Canada Supreme Court Strikes Down Prohibition against Euthanasia

In February, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously struck down the federal prohibition against physician-assisted euthanasia, ruling that it violates Canadians’ Charter rights to “life, liberty and security of the person” (“Supreme Court Strikes Down,” Global News, Feb. 6, 2015). Federal and provincial governments are given a year to introduce legislation to permit the practice. The Supreme Court laid out some conditions: the individual must be an adult, must consent to his own death, must have a “grievous and irremediable” medical condition which can be an “illness, disease, or disability,” the condition must cause “endless suffering,” and this suffering can be either physical or psychological. It is very difficult for most people to see a right to die in the language of “the right to life, liberty, and security,” but for these judges it is as clear as crystal. It is as clear as the right to abortion and the right to homosexual marriage. In truth, these are not rights guaranteed either by Canada’s Charter or by the American Constitution. They are rights invented by judges. A 2014 survey by Ipsos Reid found that 84% of Canadians approved of doctor-assisted suicide. That same year, the Canadian Medical Association voted to allow its members to “follow their own conscience” in regard to helping people kill themselves. Euthanasia would make sense if there were no God and no eternity, but God knows better than man, and His law says, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13).

(Friday Church News Notes, August 14, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

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