her only known diagnoses are autism and ADHD.
01:00:3323-year-old Keanu Wafayan was approved for MAID as he was suffering from type 1 diabetes and vision loss
01:00:41until his mother intervened.
01:00:44And there isn't a ton of awareness or training for doctors to educate them on what is a vulnerable
01:00:52person and how to avoid pressuring people into this.
01:00:56For Christine Gauthier, the fight to get a wheelchair lift in her home has been an uphill battle.
01:01:02While pleading her case to a Veterans Affairs case manager, she was told something that would leave her
01:01:07feeling shocked.
01:01:08If things are so hard, then you just can't keep going on. And you know we can assist you with
01:01:15aid to die.
01:01:16Alan Nichols' family says he suffered from mental illness and was not eligible for the lethal injection
01:01:23doctors gave him.
01:01:29It's quite clear that disabled people are dying significantly through MAID and there are many,
01:01:37many, many stories.
01:01:38OK, we have to, we have to just be very careful of the language that is used.
01:01:47We cannot have on the record that disabled persons are dying on mass because of track 2 MAID.
01:01:53I just, they must qualify for MAID otherwise you can't access MAID.
01:01:58Canada is one of the most liberal countries in the world when it comes to medically assisted dying.
01:02:03It's further expanding eligibility to include people with mental disorders.
01:02:08The only way you can justify the system in place right now is if you think that people
01:02:14who are disabled are not worth the same as someone with an able body.
01:02:20We're moving really quickly to talk about further potential expansions versus looking back on all
01:02:26the missteps and all the potential cases that I'm talking about that you guys seem to not know about,
01:02:31where people have died when they shouldn't have. To the point where the Canadian Human Rights
01:02:36Commission last week put out a statement against this. So what I'm saying is we need to slow down
01:02:41and my recommendation is that we take our time and take this seriously.
01:02:53The decision makers who are weighing in about MAID are coming into it with their own biases in mind.
01:03:02Many people are afraid of disability. They've never had to interact with it before.
01:03:06I think it's easier for those of us who are born disabled to imagine a future.
01:03:11But when you acquire it, when you have like an accident or you're aging in life,
01:03:16it's like you're losing functionality. You're losing the thing about you that society said
01:03:21made you great and able to be productive. And a lot of the senators and elected officials that
01:03:27I've heard from are afraid themselves of aging and they want autonomy. It's about a sense of control
01:03:32and disability really takes that away from you. And I think those of us who are born with it,
01:03:36disabilities, we understand that. But the decision makers who are afraid of themselves
01:03:41and what their bodies will look like in the future are really ruining our chances at like surviving.
01:03:52Hi Catherine.
01:03:53Hello. How are you?
01:03:56Things with me are okay. Just the feeling of overwhelm that I get knowing that we're up against
01:04:03like an entire lobby group of like former politicians and just how big this lobby group
01:04:10is, but it's not really talked about often.
01:04:12Yeah, well, the effort of lobbying where they go on about compassion and suffering. Suddenly,
01:04:25they're all concerned about our suffering. Oh, here's finally something we can do for or about
01:04:33all those suffering people. We just get them to ask for me.
01:04:50I think it's a legitimate invoking of history.
01:04:54We do use the language of eugenics to describe what is happening.
01:05:00I think it's a legitimate invoking of history. Like you cannot address human suffering by killing people,
01:05:12even if you set it up in a way that people come forward voluntarily.
01:05:34I feel that this film will be dismissed as cynicism.
01:05:44I feel that this film will be dismissed as a goedkollondist.
01:05:45Sounding a false alarm.
01:06:07But the death of disabled people has been justified for so long.
01:06:15Why do we recognize new forms of an old idea?
01:06:22How do we stop our history that is ongoing?
01:06:46August 4, 1993, Jack Kevorkian was present at yet another assisted suicide, 30-year-old
01:06:52Thomas Hyde.
01:06:53Hyde had Lou Gehrig's disease.
01:06:55It isn't assisted suicide and euthanasia that's on trial.
01:06:58You know what's on trial?
01:07:00Your civilization and your society.
01:07:13Parents should have the possibility, if they so choose, to humanely end the life of a severely
01:07:20disabled infant.
01:07:24Most people don't understand what eugenics is, and if they did, they would find that
01:07:28they agreed with much of it.
01:07:54I think we're going to start heading up.
01:07:56Uh, I have signs for both of you, if you'd like signs.
01:08:01I've got these fancy shower curtain signs.
01:08:03Oh, I like that!
01:08:04You should have that then.
01:08:11Compassionate Choices organized this press conference.
01:08:15Before a couple of mergers and name changes, the lobby group was originally known as the
01:08:26Hemlock Society.
