April 30th, 2014
I support a strong universal public healthcare system - but I do not support the violation of basic rights, including the right to make a medical decision for oneself (in conjunction with ones doctors) that the operation of the Canada Health Act ultimately leads to. In 2010, I was an expectant first time mother. I had made a medical decision in conjunction with my doctors to give birth by way of cesarean, for a variety of personal reasons. It is not a decision that is "publicly favourable". As a result when it came time for my daughter to be born, my surgery was bumped, and ultimately I went into labour. There was, allegedly, no anesthesiologist available. My daughter was delivered vaginally against my express wishes for my medical care. Her birth continues to haunt me. I was lucky to find compassionate care and appropriate access to timely care for the birth of my son 2 years later - but women who choose cesarean in Canada continue to be violated by a system that places a priority on what the public wants regardless of the impact on individuals. I tried to sue for the failure to provide timely access to medical care - but ultimately the risks and costs of litigation made it impossible. This lawsuit is not the greatest threat to Medicare today - the greatest threat to medicare today is the assumption that the prohibition on private care somehow strengthens the public system.
