- 2 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00:28Transcription by CastingWords
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 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.
00:22:37Okay.
00:22:37I'll have you sit back in again.
00:22:39We'll try it with this chair, maybe.
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
00:30:30hurting me
00:30:30and for that
00:30:31happens
00:30:33behind me
00:30:34and if they can't fix it
00:30:40I'm nervous
00:30:41like to keep it
00:30:43because they can't fix it
00:30:45what they can do
00:30:49and I stukje
00:30:51instead
00:30:51you'll be honest
00:30:52and they can't 하게 it
00:30:55because of the HIV
00:30:58That's great
00:30:59hmm
00:30:59Say hi.
00:31:02So could you tell us who Michael Hickson was?
00:31:10Michael Hickson was my husband, my children's father.
00:31:15He was, as a person, he was a loving, giving person.
00:31:24In 2017, Michael went into sudden cardiac arrest
00:31:29while he was driving me to work.
00:31:31As a result of that, he had an anoxic brain injury.
00:31:34He was blind and had a spinal cord injury
00:31:38that caused him to be quadriplegic.
00:31:41Originally, he was in a coma.
00:31:44Several doctors kept saying to me,
00:31:47you know, we can just let him go.
00:31:50You know, if you want us to, we can.
00:31:52In fact, they encouraged it.
00:31:56And when he came out of the coma,
00:31:58people that have brain injuries
00:32:00tend to not want to verbalize a lot sometimes.
00:32:04But the doctors would assume if he didn't respond quickly,
00:32:08they would just dismiss him.
00:32:11Are you talking smack?
00:32:14Yes.
00:32:15Do you feel bad about it?
00:32:18No.
00:32:21So you only talk this much to roast me?
00:32:27Oh, my goodness!
00:32:30Yes!
00:32:30Oh, wow.
00:32:34Wow, Dad!
00:32:38From 2017 to 2020, no one wanted to treat him.
00:32:44No one wanted him to get any type of rehabilitation.
00:32:47Did you expect doctors to be discriminatory,
00:32:54or was this a shock for you?
00:32:57I think, as most people believe,
00:32:59that doctors are healers,
00:33:01that they're there to help you get better.
00:33:04I never thought that a doctor would ever question life.
00:33:10The court appointed temporary guardians to make decisions on his behalf.
00:33:18The hospital wanted him to be discharged,
00:33:20so the guardian came in and they moved him into a nursing home
00:33:25where he contracted COVID-19.
00:33:29On June 5th, Melissa Hickson went to see her husband on the ICU
00:33:34at St. David's South Austin Medical Center.
00:33:38On that day at the hospital,
00:33:41Hickson found her husband's doctor in the hallway.
00:33:43What Melissa Hickson says happened to her husband
00:33:46and what the hospital says are in conflict.
00:33:51At this point, the decision is,
00:33:54do we want to be extremely aggressive with his care,
00:33:57or do we feel like this will be futile?
00:34:01And the issue is,
00:34:03will this help him improve his quality of life?
00:34:05Will this help him improve anything?
00:34:07And will it ultimately change the outcome?
00:34:10And the thought is,
00:34:11the answer is no to all of those.
00:34:14But what would he say no to all of those?
00:34:16Because as of right now,
00:34:18his quality of life,
00:34:19he doesn't have much of one.
00:34:23What do you mean?
00:34:26Because he's far out of liberalism,
00:34:28he doesn't have quality of life.
00:34:30Correct.
00:34:34Who gets to make that decision
00:34:35whether somebody's quality of life,
00:34:37if they have a disability or
00:34:39their quality of life is not good?
00:34:41So it's not me.
00:34:43I don't make that decision.
00:34:44However,
00:34:46will he improve his quality of life?
00:34:47The answer is no.
00:34:49Being a disability isn't improving the quality of life.
00:34:53So,
00:34:54I can count with one hand,
00:34:56the three people that have made it through.
00:34:59However,
00:34:59his quality of life is different than theirs.
00:35:01They were walking,
00:35:01talking,
00:35:02and I don't mean to be frank or,
00:35:03or very subreddit,
00:35:05but,
00:35:06at this point,
00:35:08we're gonna do what we feel like is best for him,
00:35:10along with the state.
