CCBI News – Extension Delayed-MI; Horizons of Hope; Cautionary Cases; Patient/Physician Autonomy/Conscience

February 3, 2023

Dear Friends of CCBI,

Delay of Euthanasia for Those With Mental Illness

As expected, the Liberal Government has moved to delay the extension of euthanasia to people solely with mental illness for one more year. Justice Minister Lametti said, “It is clear more time is needed to get this right…The proposed one-year expansion is necessary to ensure that we move forward on this sensitive and complex issue in a prudent and measured way.”

This presents a further opportunity for those who oppose MAiD to continue to point out both the wrongness of euthanasia and its troubling and far-reaching consequences, even as the Canadian government moves steadily to increase access to the procedures.

CCBI has noted several times that the present government is committed to this increase and that current concessions for extra time should be seen merely as a political move of ‘listening to the electorate,’ while at the same time not reconsidering MAiD in its original form (2016) nor in its amended form (2021). The Justice Minister confirmed this in saying: “ “It will provide time to help provincial and territorial partners and the medical and nursing communities to prepare to deliver MAID in these circumstances.” No more, no less: an extension of time.

Our Catholic and other communities can, however, put this time to good use in continuing to inform and educate people about the realities of MAiD and, more realistically, to continue to work towards the righting of societal ills that are leading some unfortunate people to believe that being dead is preferable, and easier, than being alive. We should never allow that to happen!

We will continue to promote the CCCB’s program, Horizons of Hope, which aims to foster such education and to encourage Catholic parishioners to become involved actively in end-of-life or palliative care, to strive to combat loneliness and isolation and in general to promote life in all its stages. Please see the link below and consider promoting this program in your parish.

Euthanasia Providers and Autonomy

Further to last week’s NEWS, another friend of CCBI sent an article from the online journal Quillette, dated February 1, 2023, and titled Death on Demand: Cautionary Tales from Canada. This is yet another article exploring the dangers of allowing euthanasia procedures for people solely with mental illness, and also illustrating the drawbacks of a system where those administering the required drugs do not appear to be guided by strict safeguards or properly overseen.

As we noted last week, unrestricted power seems to lie with CAMAP (Canadian Association of MAiD Assessors and Providers) which says doctors should inform all patients whom they, the doctors, think may be eligible, instead of only responding to a question by a patient about euthanasia, as was originally intended. According to CAMAP, doctors who disagree with MAiD should refer patients to physicians willing to give such information and they should be willing to provide the procedure, all in the name of patient autonomy.

Last week we warned people about the dangers of such autonomy being treated as absolute, thus trampling over the conscience and autonomy of doctors who find euthanasia morally wrong. The push for patient autonomy over physician autotomy in, e.g., abortion and euthanasia matters, has steadily increased over the years in demands made by regulatory bodies such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, meaning that opposing physicians and the public (which the College exists to protect) must remain vigilant.

Conscience rights and their protection are a mainstay of Catholic teaching but also guarantee the protection of everyone’s rights, including those who refuse to conform to the idea that death is a ‘cure’ for suffering from either physical or mental illnesses. Suffering from social pressures has now been added to the list, and euthanasia has been approved for people who are experiencing genuine hardships through lack of housing, income, family, or friends. Sorry to say, categories such as ‘social isolation,’ could be limitless in their application, reflecting society’s neglect of the needy and vulnerable. These are socio-political areas where Catholics could and should be able to influence, and surely it is more second nature to us as practising Christians to work towards improving the lot of our neighbours rather than to approve euthanasia as a solution for their problems!

CBC News: Liberals move to delay MAID for people suffering solely from mental illness | CBC News

Quilllette: Death on Demand: Cautionary Tales from Canada (quillette.com)

Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
https://www.cccb.ca/faith-moral-issues/suffering-and-end-of-life/horizons-of-hope-a-toolkit-for-catholic-parishes-on-palliative-care/

Pope Francis’ Intentions for February

For Parishes
We pray that parishes, placing communion at the center, may increasingly become communities of faith, fraternity and welcome towards those most in need.

Moira and Bambi