Bullet dodged with Quebec's euthanasia Bill 52?
Updated: February 25, 2014
Quebec's Parliament was expected to to hold a third and final vote on the government's euthanasia Bill 52 before MNAs rose for a scheduled break from February 20 to March 11, 2014.
Unexpectedly, the Quebec Liberal Party's MNAs delayed the vote so that it never occurred before February 20th. Some pundits speculate the Liberals delayed it because almost half their caucus is opposed to the bill, and this was a tactic to ensure it could not pass. It is expected that Premier Pauline Marois will call an election during the break because her party is very popular at the moment according to opinion polls.
If an election is called, that means Bill 52 will die on the order table without ever receiving a final vote. We are thankful to God for this temporary reprieve. It would be an answer to prayer and really, almost a miraculous reprieve from what appeared to be the unstoppable passage of a truly evil law in the province. Of course, even if an election is called we know the battle would not be over because the rabidly pro-death, Marois government will reintroduce the Bill in a new legislative session.
If Bill 52 had passed, it would have legalized euthanasia, giving doctors the power to kill their patients. Please pray fervently that this evil is not visited upon our nation. This bill targets the disabled, the elderly and the depressed, all of whom will become victims of a healthcare system that will turn towards killing their patients, instead of treating them.
Under the deceptive euphemism of "medical aid in dying", the Quebec government is trying to circumvent the Criminal Code of Canada which outlaws euthanasia as a form of homicide. Due to the fact that this bill passed with a significant majority at the second reading vote, it is expected that the bill will also pass third reading.
Anti-euthanasia and disability advocates have been urging the Federal Justice Minister, Peter MacKay, to fight the law in court (if it passes), and using whatever legal and/or political means are necessary to protect Canadians from euthanasia. When Bill 52 was first introduced, Campaign Life Coalition urged the federal government to withold transfer payments to Quebec as an additional means to coax the ruling Parti Quebecois to drop the bill.
If Bill 52 is allowed to stand in Quebec, euthanasia will spread to every other province in Canada. As has happened in the Netherlands where euthanasia has been defacto legal for decades, it will have a contagion effect, spreading to every category of person until everyone who wants to be killed, can be killed. That will include those who have no physical illness, but are merely depressed. This same expansionary effect was experienced in Switzerland and Belgium where the categories of killable people are continually expanding. For example, on February 14, 2014 the parliament of Belgium "progressed" its euthanasia law to allow doctors to euthanize sick children, under the age of 18, if they request it. It is important to note that Bil 52 was drafted based on the Belgium model. Could Bill 52 ever open the door to doctors killing children in Canada, despite its age limitation for adults only? Well, a high-ranking doctor on Quebec's College of Physicians is already lobbying for this expansion....even before the 3rd reading vote on Bill 52 has taken place!
If Bill 52 is not stopped, euthanasia will eventually be claimed as a "right" in Canada, for virtually any reason, including non-medical reasons such as "psychological" suffering and depression.. The law will also be "progressed" to include euthanasia for minor Canadian children. Paradoxiically, when that debate eventually comes up, those who oppose euthanizing sick children will be accused of lacking mercy and compassion, just as we are now accused of lacking compassion for adults who want to be killed by a doctor..
The evidence from other jurisdictions who have legalized euthanasia shows that the euthanasia culture has become a nightmare scenario. Today in the Netherlands there are hundreds of cases of euthanasia without request or consent. Yes, that does mean people being killed who never asked for it! Today, the Dutch Medical Association is lobbying to further loosen the definition of “unbearable suffering” to include non-medical issues such as “loneliness” and strained “financial resources”. Without a doubt, this too will be Canada's future if we allow Quebec's unconstitutional Bill 52 to stand.
Please watch Campaign Life Coalition's "slippery slope" video for case studies of other countries who legalized euthanasia and inevitably saw their law progress from the so-called "narrow" situation of patients who are "terminally ill", to virtually everyone else in society.
This offers proof that if euthanasia is permitted in one instance, it must eventually be permitted for all. That is what must happen when we accept killing as a solution to human suffering. After all, how do you measure "suffering"? Who is to say that your physical suffering due to terminal illness is more meritorious of "relief" than someone else who experiences "mental suffering" from depression? That is how court cases will be argued and won. That is how doctors will be persuaded to expand euthanasia to other categories of killable people.
The so-called "strict safeguards" written into the Dutch law, the Swiss law and the Belgian law were useless in preventing abuse and expansion of euthanasia, just as those written into Quebec's Bill 52 would prove to be.
Take Action to Stop Quebec's Lawless and Dangerous Bill
Please contact Justice Minister Peter MacKay ([email protected] , Tel: 613-992-6022 ) and Prime Minister Stephen Harper ([email protected] Tel: 613-992-4211). Urge them to use all necessary means to block Quebec's unlawful implementation of euthanasia.
Quebecers should also contact Quebec's Justice Minister Veronique Hivon ([email protected], Tel: 418-266-7181) to express their opposition to the Bill. Contact info for all Quebec MNAs (Members of the National Assembly) can be found here.