00:35:11And this is what we decided.
00:35:13I mean,
00:35:14this doesn't make any sense to me to not try.
00:35:16I don't,
00:35:17I don't get that part.
00:35:18And it's,
00:35:19it's not,
00:35:20it's not easy.
00:35:21And this is a calculated decision.
00:35:23And we feel like this is what's gonna be best for him.
00:35:30All that week,
00:35:31I contacted the hospital,
00:35:33and tried to have FaceTime visits with my husband.
00:35:36And each day,
00:35:37the hospital responded that they would call me back,
00:35:39but they never did.
00:35:41On June the 11th,
00:35:43he passed away at 10,
00:35:4410 PM.
00:35:45And I was not contacted until June the 12th,
00:35:48at approximately 1130 AM.
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,
00:36:38without him.
00:36:38I know.
00:36:43Can I give you a hug?
00:36:45Yeah.
00:36:50I know.
00:36:51I know.
00:37:30I know.
00:37:33Yeah.
00:37:34I know.
00:37:37I know.
00:37:38I know.
00:37:40Do you need an ambulance or you're fine?
00:37:42Yeah.
00:37:42I'm fine, we're not with the ambulance.
00:37:45No, somebody just said that you might have looked like
00:37:47you was in distress or something, so that's why I asked.
00:37:50No, I'll keep you busy, y'all.
00:37:52Oh, okay, no problem.
00:37:53No, I'll just, we gotta do our job.
00:37:54You know, somebody had a concern,
00:37:55and so we stopped in there.
00:37:57Okay, thank you.
00:37:58Have a good one.
00:38:26Disabled people aren't threatened by our bodies.
00:38:50In Ottawa, senators are set to begin the final debate
00:38:53on an amended version of Bill C-7,
00:38:56which aims to expand access to medically-assisted dying.
00:39:04At the time when MAID was expanded to disabled people,
00:39:08it wasn't on my radar.
00:39:10I think that happened basically a year or so
00:39:13before things started to crumble around my life,
00:39:18so it was something that I, you know,
00:39:22became aware of after the fact.
00:39:24We may even have a news conference tomorrow.
00:39:26Publicly, the government keeps saying,
00:39:29wait until tomorrow.
00:39:31Sources say the Liberal cabinet struggled with several issues
00:39:34as it crafted this proposed legislation.
00:39:38In 2016, legislation was passed through the Canadian Parliament
00:39:42that allowed medical assistance in dying, or MAID.
00:39:46At the time, it was seen as a progressive legislation,
00:39:50a move forward,
00:39:51because the process only allowed for people
00:39:54if they had a reasonably foreseeable death.
00:39:58But the Quebec Court directed our federal government
00:40:01to broaden the legislation
00:40:03to allow people the access MAID
00:40:05even if they weren't going to die
00:40:08in 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.
00:40:21Minister Lamedi, we'll start with you.
00:40:23The floor is yours.
00:40:24Please go ahead.
00:40:24Bill C-7 proposes an important change
00:40:27to our medical assistance in dying or MAID regime.
00:40:31This legislation will prioritize
00:40:32the individual autonomy of Canadians who are suffering
00:40:35to choose a peaceful death
00:40:37if they determine that their situation
00:40:39is no longer tolerable to them,
00:40:41regardless of proximity to death.
00:40:46So who are we talking about?
00:40:49This is Linda Jarrett.
00:40:51Linda was diagnosed at the age of 50
00:40:54with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.
00:40:57She does not want to stay
00:40:58in a 24-7 long-term care facility
00:41:01for what could be years on end.
00:41:03She wants the comfort of knowing
00:41:05that she will be able to make a choice
00:41:07if her condition and her suffering
00:41:08becomes too much to bear.
00:41:11For 40 years,
00:41:12Dignity Canada has been committed
00:41:14to advancing end-of-life rights
00:41:16and helping Canadians avoid unwanted suffering.
00:41:22We're here today to speak in support
00:41:24of the legislative amendments
00:41:25that have been put forward in Bill C-7.
