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On October 27, 1997, in Oregon, and on March 5, 2009, in Washington State, assisted suicide came out of the closet, was legalized, and a darkness settled over the land.
Some of us who actively opposed it were dismissed as right-wing activists trying to hold on to the past.
In a way, I guess they were right. There was a time when life was sanctified---but no more.
Now life is under attack from conception to death.
Canada is leading with the US watching closely.
Be informed, not misled.
The end-of-life conversation, which for so long was conducted in apprehensive, hushed tones, finally worked its way into mainstream media and medical practice.
Canada is leading the death movement.
Nearly 8 years ago---December 23, 2014, Canadian journalist Andre Picard wrote, "There is no question the public is well ahead of lawmakers in their views of assisted death, with polls showing overwhelming support for it."
"But this doesn't mean Canadians will be opting for assisted death in large numbers. On the contrary – the experience of jurisdictions with right-to-die legislation shows that it remains a marginal choice. That's the key: The debate is really about choice."
If that sounds vaguely familiar---it is. It's the same case abortion advocates make for killing unwanted, unborn babies.
Now Canada leads the world in advancing what they now call Medical Assistance in Dying, or "MAID."
And they're advancing the death movement so fast that even the New York Times is asking, "Is Choosing Death Too Easy in Canada?"
"Since the government expanded the eligibility for assisted death last year to include those with disabilities, critics have been saying there should be more checks and balances," the paper says.
Last year, Canada changed its assisted death law, permitting people with chronic, “grievous and irremediable” conditions and physical disabilities to commit suicide, even if they are not terminally ill.
Although the Canadian law was hotly debated in 2016, when it was originally enacted, it has won broad public acceptance since then, with polls showing strong support. Through December of 2021, 31,664 Canadians have received assisted deaths. Of those, 224 who died last year were not terminally ill, taking advantage of last year’s amendment.
Some say that with the law’s expansions, Canada is turning assisted suicide into an almost routine medical option, instead of treating it as an extraordinary measure taken in limited situations.
The National Review reports that "America’s northern neighbor has embraced a culture of death."
"America’s culture war over the question of when human life begins has been joined by those who want to reshape how human life ends."
The Review says, "The debate over legalizing physician-assisted suicide began in Oregon nearly thirty years ago. The scheme, in which doctors prescribe lethal drugs and guidance for patients who want to end their lives, was sold to the public as “death with dignity” and carefully restricted to individuals 18 and older who had an incurable and irreversible terminal illness and were not expected to live beyond six months. This novel approach to end-of-life care ran contrary to laws in all 50 states that made it a crime to assist a fellow human being in committing suicide. For physicians, it undermined the age-old Hippocratic Oath provision: 'Neither will I administer a poison to anybody when asked to do so, nor will I suggest such a course'.”
With these assurances in place, the 1997 Oregon voter referendum passed 51–49 percent, and America’s experiment with assisted suicide began. Because of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that same year that found no constitutional right to assisted suicide, the battle to expand physician-assisted death moved to other state legislatures. Those in favor of the liberalization of the laws argued that their goal was to relieve suffering and honor the right of individuals to have died on their own terms. These proponents contended that hastening death wasn’t the same as killing and that compassion, not cost-cutting, was their sole motivation.
But in Canada, it is full speed ahead. Thanks to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, modernity’s Doctor of Death, the slippery slope foreseen by opponents is now being stumbled down in broad daylight. Immediately after his first federal election in 2015, Trudeau’s Liberal Party pushed through Parliament the Medical Assistance in Dying Act (MAID). An applicant seeking to die under MAID had to demonstrate that his or her death was “reasonably foreseeable” and that an incurable, grievous, and irremediable medical condition existed that was in “an advanced state of irreversible decline.” Individuals with mental health conditions or non-terminal disabilities were excluded from eligibility.
But Trudeau had bigger plans. Less than five years later, his administration has expanded the law to make Canada arguably the assisted-death capital of the world. Gone is the “reasonably foreseeable” death requirement, thus clearing the path of eligibility for disabled individuals who otherwise might have a lifetime to live. Gone, too, is the ten-day waiting requirement and the obligation to provide information on palliative-care options to all applicants. Likewise, physicians are no longer the only health professionals authorized to sign off on an application for an expedited death; nurse practitioners can now perform that function. As for the two independent witnesses who previously had to confirm that the applicant had given informed consent and actually signed the form, only one is necessary now. Unlike in other countries where euthanasia is lawful, Canada does not even require an independent review of the applicant’s request for death to make sure coercion was not involved.
Unsatisfied with simply offering final exits to the non-dying disabled, Trudeau has also offered MAID eligibility to those suffering from mental illness. In March of next year, individuals in Canada who, by definition, cannot give informed consent because of mental illness will be able to request euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide. One is left to wonder what some Canadians might do if they saw a man poised to jump from the ledge of the 20th floor of a building.
Today, the young prime minister’s pioneering in government-sanctioned deaths of the sick, disabled, and mentally ill includes making MAID available to “mature minors.”
Consequences
Reports of abuse in Canada’s assisted-death system — including coercion of vulnerable sick people by hospital attendants — have made many reconsider Trudeau’s pro-death campaign. Additionally, a recent government report brought unwanted media attention when it pointed out that MAID could save Canada $66 million while ignoring the fact that the program incentivizes the government to deny critical care and in-home services to those in need.
The National Review asks, "Where will this social experiment lead? It is no longer a dystopian fantasy to envision that an artificial intelligence algorithm, instead of a medical professional, could come to determine MAID eligibility. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that push-button technology will allow for self-administered death by nitrogen gas. Such changes would cut the physician completely out of the unsavory business of intentionally ending life. In the Netherlands, the first European country to legalize euthanasia, such a death chamber is already under advanced development and about to be tested on its first human subject."
In the end, it will always be easier to kill people than care for them. Indeed, unless steps are taken soon, the “right to die” will be a right that the poor and disabled will get.
Takeaway
Informed people are asking, "What can we do?" No one doubts that it's only a matter of time before the progressive humanists in America will attempt to follow Canada down this same destructive ungodly path.
John wrote in his first chapter, verses 4 and 5: "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not."
We live in a darkened world that desperately needs the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This Christmas season is an excellent time to share the Gospel with someone who needs to hear the real story of Christmas.
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful.