Daughter will be loved, cared for until the end
by Andrew and Louise Novecosky
We think the courts got it wrong when it comes to Robert Latimer.
We are in a similar situation to what he was. Our second of four children, Christina, was born with a condition similar to cerebral palsy. She is now 10 years old and weighs about 55 pounds. She does not talk or walk, but has lived a happy life despite her poor health and severe disabilities.
Throughout her life, she has had many misfortunes, most pertaining to poor health. Her ride has been a roller coaster one which has included numerous surgeries and hospital stays. She has received the Anointing of the Sick three times as we, her parents, felt her day of glory was imminent.
In between her pains and discomforts, she is a crawler, climber, pincher, laugher and world’s best house messer. She has ways of tweaking each of her siblings and parents. She is the most difficult child to raise and care for, but she has brought infinite blessings to our household and many, many others.
The thought of me, as her loving father, putting Christina to sleep is simply unthinkable. She is not a dog or a cow or a cat, but a human being made in the image of God. My wife and I will care for her till the end, knowing that it will take all we’ve got and then some.
The problem with Latimer getting day parole and going to Ottawa is that he will most certainly push lawmakers and the courts to change laws so that people like my wife and myself have the right to kill our suffering children.
And once we are on the slippery slope, we will all be at risk of being put to death when others think we are suffering or too difficult to take care of.
Andrew and Louise Novecosky
Saskatoon