00:41:28There were, I believe, more than 120 experts
00:41:31that sat in front of Parliament
00:41:33and gave their recommendations on Bill C-7
00:41:37and around 50 organizations,
00:41:40doctors and individuals and advocates
00:41:42spoke vehemently against the legislation.
00:41:46It is very interesting that out of everybody
00:41:48who's here,
00:41:49most of them are made lobbyists.
00:41:55You guys need disability experts
00:41:57to speak to you about
00:41:59what they consider as dangerous in this bill.
00:42:04I think when witnesses refer to other witnesses
00:42:07on the panel as lobbyists
00:42:08in a derogatory manner,
00:42:10I think that's not really respectful.
00:42:15We did hear various voices,
00:42:17including voices from the disability community.
00:42:20We took the decision,
00:42:22put quite simply,
00:42:25to reduce suffering.
00:42:30Why us?
00:42:32Why only us?
00:42:33Why only people whose bodies are altered?
00:42:37Why not everyone
00:42:38who decides that their quality of life
00:42:42is in the ditch?
00:42:45Disability advocates recognized
00:42:47and raised flags that said
00:42:50this opens up a quagmire
00:42:52where people with disabilities
00:42:53could be pressured to access MAID
00:42:56instead of receiving
00:42:58the proper supports and services.
00:43:03It looks as though the government
00:43:05is rushing legislation
00:43:06to allow people the right to die
00:43:07without also supporting the right to live,
00:43:10and that's where I get worried.
00:43:15What we're doing with Track 2,
00:43:17or Bill C-7,
00:43:18is we're singling out
00:43:19one group of Canadians
00:43:21and saying,
00:43:22boy, it must be terrible
00:43:23to live your life,
00:43:25and we think it's so terrible
00:43:28that we're going to assist you
00:43:29to end it.
00:43:30Our biggest fear
00:43:31has always been
00:43:32that having a disability
00:43:33would become an acceptable reason
00:43:35for state-provided suicide.
00:43:37Bill C-7
00:43:38is our worst nightmare.
00:43:46More Canadians now have access
00:43:48to a medically-assisted death
00:43:49than ever before
00:43:51after the controversial Bill C-7
00:43:53was signed into law
00:43:54late last night.
00:43:55Now, previously,
00:43:56death had to be
00:43:57reasonably foreseeable
00:43:59for you to be granted
00:43:59what's also known
00:44:00as MAID.
00:44:01That isn't the case anymore.
00:44:22It usually takes us
00:44:24up to about a week
00:44:25to arrange all the things
00:44:27that are required
00:44:28for your assisted death,
00:44:30such as arranging nursing
00:44:33for helping with the BIV
00:44:34and arranging medications
00:44:37through a pharmacy.
00:44:38I just want to finally stress
00:44:40how important it is
00:44:41to start this process early
00:44:44so that you don't miss out
00:44:45on your chance
00:44:46to have an assisted death
00:44:48if that is what's supposed
00:44:50to happen to you.
00:44:54Don't miss your chance.
00:44:57Okay, let me go through
00:44:59some of that.
00:45:05It feels like I'm at the DMV.
00:45:10In your opinion.
00:45:11In your opinion.
00:45:12Do you have a disability?
00:45:15Yes.
00:45:16In my opinion, I do.
00:45:19If he has what types
00:45:21of disability?
00:45:24Mobility?
00:45:26Dexterity?
00:45:28That was very dexterous, though.
00:45:30I know.
00:45:31I'm a miracle.
00:45:33You're so brave.
00:45:36Inspiration to us all.
00:45:37Yeah.
00:45:37You're welcome.
00:45:39How often does your disability
00:45:42limit daily activities?
00:45:44Always.
00:45:49I'm scared.
00:45:50This is making me scared.
00:45:53Yeah.
00:45:55If I had to get any hits
00:45:56on the door.
00:46:01So you could confirm
00:46:03all of the above.
00:46:08So I would pass this
00:46:10with flowery colors
00:46:11if I lived in Canada.
00:46:14And if you wanted to die.
00:46:16What?
00:46:17Yes.
