Acclaimed Canada’s Writer Robert Munsch Cleared for Medical Aid in Dying
Beloved storyteller Robert Munsch has been approved for assisted death in Canada.
Munsch, whose 85 books in print feature Love You Forever, was diagnosed with cognitive decline in 2021 and additionally suffers from Parkinson’s.
The author explained that he has yet to choose a specific time, but mentioned he would proceed "when I start having major challenges speaking and expressing myself."
Canada began allowing euthanasia in 2016 for individuals facing incurable diseases. Two years ago, the law was changed to include those with significant ongoing medical problems, even in non-imminently fatal cases.
Munsch has sold more than 80 million works in North America alone and his publications have been published in two dozen languages—among them Spanish, Arabic and indigenous languages.
In 1999, Munsch was inducted of the Order of Canada. In 2009, he received a place on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto.
Munsch revealed that his path was influenced by watching his brother die from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which is motor neurone disease.
He commented, "They kept him alive through all these interventions. I felt, allow nature to take its course."
Under Canadian law, adults aged 18 and above must fulfill several conditions to be approved for medical assistance in dying.
Among them are having a "severe irreversible disease", making a "unpressured decision" that is independent of outside influence, and being in an "profound phase of irreversible decline in function".
Multiple unbiased medical professionals must then assess the individual to ensure that all necessary criteria are satisfied.
Munsch's literary representative stated that his choice to share openly about medically assisted dying "reminds us why Robert's legacy continues to resonate with people of all ages."
Munsch's offspring, Julie, shared that her dad’s choice to seek medically assisted dying was chosen five years ago.
Julie called the interview as "informative", but clarified that "it doesn’t mention is it indicated my dad is in poor health, nor that he's leaving us imminently."
According to legal requirements, the patient must be in a position to provide clear consent on the date of the procedure.
Munsch stated, "It’s essential I choose the moment when I can still ask for it."
Medically assisted dying represented 4.7% of passings in Canada in 2023, per the latest official government statistics.
Roughly 96 percent of the over 15,000 individuals who opted for assisted dying in 2023 had a passing deemed "reasonably foreseeable", because of critical diagnoses such as cancer.