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Shock Vid: Mother Wants the Right to Euthanize ‘Severely Disabled’ Children — And ’90%’ of Dr. Phil’s Audience Agrees

Apr. 17, 2012 6:45pm
Canadian Mother Wants to Euthanize Severely Disabled Adult Children

Janet and Jeffery Corriveau suffer from a rare genetic condition that has their mother wanting to euthanize them.

Would you euthanize your disabled children, especially your adult children? One Canadian woman is fighting to do just that.

Dr. Phil recently featured Annette Corriveau, on his show. She is the mother of Janet and Jeffery, two severely disabled adults who she says if they had the ability to chose for themselves, they would “opt for suicide.” Since they can’t communicate though, she wants the right to end their lives herself.

(Related: Should man with paralyzing stroke but in tact mind be given the ‘right’ to die?)

Janet, 43, and Jeffery, 42, started off as healthy, seemingly normal children, but Corriveau told Canada’s Global News in an interview last month, they became particularly unruly and hard to control at age 5 and 6. From there, their condition began to deteriorate, losing speech and motor skills. Eventually, a hospital found Corriveau and her husband both carried a recessive gene for a trait that would not allow their children to process sugars. The results of this genetic illness – Sanfilippo syndrome — can include severe mental retardation, blindness, nerve damage to the point of being wheelchair bound, seizures and early death. The symptoms of the disease begin from age 2 to 8 and conditions worsen from there.

Canadian Mother Wants to Euthanize Severely Disabled Adult Children

According to Global News, both Janet and Jeffery have feeding tubes, and Corriveau believes they cannot see as they don’t respond to stimulus. Both have been in an institution since before the age of 10. Global News has more from Corriveau on her children’s condition and why she believes they would want to die rather than continue suffering:

“They wouldn’t like to live like this,” she says. “My children were full of life. When they were young, before this disease took hold…I just don’t believe that they would want to stay alive the way they are.”

[...]

Annette says no one can understand unless they watch — as she did- as her children slowly succumbed to this rare genetic disorder.

“The saying, ‘walk in another man’s moccasins’? Don’t judge. Unless you’ve been there, don’t judge,” she says. “This is no life. For anyone.”

During her appearance with Dr. Phil, the doctor  polled  the audience to see whether they agree with her right to euthanize the children or not. Dr. Phil estimates the audience is 90 percent for mercy killing of those in conditions such as Janet and Jeffery:

 

During the show, Dr. Phil clarifies that Corriveau is asking for a more “humane” way to let her children die versus taking away away their feeding tubes and letting them starve. He asks Corriveau, “If you were going to do it, do you now wish you had done it 25 years ago?” Corriveau responds she would have wanted to do it when Jeffery first received his feeding tube 17 years ago. Janet went on a feeding tube five years ago. Corriveau explains:

“After 25 years of watching them just exist, it’s time that somebody did something,” she continues. “I didn’t want to be the one to do it, but I’m here,” she adds.

Watch Global Mail’s more than 15 minute interview with Corriveau here. The interview also includes Robert Latimer, a father who killed his disabled daughter Tracy via carbon monoxide poisoning in 1993.

Canadian Mother Wants to Euthanize Severely Disabled Adult Children

Alex Schadenberg, executive director and international chair for the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, finds this feature by Global Mail “dangerously one-sided”. He writes it is a “serious attempt by the Canadian media to re-write the history of the Latimer case and to justify euthanasia for children with disabilities. In his post, Schadenberg shares the thoughts of Steve Passmore, a man with cerebral palsy who opposes euthanasia. Passmore said:

“Many people in society view people with disabilities as having lives that can be euthanized, like a kept pet, because of pain and suffering, that he lives with everyday.”

[...]

“this story clearly shows the prejudice that people with disabilities experience in society and the threat that euthanasia and assisted suicide place on the lives of people with disabilities.”

Schadenberg states that of course cases such as these cannot be taken lightly, but if parents are allowed the right to kill disabled children, it opens the door for a “a whole new debate which would focus on who lives and who dies.”