01:08:27I'm sorry.
01:08:33Can I fit in here?
01:08:36This is the eighth year that we have stood here before you.
01:08:41And enough is enough.
01:08:43We are here today to demand that the legislature finally take action and pass this compassionate
01:08:50bill, the Medical Aid and Dying Act.
01:08:52And if there's not a more fundamental role of government than to relieve human suffering,
01:08:59I don't know why the hell we're here.
01:09:01Other states have outpaced us.
01:09:06Nevada's about to get this bill moving in their state legislature.
01:09:09That's going to be 10 states plus the District of Columbia.
01:09:14It's fundamental to the rights of New Yorkers to have agency, not just over their lives,
01:09:21but over the end of their lives.
01:09:23So let's get this done.
01:09:25Thank you, Compassionate Choices.
01:09:26Thank you for your excellent advocacy.
01:09:28We will win.
01:09:30New Yorkers will win.
01:09:31Thank you very much.
01:09:35Are you just as dedicated to fully funding home care?
01:09:39Are you just as committed to making sure there are no rollbacks that home care workers can
01:09:45make livable wages?
01:09:45And when people need access to palliative and hospice care, they don't have to jump through
01:09:51all these hoops and they don't have to become impoverished.
01:09:55It's not exactly this topic, but I will say...
01:09:57It is very related to this topic that you know.
01:09:59I get it.
01:09:59You know, we will have a budget that keeps home care workers...
01:10:03People in their own homes?
01:10:04All right.
01:10:10Thank you so much.
01:10:10Thank you so much.
01:10:14Do you think what is happening in Canada could happen in the U.S.
01:10:19with these dollars expand from coming up on us to include disability?
01:10:26That's my biggest fear.
01:10:28It was in Europe across the ocean, and now it's like right across the border.
01:10:31So like we're seeing this developing.
01:10:34And it's not just a slippery slope.
01:10:36It's like the snowball coming down the hill.
01:10:38It's going to be an avalanche.
01:10:39Because the health system is basically going to tell you, you should kill yourself.
01:10:44Because that's the cheapest option.
01:10:55In the U.S.
01:11:12Over the summer of last year, the walls were crumbling in on every side.
01:11:21and it did not look like there would be any solution forthcoming I didn't want
01:11:29to die but at the same time I didn't want to live an indignified life stuck
01:11:35in long-term care I actually I didn't even get to the first assessment to be
01:11:46honest because they got back to me and said we're too busy killing other people
01:11:53to come kill you today try again later they said if I'm still interested I
01:11:58should reapply in three to six months
01:12:03have you reapplied no why not because the situation has vastly improved from that
01:12:18time provisionally there are two separate programs that offer funding for home care
01:12:24hours combined it's basically just enough to give me the kind of support that I
01:12:30would need to remain in the community so hoping that that becomes permanent
01:12:47I certainly have my ups and downs I wouldn't say that my situation is fully resolved but you know
01:12:5613 months later I'm still here so that definitely shows maybe there's a way to make the impossible
01:13:17possible
01:13:19please remain seated and come to order this court is now in session from the evidence presented the court has
01:13:28determined that the ultimate issue is whether or not a severely handicapped
01:13:35mentally competent person who is otherwise physically healthy and not terminally ill has the right to end her life with
01:13:45the assistance of society
01:13:48the court concludes that she does not this session of this court is now adjourned
01:13:56thank you your honor
01:13:59not being able to have lives of their own design dictated michael and elizabeth's path
01:14:30bouvier the paraplegic who sued to try to force a california hospital to let her die under its care appeared
01:14:36wanting now to live
01:14:37she's reported to be eating again for the first time in seven months and asking for help to get better
01:14:45you know everybody wants to know did she change her mind
01:14:53who the knows
01:14:56i i don't think she changed her mind per se i think she accepted her fate
01:15:01i think she came to the realization that this is not how she wanted to die
01:15:08after she left riverside general hospital they sent her to
01:15:13la general and that's when she got her catheter
01:15:16she had a morphine drip a hickman catheter in her chest i think that helped her ease the pain
01:15:25and then theresa was able to find her a place in pasadena
01:15:32she got her set up
01:15:33and the state was actually paying for a lot of services that they hadn't paid for before
01:15:42there she is
01:15:44miss america
01:15:49there
01:15:50and then we have to zoom
01:15:52yeah