00:46:24I believe that my medical
00:46:27condition is serious
00:46:28and cannot be worthy
00:46:31by any means or accept.
00:46:37I have to tell you.
00:46:39I tried to be funny
00:46:42on the first page.
00:46:44But doing this
00:46:50was difficult.
00:46:53What's gone through your mind?
00:47:00I think that
00:47:04I'm wondering
00:47:06how I would
00:47:08view my life
00:47:10if I did have
00:47:12the support
00:47:15of the family
00:47:17and my partner
00:47:20and my friends
00:47:26and how I would
00:47:29view my life
00:47:31because I,
00:47:32you know,
00:47:34obviously
00:47:34I have felt
00:47:41much
00:47:41anything
00:47:42I think
00:47:43I guess
00:47:45different in the past.
00:47:51It's interesting
00:47:53just hearing you say
00:47:54you don't know what
00:47:55you don't know
00:47:56how you would view
00:47:57your life necessarily
00:47:58if you didn't have
00:47:59your friends
00:48:00and your family
00:48:01and a support system
00:48:02and everything that,
00:48:04you know,
00:48:06something you love to do
00:48:07that you get to do
00:48:08making films
00:48:09like
00:48:09I feel the same way.
00:48:11Yeah.
00:48:12What if I didn't have
00:48:12any of those things either?
00:48:14Yeah.
00:48:14I wouldn't be allowed
00:48:15to do this.
00:48:15Yeah.
00:48:18Yeah.
00:48:18I don't know what you're doing.
00:48:21Weird.
00:48:30While making this film
00:48:33I've been asked directly
00:48:35and indirectly
00:48:36whether I have ever
00:48:38considered
00:48:39killing myself.
00:48:44I resent it.
00:48:46not because I'm ashamed
00:48:50but because
00:48:52a physical question
00:48:54that a non-disabled
00:48:56filmmaker
00:48:56would not be asked.
00:49:01This film
00:49:03is not about
00:49:04suicide.
00:49:05It's about
00:49:06the phenomenon
00:49:07that leaves
00:49:09people desperate
00:49:10to find
00:49:12their place
00:49:12in the world
00:49:13that perpetually
00:49:15rejects them.
00:49:21I have fallen
00:49:22in
00:49:23and out
00:49:24of that
00:49:25desperation
00:49:26my whole life.
00:49:49look at that.
00:49:50That's in her apartment
00:49:51after she graduated
00:49:52from high school
00:49:53and left angel view.
00:49:55Yep.
00:49:55Mm-hmm.
00:49:56I remember she liked
00:49:57to have her hair
00:49:58feathered.
00:49:59That is so
00:50:00that's
00:50:00I love this picture.
00:50:03Yeah.
00:50:04She had her own
00:50:05her own bitchin' van
00:50:06when she could get around
00:50:07more.
00:50:08Mm-hmm.
00:50:11This is her.
00:50:12Graduation.
00:50:13Yeah.
00:50:15SDSU.
00:50:18She was happy.
00:50:19That was a great time.
00:50:20That was such a great day.
00:50:21She's like give me
00:50:22that champagne.
00:50:23Yeah.
00:50:28And then it just got
00:50:29a couple years
00:50:30after that
00:50:31she just
00:50:31it was kind of
00:50:32going downhill.
00:50:33Mm-hmm.
00:50:35I'm kind of wondering
00:50:37what happened.
00:50:40It seemed like
00:50:41she was finally
00:50:44finding a place
00:50:46in college.
00:50:47She had this dose
00:50:49of independence
00:50:51and she carried
00:50:53that momentum
00:50:55into grad school
00:50:57where she wanted
00:50:58to be a medical
00:50:59social worker.
00:51:00how did she
00:51:03go from
00:51:04kind of ready
00:51:06to be
00:51:07of service
00:51:09to other people
00:51:10to
00:51:12wanting
00:51:13to end her life
00:51:15so quickly?
00:51:18There's layers
00:51:19to that
00:51:20to properly
00:51:22answer that.