The Blaze has covered a number of articles over the past two years on this subject, from the British who said it would be “loving” for a mother to smother a disabled child (and advocates aborting disabled children, too), to the bioethicicsts who suggest killing someone with no autonomy left isn’t morally wrong.

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

Comments (302)

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  • hollyzmom
    Posted on September 14, 2012 at 1:22pm

    My dughter Holly is such a blessing. I was told to put her in an institution when she was little. I’m so glad I didn’t!! As I’ve gotten to know her, she is so smart!! I have to tolerate people in public who dress wierd, have all sorts of tatoos and piercings that gross me out…they don’t care what we think of their behavior or looks-why should we care what the public thinks of us? She has effected so many people in a positive way. OMG some teenagers are strung out on drugs, steal, abuse…should they be euthinized (mispelled I know)also? isn’t that the way Hiltler started? They first eliminated the disabled and elderly, and then expanded to the undesirable? NO- LIVE AND LET LIVE

    Report this comment

    hollyzmom  
  • hollyzmom
    Posted on September 14, 2012 at 1:15pm

    NO! Mom of a disabled daughter. She does more than expected. :Let’s NOT set an example for future parents who don’t want to be a parent to them. They have a right to live!!! It has the risk of being used as an example for future cases to those who are not aware of the disabled. They know more, and feel more than you realize. Come on people!!!

    Report this comment

    hollyzmom  
  • SIGHLENT1
    Posted on June 2, 2012 at 2:05am

    Let the mother have the choice. Having worked with extremely mentally/physically handicapped children and adults. Those that are profoundly disabled should be able to have a love one opt-out for them. Why on earth would a loved one do something NOT in their best interest? Especially the mother! From the moment they wake up they are jerked and pulled in made to do things that they had no clue why they are doing them. For what? To sit in a wheelchair all day with no quality of life? The public that fights for their right to live have NO clue what goes on in rehabilitation facilities, group homes or institutions for these people. Their life is NOT what you see in the picture! So get the facts before condemning this woman for making a wise decision for her children while she still can! We need to sit back and think about the fact that we’re trying to prolong life for everyone, but for what? To sit for years longer in your own feces? Come on, the real world is the not picture you paint thinking they have ANY quality of life.

    Report this comment

    SIGHLENT1  
  • Herne
    Posted on May 4, 2012 at 7:36pm

    I do not know what I would do in this mother’s case. I watched my mom die a slow agonizing death from cancer….the hospice nurse “warned” us that if she died in the next month, there would be no autopsy….and if we, my siblings and I who were caring for her gave her “too much morphine” at one time, her heart would stop…..her heart stopped two days later after getting this “warning” from our hospice nurse.

    The mother has been caring for these “children” for decades…she sees and experiences the quality of their lives…..she has some insight into the horror of their existence…..”They Shoot Horses Don’t They?” is a book I read in high school….I wonder, if allowing these suffering humans who have no hope of a full life to exit this world with some dignity is not the loving thing to do?

    Report this comment

    Herne  
  • dangergirl
    Posted on May 2, 2012 at 2:38pm

    May God forgive us. I will not be dragged over the cliff of total immorality and evil that these people willingly and knowingly surrender to. This is a preview of what will be if Obama gets re-elected. I will not give in to this. Never, never, never. So anyone with a life sustaining machine/device is on the list for termination, right? Think of everyone with a pacemaker, defibrillator, implant and on and on that could be considered “inconvenient” and “suffering”. That covers a couple of my beloved family members. I seriously want to run somewhere and escape from these people, but where could I go. This is a line that should not be crossed and McGraw’s audience not only crosses the line, they do it on national TV. I end as I began this blog because nothing else makes sense anymore. May God forgive us.

    Report this comment

    dangergirl  
  • lostoaks64
    Posted on May 2, 2012 at 11:44am

    I don’t believe anyone has the right to euthanize their parents, children, or any other family member. They are people not sick animals who need to go to the vet office.
    On a more upbeat note: I used to teach in a school for special needs students. They had varying ranges of learning abilities but each one could learn something and their parents love them dearly.
    One parent even raised money to create a theme park for special needs-whether they have physical challenges or learning differences. Any age can go there. It is amazing how some people view their children as treasures and others want to end their lives because they are not “normal”. I applaud the parents who vote for loving and caring for them regardless.

