Dear Friend,
Warm greetings in the name of Jesus Christ! As I begin my new role as President of The EFC, I am very excited for what lies ahead. The challenges may seem insurmountable, but I’m confident that with your partnership in the Gospel, Christ will carry on to completion the work He has started (Phil 1:5-6). Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
Currently, we are working urgently to stop the expansion of doctor-assisted suicide and euthanasia in Canada.
Canada is already one of the most permissive regimes in the world for hastened death. Even as Canada strives to be respected as a country that upholds human rights, it is moving further down the road of removing protections and allowing even more members of society to be prematurely put to death in their most vulnerable moments.
I’m talking about doctor-assisted suicide and euthanasia, now commonly referred to by the professionally sanitized term of “medical assistance in dying (MAiD).” Sadly, the term obscures the fact that it ultimately involves the deliberate taking of a human life (Exod 20:13).
When doctor-assisted suicide and euthanasia became legal in 2016, it was restricted only to adults with intolerable suffering whose natural death was reasonably foreseeable. But in March 2021, the federal government amended the laws to allow adults living with disability or chronic illness (like diabetes, for example) to have their lives cut short. Medical assistance
in dying has become medical assistance
to die.
Even now, the government is considering whether to further expand access to MAiD, even as doubts and opposition to providing MAiD for those who are not near death are mounting. Increasingly, Canadians are expressing shock and concern over
who is being offered (and approved for) hastened death.
Next month (March), those who have mental illness alone (e.g., depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder, etc.) would have become eligible for doctor-assisted suicide. However, recent public outcry – from mental health advocates, the psychiatric community, and faith communities – has thankfully caused the government to temporarily delay this expansion.
First, the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention and many others have concluded, from extensive medical evidence, that it is
impossible to predict whether anyone’s mental illness is incurable or untreatable. Not enough is known about mental illness, how it changes over time, and what treatments will work.
Second, when people experience mental illness, they may have distorted beliefs about themselves and may feel hopeless about the future. Suicidal thoughts and actions may also be a symptom of their condition and the wish to die might go away as their condition is managed.
The EFC is especially concerned that, for MAiD requests where a person’s death is not reasonably foreseeable, the law only requires that the patient be
informed of treatment options. That means the patient can refuse any or all treatments and still be eligible for doctor-assisted suicide.
There is grave concern over giving access to death for people who are not dying but suffering from overwhelming life stresses. Canadians who are living with mental health challenges are vulnerable to marginalization, isolation, and the lack of social support. They often have lower incomes and are less likely to be employed. They may be struggling to find adequate housing. Many can’t afford the health care services and support needed to live well and to thrive. It is unconscionable to offer assisted suicide, rather than support, to these individuals.
Finally, there are grave concerns over the current state of Canada’s overburdened health care system. Expanding MAiD to include mental illness, when access to timely care and treatment for mental illness is so difficult to obtain, is reprehensible. The wait time for mental health treatment is often much longer than that for MAiD, with some waiting up to a year or more to see a medical professional! With no or limited access to supports and treatment options, Canadians with mental illness – even those with means and access to treatment – are at risk of dying from doctor-assisted suicide in times of particular vulnerability and hopelessness, especially if they feel it’s their only choice. Canada must ensure that people living with mental illness are provided timely and equitable access to mental health care, treatment, and support rather than offering them hastened death as a “cure” for their suffering.
Every human is created in the image of God (Gen 1:26, James 3:9) and is loved and honoured by God as His creature. Consequently, all are equally worthy of life. In God’s eyes, the taking of a life stands in direct opposition to the command to love our neighbour (Rom 13:9). True compassion lies in walking with those who are suffering and in sharing their burdens – caring for them and serving them. We are called to care for and protect those who are vulnerable – to offer supports to live, not to offer hastened death.
Thankfully, the temporary delay to expand MAiD to those with mental illness gives us a small window of opportunity and we must not squander it!
Now is the time to urge the government to put a stop to the expansion of MAiD for those whose only underlying medical condition is mental illness. Would you please prayerfully
make a donation to support our increasingly urgent efforts on the Hill? And please
contact your MP. (If you’ve already done so, thank you!)
Sincerely,
Dr. David Guretzki
President