A man facing assisted suicide has spoken about why he has chosen this path.
Robert Munsch, a renowned children’s author, is known for his extensive collection of 85 books, including ‘The Paper Bag Princess’ and ‘Love You Forever’.
Munsch, originally from Pittsburgh in the United States, received a diagnosis of dementia in 2021, followed by a subsequent diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease.
Both of these conditions are significantly debilitating and lack a cure. Not long after receiving his diagnosis, Munsch applied for ‘medical assistance in dying’ (MAID) and was granted approval.
Canada legalized medically-assisted dying in 2016, but applicants must satisfy several criteria to qualify. These include having a ‘serious and incurable illness’ and being in an ‘advanced state of irreversible decline in capability’, as well as making a ‘voluntary request that is not the result of external pressure’ (as reported by the BBC).
The euthanasia law has since been revised in 2021 to include individuals with chronic physical conditions, regardless of life-threatening circumstances.
During an interview with The New York Times, Munsch stated he has not set a definite date for his death but indicated he would choose to go ‘when I start having real trouble talking and communicating’, adding: “Then I’ll know.”
He cited his brother’s battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease, a common form of motor neurone disease (MND), as a key influence in his decision to pursue assisted suicide.
“They kept him alive through all these interventions. I thought, let him die,” Munsch shared.
Canadian law requires Munsch to be lucid on the day he chooses to die, as he explained: “I have to pick the moment when I can still ask for it.”
Currently, Munsch finds comfort in his stories, which he says are ‘mostly free from the problems I have with speech’, with ‘these little nuggets’ remaining intact.
His daughter, Julie Munsch, addressed social media following her father’s interview to assure that he is not presently dying.
She wrote: “My father IS NOT DYING!!! Thanks to everyone and their well wishes, however, my father’s choice to use MAID was in fact made 5 years ago, this is not new news, and it was discussed in an interview with the CBC in 2021.
“My dad is doing well, but of course, with a degenerative disease, it can begin to progress quickly at any point.
“The New York Times article is a great interview with my dad and nowhere does it say my dad isn’t doing well, nor that he’s going to die anytime soon!”
In 2021, Munsch candidly spoke to CBC about his ongoing battle with dementia, saying: “I can’t drive, I can’t ride a bicycle, I can’t write. So it’s been really whittling away on who I thought I was. I kind of thought I would like to do this interview as a last hurrah.”
While he mentioned his diagnosis provided some relief by confirming his suspicions that something was amiss, he voiced concern about his condition in the future.
“Now, if I were God in charge of the world, I would make it illegal,” he said. “I worry about what I’ll be in a year. Will I be a turnip in a bed in a year?”
He reassured that his stories remain intact, saying they’ll “be the last thing to go, I think”.