    Report this comment

    lostoaks64  
    • hollyzmom
      Posted on September 14, 2012 at 1:46pm

      I made so many sacrifices and poured so much into my daughter, and I wouldn’t change any of it!!! I’ve received so many rewards, met so many great people. My daughter has improved so much! I chose to keep her, and be her real mom. I can live with myself and choices!!! RIGHT TO LIVE!!

      Report this comment

      hollyzmom  
  • tootsie roll
    Posted on April 20, 2012 at 8:48pm

    Let’s remember where Dr Phil came from, He got his start from Pprah Winfrey. Now we know that Oprah does NOT believe in God or Creation, even though she was CREATED AT SOME POINT.
    Society has been going this way since Roe V Wade in 1972 or 73. So it is PROGRESSING TO
    KILL UNBORN BABIES TO FULL GROWN HUMANS. Remember it STARTS SMALL BABIES and then grows. IT IS ALL about population control.
    A German man once said; when the came for the churches and pastors, I said nothing, when they came for the Jews, I said nothing and when THEY CAME FOR ME NO ONE WAS LEFT TO STOP THEM. iT SHOCKS ME BUT DOES not SURPRISE ME THAT TODAYS SOCIETY CANNOT STAND
    ANYTHING THAT WOULD INCONVENIENCE THEIR LIFES. Sad but this is where it is going and Dr. Phil is only trying to get RATINGS HE IS SAD TOO. REMEMBER OPRAH VIEWS, NO GOD MAYBE HE FEELS THAT WAY TOO. IF THERE ARE ANY DECENT PEOPLE WHO WATCH HIS SHOW PLEASE STOP AND IT WILL BE TAKEN OFF THE AIR

    Report this comment

    tootsie roll  
  • TruthBeSpoken
    Posted on April 19, 2012 at 11:28pm

    I didn’t read the posts.
    If G-d put ya here, then your here for a reason…..
    Nuff said.

    Report this comment

    TruthBeSpoken  
  • huntinwabbits
    Posted on April 19, 2012 at 1:18pm

    I make software that county boards and providers use for the Department of Developmental Disabilities. We are a private company that many public organizations use. Therefore, I do not support this lady for many reasons. First and foremost I think it is wrong. As the father of a 9 month old baby, I don’t care what issues my baby has, I will love and care for him until I breathe my last. Secondly, I would be jobless if we got rid of anyone who does not meet our standards of quality living.

    Report this comment

    huntinwabbits  
    • The Gooch
      Posted on April 19, 2012 at 7:23pm

      I work directly with this population as a professional. What always boggles the mind is how folks with a leftist bent are drawn into this field of direct care. It appears this population has no value… until tax dollars can be drawn to “help” them (and provide for lots of sweet gub’ment jobs and six figure salaries). I’m not making a judgement call on you; helping these folks is my bread and butter also. I’m just pointing out a fact.

      Report this comment

      The Gooch  
  • Trimelda
    Posted on April 19, 2012 at 12:35pm

    The Blessed Mother appeared in the early 1960s to some little girls in Spain to proclaim three events: 1) That God would send a Warning to the entire world that would supernaturally show everyone the depths of their sins. 2) After the Warning, a year later, God would perform a Miracle that would heal everyone present at the site and leave a sign that would never fade away 3) If humanity refused to heed the Warning or be converted by the Miracle, then God would send a Chastisement that will destroy those who refuse to change.

    I mention this because the it is obvious that the Warning is on its way. Why? Because people’s consciences are so wicked that we cannot understand how EVIL it is to murder two helpless people because their handicaps bother us. Make no mistake about it. This isn’t about the children of this mother and their suffering. This is about putting someone out of THEIR misery. WE don’t like seeing their pain or dealing with their disabilities. I work with a lot of people who either have disabilities or have children who are disabled.It is hard sometimes to deal whether you’re the advocate or the parent. BUT that does not mean we are supposed to give in to our own discomfort and kill people. These are PEOPLE. You put them to sleep like deformed puppies and before the Lord God you are guilty of MURDER. The fact that we don’t get that just shows us how much we need that Warning from God to correct our consciences. We’ve become a nation of amoral pigs. God fo