00:51:25A professor
00:51:27told her
00:51:27that she would
00:51:28never work
00:51:29and
00:51:30that she shouldn't
00:51:31be in graduate
00:51:32school.
00:51:33And so
00:51:34she dropped
00:51:35out of college.
00:51:38During that time
00:51:40she met
00:51:41Richard.
00:51:43I didn't even know
00:51:44she had gotten
00:51:45married till after
00:51:46she was married.
00:51:47She got pregnant
00:51:48which was probably
00:51:50one of her biggest
00:51:51dreams.
00:51:52She loved kids
00:51:54but she lost it.
00:51:57and then
00:51:59she actually
00:52:00left
00:52:00Richard
00:52:02permanently.
00:52:04It was not
00:52:05a good marriage
00:52:05at all.
00:52:06And then after that
00:52:07she did not want
00:52:09to go on
00:52:11in this life
00:52:13with what she had.
00:52:15it resonated
00:52:17to me
00:52:18because
00:52:18when I was
00:52:21in graduate
00:52:21school
00:52:22I had a professor
00:52:24who wouldn't
00:52:26accommodate me
00:52:27and I
00:52:29wanted to
00:52:31drop out
00:52:33and
00:52:34I don't know
00:52:36what would have
00:52:36happened if I
00:52:38wasn't able
00:52:39to finish
00:52:40graduate school
00:52:41everywhere
00:52:42they came in
00:52:43we would go
00:52:4425.
00:52:46So
00:52:46Wow.
00:52:48Yeah.
00:52:55So this lady
00:52:56wrote an article
00:52:57about Liz
00:52:58in this local
00:53:00newspaper
00:53:00and it immediately
00:53:01went across
00:53:02just spread like
00:53:03wildfire.
00:53:04Elizabeth Bouvet
00:53:05lies flat on her
00:53:06back in a hospital
00:53:07room in California.
00:53:08Her body is useless
00:53:09to her.
00:53:10Trapped in a useless
00:53:10body.
00:53:11Trapped in a useless
00:53:12body and wants to
00:53:13die.
00:53:14She wants to be
00:53:14helped to starve.
00:53:15A severely
00:53:16handicapped.
00:53:17Physically helpless.
00:53:18And victim of
00:53:18cerebral palsy.
00:53:20The severely
00:53:20disabled woman.
00:53:21She's living in a
00:53:22body that she really
00:53:23can't control,
00:53:24can't do anything
00:53:24with, she's very
00:53:25bright, she's
00:53:26intelligent, she's
00:53:26attractive, but so
00:53:28what?
00:53:28Her body finally
00:53:30gave out.
00:53:31I just turned off
00:53:32the media.
00:53:33They just made
00:53:34stuff up that
00:53:35wasn't even like
00:53:36they were talking
00:53:37about her.
00:53:38I know what kind
00:53:39of help is available
00:53:40to me, and I'm
00:53:41saying that I do
00:53:42not wish to have
00:53:42that any longer, and
00:53:44I do not want
00:53:45that.
00:53:47Do you realize what
00:53:48the consequences of
00:53:49the court granting
00:53:51your request in this
00:53:52case would be?
00:53:53Yes, I do.
00:53:54What would the
00:53:55consequences be?
00:53:56also it would be
00:53:57good.
00:54:01It was out of the
00:54:04blue.
00:54:06Like, like it was
00:54:08like a slug in the
00:54:09gut, really.
00:54:13It was really
00:54:14painful, painful for
00:54:16the family.
