Euthanasia threatens Canadian values
November 8, 2006
Vancouver-based palliative care expert Dr. Margaret Cottle recently warned Canada’s policymakers that the “very fabric of our society is at stake” from the ongoing push to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, LifeSiteNews.com reported.
At an information session sponsored by Institute of Marriage and Family Canada (IMFC) and Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, Cottle told MPs and their representatives that if a person’s so-called right to die were ever to be enshrined in law, the result would be a weakening of altruism and compassion, which “are the core elements of Canada.”
Defenders of assisted suicide, she said, claim that to deny a terminally ill patient the option of hastening death dismisses that patient’s “rights of autonomy” – the freedom to decide on and carry out a course of action an individual deems best for one’s self.
But while human rights are important and necessary, Cottle argued that society cannot ignore the greater good of offering palliative care to those who are near death.
“Rights come in when unconditional love fails. We need them, but we need to admit that rights are a failure of love, a stop-gap measure.”
Cottle added that “there is not one shred of evidence” to support the assumption that people in unbearable pain would be better off dead – especially not when the resources exist to minimize their suffering.
“Even people who don’t believe in heaven or an afterlife claim death brings peace,” she said. “How can a secular society claim that people are better off dead?”
“Euthanasia is an issue that is on the horizon and it is important that Canada’s decision makers fully understand the consequences and the positive alternative of palliative care before they draw any rash conclusions,” said Dave Quist, executive director of the IMFC.
One year ago, MPs debated a private member’s bill introduced by Bloc Quebecois MP Francine Lalonde to legalize physician-assisted suicide. A federal election was called before it could come to a vote but Lalonde has since vowed to resurrect her bill.
The Institute of Marriage and Family Canada (IMFC) is an initiative of Focus on the Family (Canada).