In spite of Parliament’s resounding defeat of Bill C-384 which proposed to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, the Quebec government has established a special committee to examine “dying with dignity”. In response to their request for submissions, ARPA Canada hs prepared a 12 page submission about the concept of dignity in Canadian law and society, including a Christian perspective. It is based on our resource “Building on Sand: Human Dignity in Canadian Law and Society” which can be purchased here. The submission is attached.
The Centre for Cultural Renewal’s latest LexView commentary provides a quality analysis of the flaws of C-384. Please consider sharing this resource with your MP:
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The House of Commons has voted down Bill C-384, a bill which proposed to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada. Thank you very much to many of you who took action in recent days, months, and even years through prayers, emails to your MP, ads in your newspapers, and special events in your community on this matter. A special thanks goes to Alex Schadenberg, from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, who worked tirelessly against this bill.
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OTTAWA, Ontario, March 17, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The House of Commons held a debate Tuesday on Bill C-384, a bill proposed by member of parliament Francine Lalonde (La Pointe-de-l’Île, BQ) to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide. “Who can repeatedly say with confidence that helping someone in unbearable pain, particularly someone in palliative care – that is definitely unbearable pain – is a crime?” Lalonde asked the House. “Many witnesses speak about helping someone die peacefully, so that they do not suffer. Is that really murder? Is that really a crime?” (more…)
ARPA Note: Bill C-384 took a step back after Parliament was prorogued, giving MP’s an opportunity to debate it once more. As a result, there is still time to send in postcards (click here to order them from the Euthansia Prevention Coalition) and write or call your MP.
Globe and Mail, March 15, 2010, By Margaret Somerville: Francine Lalonde’s private member’s bill to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide will be back in Parliament tomorrow. For millennia, euthanasia (a word I use to include assisted suicide) has been considered morally and legally unjustifiable. People who oppose euthanasia still believe it’s inherently wrong – it can’t be morally justified and even compassionate motives don’t make it ethically acceptable. [Continue reading this excellent piece here.]
by Mark Penninga (first printed in Reformed Perspective magazine, July/Aug 2009):
Who has authority to take away a human life? In the cloud of emotion and deception that encircles the euthanasia debate, that one question lies at the bottom. It is a question that may have to be answered by our country this year. On May 13, 2009 Bloc Quebecois MP Francine Lalonde introduced a private member’s bill (C-384) to our Canadian Parliament that proposes to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia. It is scheduled for its first debate in the House of Commons, and a subsequent vote, at the end of September. Canada has to understand the dangerous reality of this legislation.
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Euthanasia Prevention Coalition Update: The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) has just learned that Francine Lalonde has once again traded-back to delay the second hour of debate on Bill C-384, the bill that would legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada. The new scheduled date for the debate on C-384 is Tuesday, February 2, 2010 with the vote taking place on February 3.
(more…)Sponsoring MP admits that bill is about allowing doctors to kill their patients
By Patrick B. Craine, OTTAWA, Ontario, October 6, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Bill C-384, the private members bill seeking to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada, received its first of two hours of debate in Parliament last Friday. In the course of the debate, the MP proposing the bill, Francine Lalonde (BQ-La Pointe-de-l’Ile) admitted that the bill is not simply about ‘dying with dignity,’ but about allowing doctors to end the lives of their patients.
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Opponents say few MPs back legalization of assisted suicide
By Deborah Gyapong – Sept 17, 2009: Western Catholic Reporter, OTTAWA – Opponents of assisted-suicide and euthanasia bill C-384 express confidence the bill will be defeated if it comes to a vote this fall. That is if an election does not kill Bloc Quebecois MP Francine Lalonde’s private member’s bill first. Elections in 2006 and 2008 killed Lalonde’s two previous attempts to legalize assisted suicide. “In the sense that it might happen, I’m quite confident that the vote’s actually going to go the right way,” said Conservative MP Rod Bruinooge, who chairs the parliamentary pro-life caucus. “On this one, there’s clear lack of support in our party.”
Bruinooge predicted many Liberals would also vote against the bill, as well as some in the New Democratic Party. Most of the support for Lalonde’s bill will come from within her own caucus, he said. Private member’s bills, especially those dealing with conscience issues, are free votes, though the justice minister and opposition justice critics may recommend a position. [Continue reading this article here.]
A number of ARPA groups and individuals are working toward getting these ads in their local newspaper. Will you join them? Contact ARPA Canada ([email protected]) for high-resolution versions and changes to these ads.
For more information on Bill C-384, check out the action item here. For two articles on euthanasia, click here and here.