00:54:18um
00:54:23okay can i stop yeah just for a second yeah
00:54:35doctors want to discharge bouvet they say she's medically ready but there's no place for her to go
00:54:41the hospital has contacted care facilities throughout california
00:54:44and none is willing to take responsibility for her i can't see myself sitting in the
00:54:50common lesson home or attempting to struggle on the outside is the argument a question of
00:54:58her mental confidence to make a decision like this she is totally rational free of mental disease
00:55:04and has made this decision after very careful consideration of the options an understanding of
00:55:10the consequences a real good try a heroic try at life and on the basis of no sort of coercion
00:55:18or
00:55:19overbearingness on any part anyone's part at all
00:55:24richard scott was the public face of brevet's legal team
00:55:31he also co-founded the hemlock society in 1980
00:55:43the national organization's mission was to expand access to assisted suicide in the u.s
00:55:59i questioned the intent of the lawyers you know they are going to fight for her but maybe she
00:56:08didn't ultimately really want to go that far that was in my gut you know did she dig herself down
00:56:17into a
00:56:17whole you know what is it that we would need to do to make her come out of that or
00:56:22to give her a line
00:56:25with the right counselors and the right support and looking at alternatives maybe it would be okay
00:56:39on the surface the hospital's lawyers seem to have raised interest in mind but like richard scott's
00:56:51they had their own agenda which was to protect the hospital
00:56:58your honor the authority to carry out plaintiffs requests certainly can only be legislative
00:57:06because what plaintiff is asking flies smack in the face of the civil
00:57:12penal and administrative laws of this state the effect of a ruling in favor of the plaintiff would
00:57:19require hospitals clinics physicians medical professionals and their personnel to be dispensers
00:57:26of death on demand the potential for abuse is not hard to imagine euthanasia murdered assisted suicide
00:57:35would be a reality your honor in a civilized society that values life the consent of those who
00:57:44are governed would never allow it and may we never see that day
00:57:55more than 6 700 canadians have had medically assisted death since it became legal in 2016. i've got some
00:58:03new statistics on how many british colombians are making that choice and the numbers are rising
00:58:08since made past it's been a astronomic increase in the number of deaths
00:58:18canada has actually outpaced belgium the netherlands and luxembourg who've had assisted suicide for
00:58:2820 plus years
00:58:31i'm not surprised because in working with the populations and the persons that i work with
00:58:37they are often made desperate for example it can take to see a psychiatrist or a pain specialist
00:58:46a 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
00:58:58what kind of choices are we giving people
00:59:19during the hearings for bill c7 the senate requested that the parliamentary budget officer
00:59:27estimate cost savings of expansion of medical assistance and 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 c7 and it was part
00:59:58of what the senate 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
01:00:14things have been cut desperately and at the same time we're watching this legislation broaden to include
01:00:22more people being allowed to access made a 27 year old was given the green light to receive medical
01:00:28assistance in dying her only known diagnoses are autism and adhd 23 year old kiano afian was approved for
01:00:37and there isn't a ton of awareness or training for doctors to educate them on what is a vulnerable person
01:00:52and how to avoid pressuring people into this
01:00:56for christine gotzia 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 if things are so hard and you just can't keep going on and you know we can assist
01:01:14you
01:01:15with the egg to die alan nichols family says he suffered from mental illness and was not eligible for the
01:01:22lethal injection doctors gave him
01:01:25and he was not eligible for the lethal injection doctors and he was not eligible for the lethal injection
01:01:29it's quite clear that disabled people are dying significantly through made um and there are many
01:01:37many many many stories and okay we have to we have to just be very careful of the language that
01:01:43is used
01:01:47we cannot have on the record that disabled persons are dying on mass because of track 2 made i just
01:01:53they they must qualify for made otherwise you can't access made canada is one of the most liberal
01:02:00countries in the world when it comes to medically assisted dying it's further expanding eligibility to
01:02:05include people with mental disorders the only way you can justify the system in place right now is if
01:02:13you think that people who are disabled are not worth the same as someone with an able body we're moving
01:02:21really quickly to talk about further potential expansions versus looking back on all the
01:02:27missteps 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 commission
01:02:36last 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 made 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 but when you
