Bestselling Canadian children’s book author Robert Munsch is planning to end his life through physician-assisted suicide.

Munsch, 80, has written dozens of children’s books, including bestselling works like The Paper Bag Princess and Love You Forever.

During an interview with The New York Times published last Sunday, Munsch expressed a desire to die before he starts having “real trouble talking and communicating.”

The author applied for and received approval to kill himself through "medical assistance in dying," or MAiD, after he was diagnosed with dementia in 2021 and, later, with Parkinson’s disease. MAiD, or "medical assistance in dying," was legalized in Canada in 2016.

“Hello, Doc — come kill me!” he joked during the interview. “How much time do I have? Fifteen seconds!”

Mary Szoch, the director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council, a nonprofit research and educational organization, acknowledged the impact that Munsch’s diagnosis has likely had on him and his family, but opposes assisted-suicide as being the lone option for people suffering from disease, illness or depression, which is being pushed in Canada. 

“No one wants to suffer, and no one wants their loved ones to suffer, but suffering does not change the value of a person’s life,” Szoch told The Christian Post. 

Szoch highlighted Munsch’s 2021 interview with CBS following his dementia diagnosis, in which the author stated, ”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. My stories, strangely enough, are all there. The stories will be the last thing to go, I think."

During his interview with the NY Times, Munsch also reflected on the mental and physical challenges he faces, how he has stopped riding his bicycle because he had trouble doing so without crashing, and he no longer spends as much time with children who often inspired his stories. He also shared that he sometimes has trouble remembering certain words or that friends have come over for a visit.

Another reason the author gave for killing himself through MAiD is that he wants to control when he dies, pointing to one of his brothers who died from Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS. 

According to the Mayo Clinic, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, often called Lou Gehrig’s disease, affects the nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movements. Patients diagnosed with ALS often experience trouble walking, using their hands, speaking or chewing as the disease spreads over time and renders them unable to move. 

“They kept him alive through all these interventions. I thought, ‘Let him die,’” Munsch said about his brother, who had been a monk.

Regarding his plan to pursue MAiD, the author explained that he has limited time to go through with ending his life through it, as he has to be able to legally consent to killing himself. When discussing the possibility of being unable to follow through with MAiD, Munsch turned to his wife, saying, “You’re stuck with me being a lump.”

Szoch told CP that every individual, at the beginning of life, is reliant on others for care, and it's a life stage that many people experience as they age. 

“We do not have the ability to do much or, at times, anything. We simply exist,” Szoch said. “The value of our lives does not increase as our abilities grow, and it does not decrease as our abilities diminish, because our worth is not rooted in what we can do, but instead, in who we are.” 

In addition to praying for Munsch’s physical condition, Szoch encouraged others to pray “even more fervently for the miracle of a conversion in [the author’s] life.” She prayed that this conversion would turn Munsch away from “the evil of assisted suicide and toward the God who gave meaning to suffering.” 

“It seems likely that in a short time, Robert Munsch will meet our Maker,” she added. “Let’s pray that before then he recognizes who he is, a child of God, and because of that, no sickness, disease, or amount of suffering can diminish the value of his life.”

According to an overview of MAiD, people seeking to end their lives do not need to have a fatal or terminal condition to be eligible. Those whose only medical condition is mental illness, according to the overview, are not eligible for MAiD until March 2027. 

Kallie Fell, the executive director of The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network, suggested that instead of normalizing suicide as an end to suffering, society should focus on providing resources such as palliative and hospice care, as well as better access to symptom management and dementia-specific supports. 

“We owe Mr. Munsch, and everyone facing serious illness, a system that provides comfort, companionship, and competent care — so that choosing death is not the only way to escape suffering,” Fell told CP. “If we want a more humane society, our first answer must be to care better, together.”