Posted on 08/31/2006 4:53:19 PM PDT by wagglebee
PENTICTON, British Colombia, August 31, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An elderly man shot his wife and then ended his own life in a murder-suicide at Penticton Regional Hospital Tuesday afternoon, in a murder-suicide referred to as an “act of compassion” by media reports. John McCadden was 77—his 80-year-old wife, Lorna McCadden, had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers disease the previous week, the Globe and Mail reported.
While such tragic cases are frequently tagged as “mercy killings” by the media, in fact such killings are rarely motivated by compassion, Alex Schadenberg, executive director of Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, told LifeSiteNews.com.
“The pro-euthanasia people have been spelling out a new theory, and the media has bought it,” Schadenberg said. “The theory is that if you legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide, you wouldn’t have these types of murder-suicides. These terrible acts of ‘love’ wouldn’t happen, if people had another option, they say”.
“Well, that type of myth has got to be exposed for what it is. These violent acts are based out of deep depressive conditions, or they are the act of someone who has been a controlling person all their life, and that is their attempt to control the situation.”
Schadenberg referred to a U.S. study on murder-suicides, published in the March 2005 issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry by Malphurs and Cohen, which found that in fact most homicide-suicides of older persons are not “mercy” killings.
“In fact, this ‘mercy-killing’ perception is a myth,” said the authors. “The husbands in such cases are often abusers, and the wives are rarely complicit. In many such cases, defense wounds indicate that the wife fought for her life.”
The study found that many spouses suffer depression and mental breakdown due to the care demands and life changes related to an ailing spouse. The authors suggested that providing better care to both the ailing spouse and the physically healthy spouse could prevent many tragic murder-suicides.
Schadenberg agreed, saying Canada’s health care system needs to address the care needs of both spouses if such tragedies are going to be prevented.
“What our health care system has to be more concerned about is the mental health of the spouse of the person who is going through a life-threatening or debilitating disease. A lot of people find themselves in a situation where they are all alone. They find themselves very lonely, they find themselves abandoned, and they lose it. I think that is more likely to precipitate [violence] than anything else.”
See related LifeSiteNews coverage:
BC COUPLE MURDER DISABLED SON AND COMMIT SUICIDE
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2002/jan/02010403.html
“Well, that type of myth has got to be exposed for what it is. These violent acts are based out of deep depressive conditions, or they are the act of someone who has been a controlling person all their life, and that is their attempt to control the situation.”
"Death with Dignity" means God alone determines the time and manner of death.
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My bet is that this so called expert is a shill for old folks homes for lack of a better term.
Euthanasia in Canadian means: Euphemism !
Canadians love to boast about their Socialized Health-care system, sysytem that lets people fall through the cracks .
Beyond that, Canada is so dark and cold, who wouldn't be depressed in that gray land and want to 'snuff it' ?
When old women start blowing away their sick old husbands (instead of the other 'way around), maybe I'll buy your theory.
Here in Johnson County, KS there is a little club called the O'Connor Inns of Court, named after a federal judge who shot his wife and then killed himself. I'm a lawyer and find it appalling that they would honor a murderer in this way.
So you believe this old man realizing he could no longer abuse and control his wife, he killed her and then killed himself?
""Death with Dignity" means God alone determines the time and manner of death."
And if there is no God?
Then let nature run it's course.
"...seeing them going into the endless spiral of dependence..."
Desperation, without a doubt, but not uncompassionate. One old person unable to properly care for a spouse and watching them fading into the dark world of Alzheimers, without the financial resources to pay the 4-6K a month it costs to keep someone in an assisted living dementia facility is more than most can deal with. I went through this for years with my Mother who, bless her heart, is finally with the Lord, but only after losing her mind as well as her dignity.
The home we finally had to put her in for the last four months of her life was happy to accept, and in fact encouraged, our paying several months in advance on her care, but within days of getting seven months worth of money from us, they declared bancruptcy; Mom passed after four months, the family was out $12,000+. They knew this bankruptcy was coming but the heartless bastards took advantage of a caring family at a most vulnerable time. And yes, she had long term care insurance but after paying into it for some thirty years, when the time came that she needed it, we were informed that it only covered ordinary resthome care, not dementia care. More crooks preying on the trusting elderly.
Your guess that the expert is a shill for old folks homes is probably very close to the mark.
"...his 80-year-old wife, Lorna McCadden, had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers disease the previous week..."
How can the diagnoses of ANYTHING at age 80 be considered "early onset"?
That's what I was thinking. My sister died 2 years ago from Alzheimer's at the age of 59 after living for 18 years with it. It's a horrible way to go, but 80 yoa is not early onset.
I think that in addition to desperation, it indicates that the perpetrato may be suffering from depression.
You work all your life to leave a little something for your kids and grandkids and between taxes and the nursing home its all gone. If that isnt depressing I dont know what is. I hope I die the day they put me in one.
Let's not be so sentimental about "this old man." The fact is he murdered his wife. As Mattie says in the novel "True Grit,": "Who knows what's in a man's heart?"
"When old women start blowing away their sick old husbands (instead of the other 'way around), maybe I'll buy your theory"
I think that is a very good point, I know you've got me thinking about it.
In the US "early onset Alzheimers" hits people younger than 65.
No doubt Mr. McCadden became totally frantic discovering that his apparantly aged wife was actually 15 years younger than he'd recalled.
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