01:03:11when you acquire it when you have like an accident or you're aging in life it's like you're losing
01:03:17functionality you're losing the thing about you that society said made you great and able to be
01:03:22productive and a lot of the senators and elected officials that i've heard from are afraid themselves
01:03:29of aging and they want autonomy it's about a sense of control and disability really takes that away from
01:03:34you and i think those of us who are born with it disabilities we understand that but the decision
01:03:39makers who are afraid of themselves and what their bodies will look like in the future are really
01:03:44ruining our chances at like surviving
01:03:52hi catherine
01:03:56things with me are okay just the feeling of overwhelm
01:04:01that i get knowing that we're up against like an entire lobby group of like former politicians and
01:04:08just how big this lobby group is but it's not really talked about often
01:04:12yeah but the effort of lobbying where you know 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 all those
01:04:33suffering people we just get them to ask for me when bill susan was passed we said you cannot contain
01:04:44this
01:04:45and it will become a vessel for disability eradication uh you know reminiscent of the third right
01:04:54we do use the language of eugenics to describe what is happening i think it's a legitimate uh invoking of
01:05:05history
01:05:06like you cannot address human suffering by killing people even if you set it up in a way that people
01:05:16come forward voluntarily
01:05:34i feel that this film will be dismissed as cynicism
01:05:41i feel that this film sounds like a false alarm
01:06:07but the death of disabled people has been justified for so long
01:06:14why do we recognize new forms of an old idea
01:06:22how do we separate history that is ongoing
01:06:26how do we separate history that is ongoing
01:06:46august 4th 1993 jack kevorkian was present at yet another assisted suicide 30 year old thomas hyde hyde
01:06:53had lou gehrig's disease it is an assisted suicide and euthanasia that's on trial you 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 disabled infant
01:07:24most people don't understand what eugenics is and if they did they would find that they agreed with much of
01:07:29it
01:07:54i think we're going to start heading up
01:07:56uh i have signs for both of you if you like signs i've got these fancy shower curtain signs
01:08:03i like you should have that then
01:08:11compassionate choices organized this press conference
01:08:15the lobby group was originally known as the hemlock society
01:08:28uh
01:08:31um
01:08:34can 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 and if there's not a more fundamental role of government
01:08:56than to relieve human suffering i don't know why the hell we're here
01:09:02other states have outpaced us
01:09:05nevada'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
01:09:13it's fundamental to the rights of new yorkers to have agency not just over their lives but over
01:09:21the end of their lives so let's get this done thank you compassionate choices thank you for your
01:09:27excellent advocacy we will win new yorkers will win thank you very much
01:09:35thank you
01:09:35are you just as dedicated to fully funding home care are you just as committed to making sure
01:09:41there are no rollbacks that home care workers can make livable wages and when people need access
01:09:47to palliative and hospice care they don't have to jump through all these hoops and they don't have
01:09:53to become impoverished not exactly this topic but it is very related to this i get it um you know
01:10:00we
01:10:00will have a budget that keeps uh home care workers people in their own homes all right thank you
01:10:06thank you
01:10:13do you think what is happening in canada could happen in the u.s where these laws expand from
01:10:22terminal illness turn to disability that's my biggest fear was in europe across the ocean and
01:10:30now it's like right across the border so like we're seeing this developing and it's not just a
01:10:35slippery slope it's like the snowball coming down the hill it's going to be an avalanche because the
01:10:40health system is basically going to tell you you should kill yourself because that's the cheapest option
01:11:09that's what's happening in the world over 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 to die but at the
01:11:31same
01:11:31time i didn't want to live an indignified life stuck in long-term care and so what was the first
01:11:40step for me
01:11:43actually i actually i didn't even get to the first assessment to be honest um because they
01:11:49got back to me and said we're too busy killing other people to come kill you today try again later
01:11:56they said if i'm still interested i should reapply in three to six months
01:12:02and have you reapplied no why not because the situation has vastly improved from that time
01:12:19provisionally there are two separate programs that offer funding for home care hours combined it's
01:12:26basically just enough to give me the kind of support that i would need to remain in the community
01:12:33so hoping that that becomes permanent
01:12:40oh my god it's hard to be helpful but are you okay i certainly have my ups and downs
01:12:50i wouldn't say that my situation is fully resolved but you know 13 months later i'm still here so that
