{"id":148326,"date":"2025-09-16T15:34:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T15:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/148326\/"},"modified":"2025-09-16T15:34:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T15:34:11","slug":"robert-munsch-canadian-childrens-author-says-hes-been-approved-for-maid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/148326\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert Munsch, Canadian children\u2019s author, says he\u2019s been approved for MAID"},"content":{"rendered":"

Robert Munsch, the beloved Canadian children\u2019s author of books like The Paper Bag Princess\u00a0and Love You Forever, says he has been approved for medical assistance in dying<\/a> (MAID) after he was diagnosed with dementia<\/a> and Parkinson\u2019s disease<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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In a New York Times profile<\/a> of Munsch, the author said that he applied for MAID<\/a> \u2014 a practice that was legalized in 2016 \u2014 and his application was approved.<\/p>\n

Munsch, 80, joked to the outlet that his application said, \u201cHello, Doc \u2014 come kill me! How much time do I have? Fifteen seconds!\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he had watched one of his brothers die slowly from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease, a nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord<\/a> and gets worse over time.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey kept him alive through all these interventions. I thought, \u2018Let him die,’\u201d Munsch said.<\/p>\n

The author said he doesn\u2019t want to \u201clinger that way\u201d and added that he thinks he will choose to go \u201cwhen I start having real trouble talking and communicating. Then I\u2019ll know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tRobert Munsch at Dufferin St. Clair library Jan 14, 2010.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMichael Stuparyk\/Toronto Star via Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Under MAID laws in Canada, Munsch must be able to actively consent on the day of his death.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have to pick the moment when I can still ask for it,\u201d Munsch explained to the Times.<\/p>\n

Munsch told his wife, Ann, that if he misses the opportunity, she\u2019s \u201cstuck with me being a lump.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2:31
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTerminally ill Edmonton senior chooses MAID\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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The author, who has published more than 70 books over his career, said he doesn\u2019t want to be here \u201cwhen I can\u2019t recognize the people I love.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, he said his old stories have survived his diagnoses and remain with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI notice that the stories are mostly free from the problems I have with speech,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In Canada, a person who wishes to receive MAID must meet eligibility criteria<\/a> that include being at least 18 years of age, having decision-making capacity, being eligible for publicly funded health-care services and making a voluntary request that is not the result of external pressure.<\/p>\n

The person must also have a serious and incurable illness, disease or disability, be in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capability and enduring and intolerable physical or psychological suffering that cannot be alleviated under conditions the person considers acceptable.<\/p>\n

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Munsch was inducted into the Order of Canada in 1999 and received a star on Canada\u2019s Walk of Fame in 2009.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tRobert Munsch attends Canada\u2019s Walk of Fame at the Four Season Centre of the Performing Arts on Sept. 12, 2009 in Toronto.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGeorge Pimentel\/WireImage\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

After the New York Times profile was published, Scholastic Canada shared a statement on Instagram, writing, \u201cAs proud publishers of Robert Munsch\u2019s beloved books, we are grateful for all the stories he\u2019s shared, including his own. We love you forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis New York Times article by Katie Engelhart offers a powerful glimpse into the man behind the stories, and we join those who have expressed profound gratitude for this chance to understand and connect with Robert Munsch in a new way,\u201d the publishing company wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an incredibly generous act to open up like this, and it reminds us, once again, why Robert\u2019s work continues to touch many generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t&copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Robert Munsch, the beloved Canadian children\u2019s author of books like The Paper Bag Princess\u00a0and Love You Forever, says…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[49,48,75,62255,79075],"class_list":["post-148326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-maid","tag-robert-munsch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}