The Expansion of Assisted Suicide (12.15.22)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS

Plain Bible Teaching Podcast

This week we’re going to talk about assisted suicide (also called “medical assistance in dying”). This is a practice that is rapidly expanding in Canada after the country legalized it a few years ago. With the way our culture continues to devalue human life, this trend is not surprising and it may not be long before it spreads to this country. As Christians, it’s important that we have an understanding of what the Bible teaches that pertains to this issue. So that’s what we’re going to discuss in this episode.

STORY – Medical Assistance in Dying for People with Mental Illnesses Has Left Experts Worried

“Medical assistance in dying (MAiD) was legalized in Canada in 2016. In light of the Carter decision, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) struck down the sections in the Criminal Code that prohibited assisting a person to die. Canada had joined a handful of countries, like Benelux, that now allowed assisted suicide.

“However, after the Truncheon case challenged the constitutionality of death being ‘reasonably foreseeable,’ the Parliament decided to revise their MAiD legislation and Bill C-7 came into force in March 2021.

“The Bill not only expands who can ask for assisted death, but also allows people with mental illnesses as their sole underlying illness to qualify for MAiD.

“Before, only those whose death was naturally foreseeable—called ‘Track One’ patients—qualified for medically assisted death. These are the patients with terminal cancer or other diseases. The new law allows patients whose death is not reasonably foreseeable to qualify for MAiD—‘Track Two’ patients—given that the new safeguards in place are met. For instance, track two patients require a minimum 90-day assessment period.

“The second biggest change introduced by Bill C-7 is that people suffering solely from grievous and irremediable mental illnesses also qualify for MAiD now.

“The law comes into effect on Mar. 14, 2023.

“The recent rise in cases of vulnerable people seeking MAiD in Canada in the last few months has left experts worried as they think the expanded legislation will only make matters worse.” (Yahoo News Canada)