Family claims 83-year-old was euthanised without giving consent

Canadian police are investigating claims that an 83-year-old woman was subjected to assisted suicide without her consent after she allegedly failed a cognitive test, amid family allegations that she had “no idea” she was scheduled to die.

Speaking in an interview with Fox News, granddaughter and caregiver Brigitte Kranendonk claimed that her grandmother, Brigitte Stegemann, was euthanised despite having previously “denied” the procedure.

These are currently unproven allegations being investigated. Gript contacted the care home in question for reaction to these claims but no reply has been receiived. The care home and medical staff involved continue to maintain that Stegemann provided legal consent for before undergoing the procedure, declining to comment beyond that.

“She had no idea that any of this was actually going to be happening,” Kranendonk claimed.

In Canada, the state-regulated assisted dying system is known as Medical Assistance in Dying, or “MAID”. Under Canadian law, doctors and nurse practitioners are permitted to administer lethal substances to eligible individuals who make a voluntary request and suffer from a grievous and irremediable medical condition.

Serious questions have been raised regarding whether Stegemann possessed the mental capacity required to give informed consent. As reported by the Daily Mail, Stegemann reportedly failed a cognitive examination intended to evaluate whether she was of sound mind, with Kranendonk stating that her grandmother “got every question wrong” and believed two living siblings were dead.

Kranendonk alleged that nursing home staff organised an assessment for the procedure while family members were away on holiday.

“Just before we had come back from our vacation, I received a phone call from the home stating that they had booked a second assessment for MAID to happen with my grandmother,” Kranendonk asserted.

“And at this point, my Oma had already denied MAID.”

The family cut their holiday short to return to the facility, where Kranendonk said she witnessed the doctor assessing her grandmother. She claimed that her grandmother spoke English as a second language, suffered from severe hearing impairment, and had a lifelong fear of appearing unintelligent, which led her to nod along during conversations without understanding what was being said.

“My grandma’s first language is not English,” Kranendonk said.

“She is severely hearing impaired, and she, her whole life, was terrified of feeling dumb. She never wanted to look like as if she didn’t understand what was going on.”

She alleged that the doctor used vague phrasing to describe the lethal procedure, prompting her to intervene directly.

“And so, when the doctor came in and was explaining MAID, and using very loose terms like, ‘We’re just gonna give you medicine, you’re not gonna feel pain, and don’t worry you won’t have a bowel movement’, my grandma’s just sitting there nodding,” Kranendonk stated.

“And I stopped and I said to her, she doesn’t understand what you’re saying.”

On the morning of the procedure, Kranendonk said relatives operated under the understanding that Stegemann was required to provide explicit verbal consent before staff could proceed. Instead, she alleged that her grandmother remained completely unresponsive with her hands clasped in prayer.

“On the Friday, when we took her back to her room because it was getting close to when the doctor was gonna be performing MAID, we were under the assumption, by what the doctor had said, that she had to give verbal consent that morning,” Kranendonk said.

“For a long time before the nurse had tried to start, my Oma’s hands were in a prayer position.”

“Her eyes were closed and my Oma didn’t move.”

Kranendonk asserted that a nurse made an unsuccessful attempt to insert an intravenous line into her grandmother’s right arm, resulting in extensive bleeding, before moving to the other arm.

“There was so much blood with this IV,” Kranendonk said.

“It was all over her arm, it was soaking through her nightie, it was all over the pillow, and it was all over the nurse’s hands.

“And at that moment, when I saw all the blood all over the nurse’s hands, I realised the nurse was not even wearing gloves.”

When the doctor entered the room to administer the lethal dose, Kranendonk alleged that Stegemann failed to provide any verbal confirmation or physical acknowledgment.

“My Oma doesn’t say anything, no acknowledgement, no head nod, nothing, just lying there with her eyes closed,” Kranendonk said.

“And the doctor says, ‘okay, we’re gonna proceed.'”

Kranendonk further claimed that the care home took the initiative to complete the necessary assisted dying paperwork on her grandmother’s behalf without family knowledge.

“The home had taken it upon themselves to fill out the paperwork, witness, and get my Oma to sign off,” Kranendonk said.

“I don’t know what the conversation was that they had with her while she was signing the paperwork. I don’t know if she even knew that it was the MAID paperwork for it.”

The family alleged that Stegemann had consistently expressed deep fear regarding lethal injections in the months prior to her death. In February, after a medical port was fitted under her skin for pain management, the 83-year-old repeatedly pulled the device out while screaming that she did not want a “death shot”.

Kranendonk warned that the circumstances of her grandmother’s death pointed to systemic dangers for vulnerable elderly residents whose caregivers are sidelined.

“This is why I feel my concern is that this is going to be an issue for more seniors, and it’s a very slippery slope once it gets started,” Kranendonk said.

“I just wish more people understood of the involvement someone can have as a caregiver no longer matters, and I’m hearing it from both sides.

“My Oma’s telling me she made a mistake, and then the home is running with a different side of it.”

The claims have led to a formal police inquiry in Ontario. A spokesman for Belleville Police confirmed to the Daily Mail that they are reviewing the matter.

The investigation comes amid mounting domestic and international debate surrounding Canada’s assisted dying legislation.

Controversially, in recent years reports revealed that some individuals in Canada with non-terminal conditions had sought assisted death due to social factors, including homelessness and severe isolation.

On November 24th, 2022, CBC News reported that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had been called in to investigate multiple cases in which military veterans were offered medically assisted death, leading Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay to issue an apology for what he described as “appalling interactions.”

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Original article posted to Gript.ie