Discussion · Government Orders
Marilène Gill Bloc Québécois
“Mental pain is just as real as physical pain, even if we cannot see it. People in a sudden crisis cannot ask for medically assisted dying anyway. We should not ban people with mental illness from accessing it without having this discussion.”
“Mr. Speaker, I was just talking about empathy. Some issues are painful and resonate differently with each and every one of us. We need to be open to others and to the many different stories we encounter. I have often heard the issue framed in terms of access to health care. I would not want that expression to be reduced to a caricature. We see it in our society: There is a hierarchy of suffering. Physical suffering is recognized, but when it comes to psychological suffering, people question whether it is real, even if they may have legitimate reasons for doing so. We do not have access to another person’s thoughts. In fact, I certainly hope no one has access to mine. We cannot see inside a person’s mind, and that can indeed make things difficult. It is not something tangible. We are dealing with something intangible. Sometimes, we find it hard to understand. Nevertheless, these debates need to happen. We are not talking here about someone in crisis. The health care system takes charge of people in crisis. A person cannot request medical assistance in dying while in crisis or while in need of services. However, I agree with my colleague that we need to have this discussion in order to help the people who can be helped.”
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Mr. Speaker, I was just talking about empathy. Some issues are painful and resonate differently with each and every one of us. We need to be open to others and to the many different stories we encounter. I have often heard the issue framed in terms of access to health care. I would not want that expression to be reduced to a caricature. We see it in our society: There is a hierarchy of suffering. Physical suffering is recognized, but when it comes to psychological suffering, people question whether it is real, even if they may have legitimate reasons for doing so. We do not have access to another person’s thoughts. In fact, I certainly hope no one has access to mine. We cannot see inside a person’s mind, and that can indeed make things difficult. It is not something tangible. We are dealing with something intangible. Sometimes, we find it hard to understand. Nevertheless, these debates need to happen. We are not talking here about someone in crisis. The health care system takes charge of people in crisis. A person cannot request medical assistance in dying while in crisis or while in need of services. However, I agree with my colleague that we need to have this discussion in order to help the people who can be helped.