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The mother of three says it’s easier to access medical help when dying than it is to get help with a disability
Published June 22, 2023 • read for 3 minutes
Finlay, a mother of three who suffered a spinal cord injury when she was 17, said she is now in a situation where she is getting sick more often while waiting for much-needed support. Photo by Facebook
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An Ontario woman is counting down the days until she can access medical assistance to die (MAID), saying it is faster and easier to sue MAID than it is to receive disability support.
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“I am a 33-year-old paralyzed single mother raising two children with disabilities,” Rose Finlay said in a video shared on social media. “Any Ontario who pays taxes and pays into social programs thinks that one day they would need the support that would be available to them. I’m here to let you know that’s not really the case.”
Finlay notes that while the MAID aptitude assessment takes 90 days, it can take up to eight months to receive disability support.
“My life as it is, without support as a paralyzed person, is much more deadly than even exploring the MAID process,” Finlay shared Worldwide news.
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Finlay, a mother of three who suffered a spinal cord injury when she was 17, said she is now in a situation where she is getting sick more often while waiting for much-needed support.
Previously, she was able to support her family and herself independently by running her own company, Inclusive Solutions, which focused on advocacy for people with disabilities. But over the past year and a half, she has struggled with increasing illness and is no longer able to work and pay her own supporters.
There are also limitations to finding adequate personal care support where she lives, she says.
She previously lived in Toronto, but has spent the past 17 years in Bowmanville, about 50 miles east of the city.
With no other options available, Finlay applied for the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), but was told it would take at least six to eight months for her application to be approved.
In March, she decided to continue with MAID, she said CBC.
“It’s not what I want,” she said. “But if I don’t get the support I need, the outcome is the same. If I get to a point where I am really sick and actually terminally ill anyway, then I would like to have other options.”
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In another video, Finlay says she’s heard from many people that she’s making this choice alone and leaving her kids behind, but says she’s “not very helpful” as she battles illnesses like acute kidney pain, extreme nausea, body tremors, and muscle twitching .
Diane Kluczynski started with one fundraiser for Finlaywriting, she was motivated to create the GoFundMe page after reading one of Finlay’s Facebook posts.
In that post, Finlay writes that the government has “created the perfect storm for people with disabilities here in Ontario”.
“Starve them, cut them off from society, and then offer them death,” she writes.
Finlay notes that the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) program stipulated that Canadians need at least $2,000 to live. $1,228 per monthas “enforced poverty”.
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In an interview with CBC, Anonthy Frisina, director of media relations at the Ontario Disability Coalition, said ODSP needs to be doubled so people can “get out of enshrined poverty and be in a better position to thrive.”
According to the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, the Ontario government has increased income support by five percent, with the next adjustment, a 6.5 percent increase, taking effect next month.
“This will bring the overall increase over the past 12 months to almost 12 percent,” the ministry said in a statement to CBC, adding that future ODSP rates will also be tied to the rate of inflation.
Finlay told CBC she is hopeful the fundraising campaign will enable her to reach a situation where she no longer needs to pursue MAID and instead has better access to support and is healthy enough to work and afford living expenses. pay.
In a blog post, Finlay writes that the average Canadian spends 8 to 11 years of their life with one or more disabilities.
“We need able-bodied allies who are willing to rally for and with us to create change,” she writes. “Although these problems may not affect you today, it is very likely that they will affect you or someone close to you in the future.”
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