    Report this comment

    Trimelda  
  • Atokaite
    Posted on April 19, 2012 at 9:28am

    Shades of 1890.
    The entire history of Eugenics, DNA discoveries, and disabling human disease lends credence to the idea of disposal.
    Unfortunately, there are no EASY answers. Living, supporting and caring for the disabled is a life style most of us would avoid at any cost.
    The path of “disposal” is so laden with human mine fields as to be non walkable.
    The path of “caring for and living with” is far better for all of us to assist, tolerate and care for.
    Semper Fi
    SURVIVE the Dark Age coming.
    End

    Report this comment

    Atokaite  
  • kim
    Posted on April 19, 2012 at 8:27am

    let them live out their lifes they are human too and should not be killed

    Report this comment

    kim  
  • changedone
    Posted on April 19, 2012 at 7:50am

    And we have seen the day that Dr. Phil has become Jerry Springer with a degree.

    Report this comment

    changedone  
    • The Gooch
      Posted on April 19, 2012 at 10:51am

      Careful. I was ripped into by some Phil-o-philes. And your post is even more unflattering than mine. This should be rich if they stumble upon. Thanks for the laugh.

      Report this comment

      The Gooch  
  • Classical Liberal
    Posted on April 19, 2012 at 4:20am

    This case would be the exception to the rule and not the rule itself by example. The severity of there condition is such that it is more cruel to keep them alive then allow them to die. They are practically catatonic.

    Report this comment

    Classical Liberal  
  • PointBlankReality
    Posted on April 19, 2012 at 1:25am

    A LOT of you people are MISSING the POINT! These two HUMAN BEINGS would ALREADY BE DEAD if it werent for the FEEDING TUBES IN THEIR NECKS!!

    They cannot feed themselves, or BE FED other than having a TUBE inserted in their throats!

    All this lady wants to be able to do, is to give them something that will “kill” them quickly and painlessly… unlike pulling the feeding tubes and letting them STARVE TO DEATH over a period of HOURS AND DAYS!!

    They are being KEPT ALIVE!!! how is THAT HUMANE????

    -PBR!

    Report this comment

    PointBlankReality  
    • The Gooch
      Posted on April 19, 2012 at 10:48am

      I’m not supporting your post, just attempting to answer your question. Lots of folks see this as a matter of facing mortality. “If these two people can be denied life sustaining interventions, at what point would I be subject to the same consideration?”
      As cruel and dehumanizing as it would be to systematically slaughter people who are are mentally ill or developmentally disabled, there is a point where what passes for technology in medical intervention becomes just as monstrous. It’s like the old question: “Why did you climb that mountain?” Because it was there. Well, why does the medical field keep forcing life functions in some bodies? Because it can. If you’ve ever talked to many a doctor, it has nothing to do with morality or even gain; for a lot this is a (sick) game… a challenge to see how long they can cheat death. Heart-warming, no?
      This is a sticky area ruled by emotion and, for many, religious beliefs. I’m for helping those who need help. I’ve never been a big fan of a Frankensteinian approaches to maintaining life functions.
      This SHOULDN”T be an easy question to answer. When it is (from either side of the argument), I don’t want such types making life or death decisions for me and mine.

      Report this comment

      The Gooch  
    • Trimelda
      Posted on April 19, 2012 at 12:52pm

      You know, your point of view is interesting. My brother came back in pieces after he was wounded in Vietnam. The doctors told my parents the same thing you posted. They claimed it would be so much more humane to let him die. They said it was selfish to keep him alive when there were so many other deserving young men with “better chances”. My mother told the doctor that if my brother was a vegetable then he’d be our personal piece of broccoli. She and my father sat by the bed for weeks at a time, taking turns to make sure the docs didn’t disconnect my brother. It was very scary for me. I thought the doctors were supposed to be for life, not death. I haven’t felt the same way about doctors ever since then. By the way, my brother recovered. His old girlfriend walked out on him because he looked “horrible.” But her friend stayed for the 22 months he was in the hospital and eventually married him. They had a son who is now married himself. Recently, my brother got an award for being the most effective disabled vet counselor of the year. When I read remarks like yours I flash right back to the look of disgust on my brother’s old girlfriend’s face when she saw his scars. I remember the soft, persuasive voice of the doctors trying to “explain”to my mother why my brother would be better off dead. Who are you or anyone else to say whether people like my brother should live or die? God forgive you because I have a hard time forgiving that kind of well meaning viciousness.

