EUTHANASIA — ASSISTED SUICIDE

Over the next few months, Members of Parliament will discuss Bill C-384. This private member’s bill seeking to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide was introduced by MP Francine Lalonde of the Bloc Québécois. “It is important for us to speak up and let our government know that Canadianb citizens oppose this Bill!”, says the Catholic Organization for Life and Family of canada. (source)

Declarations and documents to help us in our reflection
(post on Catholic Church of Montreal’s website).

On this catholic website, you can find those elements :

1. CCCB President, Archbishop V. James Weisgerber, made a public declaration on Bill C-384 looking to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada. You can read it.

2. For further information available concerning Bill C-384, you may wish to refer to the following documents:

A) A publication from the Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF), Euthanasie and Assisted Suicide – Urgent Questions.

Life in the Balance : Workshop on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

B) Advocacy Alert by the Catholic Health Alliance of Canada on Bill C-384 .

C) A recent document from the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute : The Question of Physician-Assisted Suicide in the UK and Implications for Canada.

3. You will also find these documents, prepared by the COLF to help the dioceses and parishes:
- a one page document on Bill C-384.
- the Church speaks out.
- letter suggestions to your Member of Parliament.
- report on the second international symposium on euthanasia and assisted suicide in Lansdowne, Virginie, May 29-30, 2009.

4. Say “No” To Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: No special circumstance can justify them. Brief presented to the Collège des Médecins du Québec.

The Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF) help us in our reflection. They ask us to write or call our MP. It is free and it can help others.

Please reject Bill C-384 because it goes against basic Canadian values.

The law can only guarantee safety and respect for each Canadian life if it acknowledges that no one has the
power to kill anyone else. This is a social justice issue. Rather than creating a so-called right to die, protect our right to live!

Please reject Bill C-384 because it endangers all Canadians. The bill disrespects the
inherent and inviolable worth and personal dignity of each human life. It goes against public safety. The bill is not about autonomy or choice; it is about giving physicians the right to directly and intentionally cause death. Life-limiting conditions do not reduce the dignity and value of any human life!

Please reject Bill C-384 because it does not help those who are suffering. Requests to die
are often disguised cries for human warmth and love. The compassionate response is to provide social, emotional and spiritual support, and the best pain management and palliative care possible. Eliminate the pain, not the patient!

Please reject Bill C-384 because it opens the door to deadly abuse. This bill is a recipe for abuse of the vulnerable. Even people with no terminal illness or physical pain, like the chronically depressed or disabled, could be killed within two weeks of asking to die. The bill is vague about the degree of medical supervision needed to end a life. Stop the abuse before it happens!
(source : COLF)

* COLF is co-sponsored by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Supreme Council of the
Knights of Columbus. It promotes respect for human life and dignity and the essential role of the family.