TORONTO, May 4, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A powerful new DVD on euthanasia and assisted suicide entitled: Turning the Tide produced by the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and Salt and Light television media foundation is now available. The video is of such quality and significance that it was the subject of a lengthy interview report on the Zenit Internet news service yesterday (see http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=107110)
Turning the Tide was designed to change the way secular society perceives the issues of euthanasia and assisted suicide. Secular society views the issues of euthanasia and assisted suicide to be issues related to autonomy whereas Turning the Tide shifts the focus of the issue.
Turning the Tide uses a personal story style to focus on the vulnerability of the person when one experiences disability, depression or symptoms related to degenerative and/or end of life conditions. The video also focusses on issues related to pain and symptom management and proper end-of-life care.
Groups that have viewed Turning the Tide have been tremendously impressed by the production quality of the video and the profound comments by the people featured in the DVD.
Catherine Frazee, disability studies professor at Ryerson University comments in Turning the Tide that: "People like to frame this debate in the language of autonomy, or individual choice. They'll say to me that it's all right, you can say no, but other people will want to say yes, but I don't think individual autonomy should ever be permitted to trump the safety and well-being of the community."
Wesley Smith comments in Turning the Tide that: "You have a situation in Canada and certainly in the United States, where people are having difficulty getting access to ... good pain control, good psychiatric involvement and good social services. Are we going to say that the answer for these problems is assisted suicide?"
Senator Sharon Carstairs, former chair of the Special Senate Committee on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide answers the question on why people want euthanasia and assisted suicide by stating: "sometimes the pian is just too horrible, but we can deal with that. The other reason is ... they want their personal dignity. Well that says something pretty awful about each and every one of us. Why have they lost their sense of dignity? It is because we have made them feel less than dignified?"
Jean Echlin, winner of the Dorothy Lea award for excellence in palliative care in 2004 comments in Turning the Tide that: "I could never advocate for someone to suicide when I can offer them pain management and symptom management right where they are."
Turning the Tide features: Bobby Schindler (Terri Schiavo's brother), Wesley Smith (Attorney, International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide), Catherine Frazee (former chair of the Ontario Human Rights Committee), Adrian Dieleman (counselor, rehabilitation clinic for spinal cord injuries in Hamilton), Jean Echlin (palliative care nursing consultant), Senator Sharon Carstairs (Senator from Manitoba), Alex Schadenberg (executive director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition), Reg Hancock (spinal cord injury survivor) and more.
A Discussion Guide for small group or classroom presentations has been designed for use and included with the DVD package. The discussion guide enables groups and individuals who share our concerns about vulnerable people to organize effective presentations on the issues. It is our hope that Turning the Tide will be used to facilitate many discussion forums throughout North America.
The Turning the Tide DVD package includes all the DVD, the Discussion Guide, a recording sheet and all the resources that are necessary for making a presentation on euthanasia and assisted suicide.
The Turning the Tide DVD package can be ordered from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition for $50.00 for 1 package, $70.00 for 2 packages, or $100.00 for 4 packages by contacting the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition at: Box 25033, London ON, N6C 6A8, email: info@epcc.ca , or calling: 1-877-439-3348. Further bulk rates exist upon request.
