Nothing is more telling than the rhetorical sleights of hand which attempt to keep modern immoral practices out of sight. Before vivid ultrasound images made the lie utterly untenable, the humanity of the unborn child was concealed by the verbal screen of a “clump of cells.” In a political context, at the height of the Global War on Terror, a range of [...]
Paul Tuns: Ontario Superior Court Justice Carissima Mathen denied Claire Brosseau and Dying With Dignity an injunction to approve Brosseau to be killed by Medical Assistance in Dying based on mental illness as the sole criteria. Brosseau, a 49-year-old Toronto woman, is an actress and comedian, who filed a motion in May seeking a constitutional exemption from Canada’s euthanasia law that currently [...]
Mary Zwicker, European Correspondent: The United Kingdom House of Commons has voted down the latest attempt at legalizing assisted suicide in England and Wales. On Sept. 11, the UK House of Commons voted down the Terminally Ill Adults Bill in a 286 to 270 vote. If passed, this bill would have legalized assisted dying for terminally ill adults in England and Wales. “This [...]
Interim Staff: Nova Scotia’s last Catholic hospital, St. Martha’s Regional Hospital in Antigonish changes its name to the Antigonish Memorial Regional Hospital Oct. 1, and with the hospital’s Catholic Mission Assurance Agreement expiring Sept. 30 it will no longer be restricted from committing abortion and euthanasia. The Sisters of St. Martha announced in the spring that it would withdraw its name and [...]
Tanis Cortens: Canadian advocates of euthanasia assert that the procedure lives up to its name as a “good death,” providing a serene, elegant, and even humane way of ending suffering. Dying With Dignity Canada explains the process as follows: “The provision of medical assistance in dying (MAID) in most of Canada is by intravenous administration of a series of medications – most [...]
Mary Zwicker, Europe Correspondent: A Dutch commission has confirmed that the euthanasia death of a two-year-old boy, the first case under the age of 12 in the Netherlands, was handled with “due care.” A commission from the Netherlands has just confirmed that the euthanizing of a child just under 24 months old was handled with “due care,” despite also admitting that other doctors [...]
Interim Staff: Bill C-218, the private member’s bill introduced by Tamara Jansen (Cloverdale-Langley City), that if passed would prevent Medical Assistance in Dying for those whose sole criteria is mental illness, is scheduled to be voted on in the House of Commons on Oct. 7. In March 2021, Parliament passed Bill C-7, the Help Not Harm Act, liberalizing Canada’s euthanasia law including [...]
Rory Leishman: It is remarkable how progressive leaders of the fast-dwindling Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and United churches of Canada are so determined to wipe out what few sparks of vibrant, theologically orthodox life still remain within their respective denominations. Thus, in June, leaders of the Anglican Church of Canada released a set of Pastoral Liturgies at the Time of Death in Contexts [...]
From the editor’s desk: Research Connections published a study, supplemented by further study by researchers at the Manhattan Institute, that examined insurance data for minors aged 8-17 between 2016 and 2023 in Oregon, one of the most progressive states in the U.S. They found that one in 240 girls and one in 630 boys received cross-sex hormones to treat gender-confused youth and [...]
Mary Zwicker, European Correspondent: France has legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia after a long struggle and apparent stalemate between the French Senate and the National Assembly. On July 15, the French National Assembly voted to adopt the final draft of a bill to enshrine the “right” to assistance in dying and, in some circumstances euthanasia, in a 291 to 241 vote with 29 [...]
Paul Tuns: On July 5, Canadian Catholic News (CCN) carried a story by Terry O’Neill exposing an internal report that found thousands of errors in reporting British Columbia Medical Assistance in Dying cases and more than 350 cases of that required education of health care professionals about MAiD’s legal requirements. Through a freedom of information request, CCN obtained B.C. Ministry of Health’s [...]
Gianna Baklinski: An Ontario family is grieving their matriarch who was killed through euthanasia, despite having refused it, stating that it was contrary to her Christian beliefs. Her family also opposed her death but found themselves powerless to prevent it. Stegemann’s family has chosen to share the story, and posted it on the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition blog. Brigitte Stegemann, known by her [...]
From the editor’s desk: This “From the Editor’s Desk” could focus exclusively on pride month events – or “pride season” as the Liberal government calls it. Depending on where you live in this great country of ours, you could be exposed to pride day, pride week, or pride month (or all three) any time in June, July, August, and presumably September. Heritage [...]
Declared alive patient dead, approved MAiD at Tim Horton’s Gianna Baklinski: A 45-year-old man was “assessed” outside a Tim Horton’s franchise, approved for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), and killed by euthanasia. The physician responsible, Dr. James MacLean, is still practicing as a doctor. MacLean is a doctor from London, Ontario. In June of 2023, he met Thomas Dillon at Tim Horton’s where [...]
Paul Tuns: Over the past two months, the New Blue Party of Ontario has ratcheted up its criticism of Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government. On May 14, an email blast from former PC and New Blue MPP Belinda Karahalios, titled “Clear and Terrible: The PC Record on Life Issues,” condemned the Ford government’s record on life issues, including maintaining “(Kathleen) Wynne’s ‘bubble [...]