November 10, 2004 __ Feature Page 11 Mother Contemplated Euthanasia for her own Child Lavinia Rojas believes preserving life at any cost is not always right By KATE THOMPSON THE MARTLET (University of Victoria)VICTORIA (CUP) When Lavinia Rojas learned that her new- born daughter was, for 15 minutes, clinical- ly dead, she asked that doctors euthanize the infant. Following complications of a blood transfusion that cut the flow of oxy- gen to the child’s brain, Rojas questioned the quality of life in store for her daughter. Twenty-four years ago, doctors denied Rojas’s request, and her daughter, Tania, is alive today because euthanasia is illegal.Tania now suffers from severe cere- bral palsy, a result of the seemingly short moment that her brain went without oxy- gen. She cannot talk or move on her own, and she is fed through a tube. Her mental state is on par with a three-year-old, and Tania is regularly in pairi from internal mus- cular failures.” Every time she changes positions she cries,” said Rojas. Since her birth, the 55- year-old mother has taken full responsibility for the care of her daughter and has written a book detailing the differences of caring for people with mild to severe disabilities. Rojas, who said she has been an advocate of both euthanasia and assisted suicide since she was a young woman, now battles for the rights of others who also believe that pre- ‘serving life at any cost is not always the right thing to do. She has been a member of the-Victoria Right to Die Society since it was created nearly 20 years ago. With a T-shirt that reads Life Should Not Be a Sentence, Rojas has since protested at many assisted suicide and euthanasia trials. Rojas is currently attending the B.C. Supreme Court trial of her friend Evelyn Martens, 74, who was, until recently, the director of membership for the Right to Die Network of Canada. Martens is facing two charges of assisting or abetting someone to commit suicide, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. One of the women who committed suicide was terminally ill with stomach cancer, and the other was suffering from a number of painful medical condi- tions. Both women had expressed a strong will to die at the time and place of their choosing. Martens’s case has been making national headlines since she was first investigated in 2002, But in March 2003, Rojas made waves of her own when she took a petition with more than 400 signatures to B.C. Attorney General Geoff Plant, urging him to stop Martens’s prosecution. However, Martens is not Rojas’s only companion famous for helping someone die. Rojas is also a friend of Robert Latimer, the Saskatchewan farmer who euthanized his severely disabled 12-year-old daughter, Tracy, over a decade ago. ' Latimer, three years into his 14-year jail sentence, is the only person in Canada ever to serve time for euthanasia. Rojas befriend- ed him and offered support after reading about the 1995 case in the news. They shared a special kinship as their daughters both suf- fered from the same disease and were roughly the same age. Given the long list of painful medical problems Tracy Latimer suffered as a bed- bound quadriplegic with cerebral palsy, Rojas feels that Latimer did the right thing for his daughter. Tracy’s list of symptoms included a twisted spine, malnutrition, seizures, chronic vomiting and the brain function of a four-month-old. The crucial distinction. between the two daughters is that Tracy was in chronic pain, required many surgeries, and her frail body could tol- erate nothing more than Tylenol.” The only difference is that my daughter doesn’t suffer right now,” Rojas said, refer- ring to a major improvement in her daugh- ter’s health since she began taking new medication a few years ago.Despite their common understanding, Rojas said her vis- its to see Latimer have been tense lately because he refuses to apply for prerogative mercy. Unless Latimer makes a statement to the court saying.that he’s sorry for what he did and that he regrets it, he will likely serve at least 10 years of his full sentence.” Many times we argue. He gets angry and I get upset,” she said.Rojas added that if he asked for mercy, there’s a good chance he would get out of jail much sooner.” He does- n't want to say he’s sorry because he feels what he did was right. Of course I don’t want him to admit it because what he did wasn’t wrong, but he has a family to think of.” Latimer has a wife and three other chil- dren. At the moment, Rojas is busy taking care of her daughter and is challenging the B.C. government on a policy that prevents par- ents who stay home to care for their severe- Your College Rep NUGSS would like to congratulate: Amy Johnson for her recent success. Amy’s honors thesis titled “The relationships among pain tolerance, pain sensitivity and accurate pain detection” received the top honors thesis award from the Canadian Psychological Association. Upon graduation this year she hopes to attend medical school or to begin a career in psychology. For any questions or comments email Colin Phillips at csm_rep@nugss.com or cashs_rep@nugss.com. PHOTO BY KATE THOMPSON “Every time she moves position, she cries,” said Lavinia Rojas of her daughter Tania. ly disabled children from receiving the salary that would otherwise be paid to a professional who might care for their child in a group home. There are those who say it’s not for par- ents to decide whether a child who can’t speak on their own behalf should be eutha- nized. Rojas said they shouldn’t have to, but sometimes parents act because they feel their children need to be helped.”In these cases where there is so much pain, a court should decide.” Rojas said she would like to see the disabilities community, doctors, nurses and the family come together to make the hard decisions, because no parent should have to make a decision about the life or death of their child alone.”I don’t think I could do it,” she said. “These things are important because nobody talks about them. It’s taboo.” Rojas is concerned with the International Project Management Take your degree to a whole new level of success. Learn to manage international development projects overseas. International Project Management is the only postgraduate program in Canada that shows you how your degree can change the world. Cull 416-625-6622, ext, 3032 or email rupen.das@humber.ca for further information, Apply for all Business School programs at the OUAS web site — swww.ontartocolleges.ca Seating is Limited! APPLY NOW J i) 1) HUMBER The Business School www.business.humberc.on.ca PRS way anti-euthanasia and anti-assist groups have been creating fear among the disabled and aging populations.” It is my suspicion that some people have brainwashed some members of disabled groups and have put it in their heads that if euthanasia is legalized, they’re all going to be killed. I’m afraid that people think legal- izing euthanasia will lead to pushing people to commit suicide.” She cited an example from the Netherlands, where doctor-assisted suicide is now legal, and said that it proves —=. how mistaken anti-assist and anti-euthana- sia groups are.” Do you see handicapped people being killed there?”It seems that Canadians are more likely to side with Rojas these days than with her opposition.A 1995 Gallup poll showed 75 per cent of Canadians support doctor-assisted suicide. | Postgraduate