The family of an 83-year-old Christian grandmother in Canada claims she was given euthanasia against both her wishes and deeply held religious convictions while living in a care facility.
Brigitte Stegemann, affectionately known to her loved ones as “GG,” died on July 10 under Canada’s highly debated Medical Assistance in Dying program, commonly referred to as MAID.
The MAID program allows physicians or nurse practitioners to help eligible patients end their lives, provided the person gives consent and meets the required legal and medical criteria.
According to a public statement shared by her granddaughter, Brigitte Kranendonk, Stegemann had been diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer roughly five months before her death. She had spent the previous two years living in a long-term medical facility in Ontario.
Kranendonk, who was named after her grandmother, said she held power of attorney for Stegemann and served as the main point of contact for medical and personal care decisions involving her grandmother.
The family account says care home staff regularly reached out to Kranendonk about Stegemann’s treatment and wellbeing. Around two months before Stegemann died, the subject of assisted dying was raised for the first time.
“At that time, GG clearly stated that she did not wish to pursue it. As a devout Christian, she explicitly expressed that MAID conflicted with her personal beliefs and faith,” the family statement said. Within Christian teaching, euthanasia is widely viewed as morally equivalent to suicide.
In the final weeks of her life, the statement said, GG became “extremely weak and largely unresponsive,” while discussions among relatives about the possibility of MAID continued.
Brigitte Stegemann, who was better known to her family as ‘GG’, died on July 10 through the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program
During one scheduled meeting, however, Stegemann suddenly became coherent and upbeat, making her and her family wonder ‘why she had appeared so heavily sedated during the previous several days.’
When Kranendonk informed staff that she was her grandmother’s advocate, one of the nurses suddenly became physically agitated and defensive, the family alleged.
The nurse soon left the room, and during that time, Kranendonk told the remaining administrator that she and her family did not support MAID for her grandmother.
According to the family statement, Kranendonk said she explicitly pointed to their ‘serious concerns’ that Stegemann ‘was not mentally capable of making such a significant decision independently.’
The following day, the worried granddaughter said she attended another meeting with a physician.
The doctor stated that she needed to determine if Stegemann ‘possessed the capacity to make an informed decision regarding MAID,’ – but that’s when ‘a deeply alarming farce’ occurred, the family said.
To Kranendonk’s surprise, when the doctor asked Stegemann how many siblings she had, she said she only had one. Her grandmother was one of 14 children, the statement read.
The end-of-life-treatment that Stegemann recieved took place at a care home in Ontario, a family statement shared by her granddaughter, Brigitte Kranendonk, said
Stegemann’s family went on to quiz the doctor on how she thought their relative was cleared to be lethally injected, but the assessment carried on, the family said.
The doctor then explained the process to her ‘in specific terms’ and came out the room, allegedly telling the family: ‘I have deemed her capable of making her own decisions,’ the statement detailed.
Nonetheless, she and her family continued to disagree with the physician.
When Kranendonk asked her grandmother if she was sure she wanted to follow through with the end-of-life decision, Stegemann gave an alarming response, the account said.
‘She responded with words to the effect of, “I’m going to die Friday? They’re going to kill me Friday?”
‘She wept for an extended period, repeatedly stating that she had made a mistake,’ the family said.
Kranendonk, who is named after her beloved grandmother, held the power of attorney for Stegemann and was ‘the primary contact for all medical and personal care decisions,’ the family said
Despite all the pushback from the family and Stegemann, the beloved mother and grandmother was set to die on July 10.
The family spent her final moments with her, and got to take her outside to enjoy the fresh air and a scoop of strawberry ice cream before she was wheeled back in and hooked up to an IV.
During that time, Kranendonk and her husband said they were asked by the care home administrator to physically assist her by handing her medical supplies’ – something they found ‘insensitive and deeply upsetting,’ the public testimony read.
The entire family was called to the room moments later, where they witnessed ‘a significant, alarming amount of blood covering GG, the bedding, and the surrounding area,’ they stated.
Moments later, Stegemann took her final breath with her ‘hands tightly clasped together in a fixed prayer position,’ the family said.
The Daily Mail has contacted the care home for comment.
