Bipartisan opposition to private member’s bill legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide

Paul Szabo says C-384 would provide doctors with a license to kill.

On March 16, the House of Commons debated Bill C-384, MP Francine Lalonde`s (La Pointe-de-l’Île, BQ) private member’s bill to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia. The bill had already been debated for an hour in October, but the prorogation of Parliament in January and February moved it back to first reading. Bill C-384 should have already been voted upon, but Lalonde delayed the second hour of debate three times, hoping to get more support for it in Parliament. The second reading and vote for Bill C-384 are expected to take place in May.

Among those speaking in favour of C-384 were Lalonde, Diane Bourgeois (Terrebonne-Blainville, BQ) and Bill Siksay (Burnaby-Douglas, NDP). Five MPs spoke in opposition: James Lunney (Nanaimo-Alberni, Con.), Paul Szabo (Mississauga South, Lib.), David Sweet (Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale, Con.), Joe Comartin (Windsor-Tecumseh, NDP) and Mark Warawa (Langley, Con.).

During the debate, Lalonde asked whether euthanasia is really equal to murder. She said, “Many witnesses speak about helping someone die peacefully, so that they do not suffer. Is that really murder? Is that really a crime?” She suggested that the Criminal Code prevents debate on end-of-life care because euthanasia is illegal and she stoked separatist sentiment when she stated that the federal government would come into conflict with the Québec government if the National Assembly decided to support euthanasia.

James Lunney said society must acknowledge value of human life.

Arguing against euthanasia, Lunney said, “Canadian society is based on respect for the intrinsic value of human life and the inherent dignity of every human being.” According to Sweet, the bill violates the rights to life, liberty and the security of the person granted by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Szabo argued the bill “purports to provide the right to die with dignity when, in fact, what it does is it gives the medical practitioner the right to terminate or assist in the termination of life before natural death.” Warawa condemned the bill for its lack of safeguards; specifically, for letting victims of depression commit assisted suicide.

Bloc MP Diane Bourgeois criticized her colleagues who opposed the bill: “They cannot tell me that they have read the bill correctly. Their religious ideology showed through their comments.” Pro-abortion MP Comartin, however, said the bill is premature: “Until we are in a position to complete the building of the medical infrastructure that we need to support patients, we cannot go down this road.” He spoke about Dr. Els Borst, the cabinet minister who brought in the Netherlands’ euthanasia legislation, but who has since changed her mind about the wisdom of the law. Last year, Borst said a full system of palliative care should have been developed before legalizing euthanasia in Holland.

Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, wrote on his blog that “Bill C-384 is not limited to terminally ill people. It allows euthanasia for someone who is experiencing chronic physical or mental pain, who has rejected effective treatment, even if that effective treatment was for chronic depression and who appears to be lucid … This is a bill that specifically targets people with disabilities who live with chronic conditions.”