Robert Munsch, Canadian children’s author, says he’s been approved for MAID

The beloved Canadian author said that he watched one of his brothers die slowly from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and doesn't want the same fate for himself.

Robert Munsch, the beloved Canadian children’s author of books like The Paper Bag Princess and Love You Forever, says he has been approved for medical assistance in dying (MAID) after he was diagnosed with dementia and Parkinson’s disease.

In a New York Times profile of Munsch, the author said that he applied for MAID — a practice that was legalized in 2016 — and his application was approved.

Munsch, 80, joked to the outlet that his application said, “Hello, Doc — come kill me! How much time do I have? Fifteen seconds!”

He said he had watched one of his brothers die slowly from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, a nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and gets worse over time.

“They kept him alive through all these interventions. I thought, ‘Let him die,'” Munsch said.

The author said he doesn’t want to “linger that way” and added that he thinks he will choose to go “when I start having real trouble talking and communicating. Then I’ll know.”

Under MAID laws in Canada, Munsch must be able to actively consent on the day of his death.

“I have to pick the moment when I can still ask for it,” Munsch explained to the Times.