Controversial End of Life Issues

Have you ever discussed Medical Assistance in Dying, Abortion, Capital Punishment or other controversial end of life issues with people who have different perspectives? Have those conversations been respectful or combative? Have they influenced your thoughts on these topics? 

Are your perspectives on these issues informed by topical experts, religion, politics, personal life philosophies, experiences, family, or other factors? How have these influences presented themselves? Do you feel you were a contributor to these ideas or just a recipient? Did information influencing your perspectives include personal conversations, reading specific Canadian legislation, mass media, social media, or academic study?

MAID primarily involves a person's choice regarding their own life. Abortion primarily involves a person's choice about their own life, and their perspective on what constitutes the developmental stage in which human rights should begin. Capital punishment primarily involved the choices made by a judge or jury, not the person whose life would end. Do these differences bring you to differing conclusions on each of these topics or similar conclusions?

Have you established a conclusive position on the three main end of life issues being discussed? How commonly do you encounter someone who says, "I don't know" when asked about their point of view on these difficult topics? If you've come to conclusions, have those positions changed over time? If you've come to a conclusion, in what circumstances would you refuse to share that conclusion with an inquirer? When would you share it with someone else?

How can nuanced, thoughtful, and ideologically diverse policy be developed when topics are deeply polarizing? Should we have non-partisan panels of experts establish certain kinds of legislation? What kinds of expertise should be included or excluded? What role should religious groups take in public policy on death-related topics? 

What do you believe happens when someone dies? How does this inform your ideas about end of life issues? Do the immediate circumstances preceding someone's death have anything to do with their experience of the afterlife in your opinion?

Are there people you know who may feel the need to discuss these issues with a non-judgemental person like yourself? Has the conversation we're having now helped equip you to invite folks to talk through any of these issues with you?