Celebrated children’s writer Robert Munsch has been approved for medically assisted dying in Canada.<\/p>\n
Munsch, whose 85 published books include The Paper Bag Princess and Love You Forever, was diagnosed with dementia in 2021 and also has Parkinson’s disease.<\/p>\n
The 80-year-old author told the New York Times Magazine that he had not decided a date for his death, but said he would go “when I start having real trouble talking and communicating. Then I’ll know.”<\/p>\n
Canada first legalised euthanasia in 2016 for people with terminal illnesses. In 2021, the law was changed to include those with serious and chronic physical conditions, even in non-life threatening circumstances.<\/p>\n
Munsch has sold more than 80 million copies of his books in North America alone and they have been translated into at least 20 language – including Arabic, Spanish and Anishinaabemowin, an indigenous North American language.<\/p>\n
In 1999, Munsch was made a member of the Order of Canada. A decade later, he received a star of Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto.<\/p>\n
In the interview with the New York Times Magazine, Munsch said his decision was influenced by watching his brother die from Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – the most common form of motor neurone disease (MND).<\/p>\n
Munsch said: “They kept him alive through all these interventions. I thought, let him die.”<\/p>\n
In Canada, people over 18 must meet several requirements to be eligible for assisted dying. <\/p>\n
They include having a “serious and incurable illness”, making a “voluntary request that is not the result of external pressure” and be in an “advanced state of irreversible decline in capability”. <\/p>\n
Two independent doctors or nurse practitioners must then assess the patient to confirm that all of the eligibility requirements are met.<\/p>\n
Scholastic, Munsch’s publisher, said in a statement on Instagram that his decision to speak publicly about medically assisted dying “reminds us, once again, why Robert’s work continues to touch many generations”.<\/p>\n
Munsch’s daugher, Julie, posted on Facebook that her father’s decision to pursue medically assisted dying was made five years ago.<\/p>\n
Julie called the New York Times Magazine interview “great”, but added that “nowhere does it say my dad isn’t doing well, nor that he’s going to die anytime soon”.<\/p>\n
According to Canadian law, the person must be able to actively consent on the day of his death. <\/p>\n
“I have to pick the moment when I can still ask for it,” he said in the interview.<\/p>\n