01:12:59definitely shows maybe there's a way to make the impossible possible
01:13:19please remain seated and come to order this court is now in session from the evidence presented the
01:13:28the court has determined that the ultimate issue is whether or not a severely handicapped mentally
01:13:36competent person who is otherwise physically healthy and not terminally ill has the right to
01:13:43end her life with the assistance of society the court concludes that she does not
01:13:51this session of this court is now adjourned thank you your honor not being able to have lives of their
01:14:02own design
01:14:04dictated michael and elizabeth's path
01:14:10that the future certainly realized by a pure credit blackjack and the court's decision
01:14:18is called for both celebration and outrage elizabeth bouvier the paraplegic who sued to try to force a
01:14:33california hospital to let her die under its care appeared at wanting now to live she's reported to be
01:14:39eating 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 knows i 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
01:15:07after she left riverside general hospital they sent her to la general and that's when she got her catheter
01:15:17she had a morphine drip a hickman catheter in her chest i think that helped her ease the pain
01:15:26and then teresa was able to find her a place in pasadena
01:15:32she got her set up and the state was actually paying for a lot of services that they hadn't paid
01:15:38for before
01:15:42there she is miss america
01:15:50there and then we have to zoom yeah well don't zoom in too far please check it out
01:15:56look into there okay oh god i can see your pimple your poor pimple your pores let's see your ear
01:16:06okay where are we liz my house in south pasadena not pasadena let's get that straight teresa
01:16:15oh my god there's the beanie bitty all right first she's her little beanie babies her beanie babies
01:16:23okay we're going down the hall and we've got a bathroom this is bathroom and here's the nurse's
01:16:31room this is very neat she's a neat freak oh my god there's the scary doll oh listen her new
01:16:39tv for
01:16:40her nurses there we go there's her wheelchair it gives her a little bit of freedom to get out and
01:16:48harass
01:16:48it gives us people okay when you receive government support like liz did there's a very low limit on
01:16:58how much money that you can earn say hi bye guys so in order to have her equipment and staffing
01:17:06paid for
01:17:07she essentially had to stay unemployed you know i think early on when she first moved into that
01:17:14apartment in south pasadena it was actually a pretty good time i would say for the next 10 years it
01:17:19was
01:17:20you know things were going pretty well for her this is this is lisa her nurse uh she worked for
01:17:28liz for 24 hours five days a week this is liz's computer this is okay liz does every day hours
01:17:37and hours
01:17:38she loves her computer what i'm doing here is getting a book into the computer so i can read it
01:17:44max mind move down
01:18:01we're going to the movie we're going to be shut up there she goes there she goes
01:18:14there are parallels between elizabeth's tumultuous time under the spotlight and her quiet death
01:18:26she wasn't hard enough in either
01:18:31i am reluctant to try to wrap up her story with my interpretation and while i did choose these
01:18:41final words they all heard none the loss
01:18:54i'm reading from a draft of kind of this is a story that she and i were working on back
01:19:02in 2006
01:19:05and she was a very private person so she was hesitant to to kind of go back to that time
01:19:12in the 80s
01:19:14but i think um she wanted to be able to share her story as much as she could and so
01:19:20i was just helping
01:19:21her so um yeah so i mean i haven't opened this really even looked at it
01:19:29you know everyone has a story to tell mine is just one in a million
01:19:34what sets it apart however is the social issues surrounding it
01:19:44it's just one in a million years and it's just one in a million years behind the media facade and
01:20:07the
01:20:07power lawyers was a scared and forgotten soul
01:20:10trying hopelessly to maintain her dignity amongst bureaucratic chaos and overnight sensationalism
01:20:20sir do you want to die
01:20:23do i want to die do you want to die do do do i want to die
01:20:32back then when i was s why i chose to die
01:20:37i would pathetically respond i don't want to die but if it means being in this body i don't want
01:20:44to 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 independent or support myself
01:21:08over time i started realizing that getting an education would not make my future as secure as i thought it
01:21:16would
01:21:17i can't see myself sitting in a conglomerate home or attempting to struggle on the outside
01:21:26i think one of my biggest things that really frustrated me was being trapped by the bureaucratic
01:21:33system on which i am dependent
01:21:38i have never and will never be financially able to support myself therefore i have to rely on a system
01:21:46that is not only overburdened but sometimes unfair it is a vicious cycle from which i will never escape
01:21:57this i have to say was the number one factor in my decision to end my life
01:22:05is
01:22:32when i have to say this
01:23:00So, let's go.
Comments