      Report this comment

      Trimelda  
    • hollyzmom
      Posted on September 14, 2012 at 1:35pm

      I disagree! Feeding tubes are used for all sorts of people. Anorexics use them to live!! Should we deny feeding tubes to humans who need them to survive? No!! I’ve known lots who are and have used feeding tubes.

      Report this comment

      hollyzmom  
    • hollyzmom
      Posted on September 14, 2012 at 1:38pm

      I am sad by peoples’ opinions and reasoning about the value and right of some to be alive. Who are you to reason the value of someone’s life?

      Report this comment

      hollyzmom  
  • Constantine Ivanov
    Posted on April 19, 2012 at 12:57am

    @SCAREBEAR83:
    “When you take God out of the equation morals then become subjective….” you said.

    Sorry to upset you:
    There is a huge problem with the notion of “subjectivity” versus “objectivity.”
    When you think that you “include God into the equation,” you have absolutely no proof that you are objective. Simply because YOUR interpretation of God’s will (or Word) might be and actually is different from others’ interpretation.
    Objectivity in religion does not exist. If it were, it would be only one denomination in any religion.
    Like Fnet = m * a (the Newton’s 2nd Law).
    Just to smooth your mood: objectivity is a method of acquiring knowledge by reasoning solely based on the facts of reality and in accordance with the laws of logic.
    In our case, objectivity in relation to a particular subject is something that has no different dubious and/or debatable interpretations.
    But we know many different particular religious denominations within the same faith: Catholicism, Protestantism, Baptism, Evangelism, Advent-ism, and so forth…
    Each of those denominations defines God’s Word differently; each pretends to be an objective bearer of the final Truth, but in fact, each of them is SUBJECTIVE.
    In Judaism we have the same variety of interpretations. And in Islam you also know different trends – Sharia, Wahhabi, Sunni, Shiah, etc. And of course, each one pretends to the final – OBJECTIVE – truth.

    So, your call for objectivity based on God’s Word is noble,

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    Constantine Ivanov  
    • Constantine Ivanov
      Posted on April 19, 2012 at 12:58am

      To finish the sentence that was cut by the server (!):
      So, your call for objectivity based on God’s Word is noble, but barely achievable.

      Report this comment

      Constantine Ivanov  
    • hollyzmom
      Posted on September 14, 2012 at 1:28pm

      I’m not impressed by your knowledge of linguistics and concept.I sense no presence of compassion…

      Report this comment

      hollyzmom  
  • kyginny
    Posted on April 19, 2012 at 12:06am

    I believe God puts people in our path so we may learn from them, and the situation we witness from those suffering. Witnessing the stuggle of others will cause us to either turn away or give of ourselves to give kindness, help, prayers. No life is wasted, no life should be snuffed out because if we were in that situation we would hate it. All life is worthwhile, suffering can make us love better, come to a better understanding of how Christ suffered for us. Noone likes suffering, but we all do in some way. Some more than others. It is up to us to accept what is put in front of us and pour out the love we are able to give. I would rather suffer here on earth, than in hell. Suffering gives us grace and the mercy of Christ. In His time He will call us all home. Not ours.

    Report this comment

    kyginny  
  • ambrosiaforliberty
    Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:53pm

    Only if they ask, if they can’t ask, then no, it’s no different than abortion. Although the right to privacy should extend to suicide under the constitution. This and abortion is murder not suicide.

    Report this comment

    ambrosiaforliberty  
  • alexegz30
    Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:51pm

    Beware of the door you open when it is directed towards the taking of a life, no matter who you are thinking of or why. If you follow that path, at some point another door will open behind you with someone just as certain in their reasons.

    Report this comment

    alexegz30  
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