01:15:52well don't zoom in too far
01:15:54see check it out
01:15:56looking through there
01:15:58okay
01:15:59oh god i can see your pimple your pores
01:16:02your pores
01:16:04i see your hair
01:16:06okay
01:16:07where are we liz
01:16:08my house
01:16:10in south
01:16:10pasadena
01:16:11not pasadena
01:16:13let's get that straight theresa
01:16:15oh my god there's the beanie bitty
01:16:17oh my precious little beanie babies
01:16:20her beanie babies
01:16:21her beanie babies
01:16:23okay we're going down the hall
01:16:26and we've got a bathroom
01:16:27this is bathroom
01:16:30and here's the nurses room
01:16:31this is very neat
01:16:33she's a neat freak
01:16:34oh my god
01:16:35there's the scary doll
01:16:38ohhhh
01:16:38there's her new tv
01:16:39for her nurses
01:16:42there we go
01:16:43there's her wheelchair
01:16:46it gives her a little bit of freedom
01:16:47to get out
01:16:48and harass people
01:16:51okay
01:16:53when you receive government support
01:16:56like liz did
01:16:57there's a very low limit
01:16:58on how much money
01:16:59that you can earn
01:17:00say hi
01:17:01bye guys
01:17:03so
01:17:03in order to have her equipment
01:17:06and staffing paid for
01:17:07she essentially had to stay unemployed
01:17:11you know i think early on
01:17:12when she first moved into that apartment in south pasadena
01:17:15it was actually a pretty good time
01:17:17i would say for the next ten years
01:17:19it was
01:17:20you know things were going pretty well for her
01:17:23this is lisa her nurse
01:17:26she works for liz for 24 hours
01:17:30five days a week
01:17:31this is liz's computer
01:17:33this is what liz does everyday
01:17:36hours and hours
01:17:38she loves her computer
01:17:40what i'm doing here
01:17:41what i'm doing here
01:17:42is turning a book into the computer
01:17:43so i can read it
01:17:44max mine
01:17:47move down
01:18:01we're going to the movie
01:18:02we're going to check them out
01:18:05there she goes
01:18:06there she goes
01:18:14there are parallels between elizabeth's tumultuous time under the spotlight
01:18:22and her quiet death
01:18:25she wasn't hard enough in either
01:18:31i am reluctant to try to wrap up her story
01:18:35with my interpretation
01:18:38and while i did choose these final words
01:18:42they all heard
01:18:43none the less
01:18:45bye-bye
01:18:54i'm reading from
01:18:55a draft of
01:18:57kind of this is a story
01:19:00that she and i were working on
01:19:02back in 2006
01:19:03um
01:19:04and
01:19:05she was a very private person
01:19:08so she was hesitant to
01:19:09to kind of
01:19:10go back
01:19:10to that time
01:19:12in the 80s
01:19:13but i think
01:19:14um
01:19:15she wanted to be able to share
01:19:17her story as much as she could
01:19:20and so i was just helping her
01:19:21so
01:19:22um
01:19:24yeah
01:19:24so i mean i haven't opened this
01:19:26or really even looked at it
01:19:29you know
01:19:30everyone has a story to tell
01:19:31mine is just one in a million
01:19:34what sets it apart however
01:19:36is the social issues surrounding it
01:20:05behind the media facade and the power lawyers was a
01:20:08scared and forgotten soul
01:20:10trying hopelessly to maintain her dignity amongst bureaucratic chaos and overnight sensationalism
01:20:19sir
01:20:20do you want to die?
01:20:23do i want to die?
01:20:25do you want to die?
01:20:28do you want to die?
01:20:29do i want to die?
01:20:30do i want to die?
01:20:31yeah
01:20:32back then
01:20:33when i was s
01:20:35why i chose to die
01:20:37i would
01:20:38pathetically respond
01:20:39i don't want to die
01:20:40but if it means being in this body i don't want to live
01:20:46in truth the answer was one i wasn't sure i could articulate
01:20:55when i was a child i fantasized somehow that when i got older and obtained an education that this would
01:21:01somehow make me able to be financially
01:21:03independent or support myself over time I started realizing that getting an
01:21:12education would not make my future as secure as I thought it would I can't see
01:21:18myself sitting in the common lesson home or attempting to struggle on the outside
01:21:26I think one of my biggest things that really frustrated me was being trapped
01:21:32by the bureaucratic system on which I am dependent I have never and will never be
01:21:40financially able to support myself therefore I have to rely on a system that
01:21:46is not only overburdened but sometimes unfair it is a vicious cycle from which
01:21:53I will never escape this I have to say was the number one factor in my decision
01:22:00to end my life
01:22:40I have to say let's see if I'm looking for a next step
01:22:40I go invent my career
01:22:43I can't use it
01:22:46I can't use this as a student
01:22:47I can't use it
01:22:49I can use it
01:22:49but I can't use it
01:22:50I can use it
01:22:50I can use it
01:22:52I can use it
01:23:01BIRDS CHIRP
01:23:39BIRDS CHIRP
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