LCC joins letter opposing Bill C-7

CANADA – Lutheran Church–Canada President Timothy Teuscher is a signatory to an open letter by Canadian religious leaders opposing Bill C-7. Bill C-7 seeks to expand access to euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada.

“We the undersigned remain inalterably opposed to euthanasia and assisted suicide, the intentional killing of human beings, euphemistically being called “Medical Assistance in Dying,” (MAID) but which is more accurately, and tragically, nothing less than murder.”

The letter is clear that there is no wish to increase pain and discomfort for the dying, with the signatories instead calling for a “robust palliative care system available to all Canadians” as a “much more effective response to suffering and to protecting the sacred dignity of the human person.”

The letter notes that the expansions currently being considered in Bill C-7 have a particularly harmful impact on persons with disabilities. “Offering euthanasia or assisted suicide to those living with a disability or chronic illness, but who are not dying, suggests that living with a disability illness is a fate worse than death,” the letter says. “This will create certain pressures to accept such lethal procedures, putting the lives of these Canadians at greater risk.”

“Offering euthanasia or assisted suicide to those living with a disability or chronic illness, but who are not dying, suggests that living with a disability illness is a fate worse than death. This will create certain pressures to accept such lethal procedures, putting the lives of these Canadians at greater risk.”

And this isn’t just the opinion of the signatories either: the letter notes that the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Ms. Catalina Devandas-Aguilar, concluded the same thing following her 2019 visit to Canada. “I am extremely concerned about the implementation of the legislation on medical assistance in dying from a disability perspective,” she writes. “I have been informed that there is no protocol in place to demonstrate that persons with disabilities have been provided with viable alternatives when eligible for assistive dying. I have further received worrisome claims about persons with disabilities in institutions being pressured to seek medical assistance in dying.”

The faith leaders’ new letter also warns against the expansion of euthanasia to minors and the mentally ill. “With our world-renowned health care system now endorsing euthanasia as a “solution” to human suffering, we will be undermining the creativity and resolve that is needed to confront some of the most complex cases of care,” they write. “We are, in effect, imposing the institutional taking of human life as a solution to human suffering. This is not just deeply troubling; it is unacceptable for a civilized society. The course on which we have embarked has resulted in the perverse reality that doctors and other health-care professionals who, on basic religious or ethical principle, refuse to administer a lethal injection could be subject to sanctions, even to the point of losing their license.”

“With our world-renowned health care system now endorsing euthanasia as a “solution” to human suffering, we will be undermining the creativity and resolve that is needed to confront some of the most complex cases of care. We are, in effect, imposing the institutional taking of human life as a solution to human suffering.”

The letter go on to say that “we must embrace those who suffer, and offer exceptional care to those who are confront illness and death; to deploy our expertise and resources in confronting complex cases of care, rather than choosing lethal procedures that are incompatible with the dignity of both the patient and the health-care professional.”

“This is a defining moment in Canada,” the letter concludes. “Let us take this moment with careful and complete deliberation, so we can become/be a society of care, compassion, and inclusion for all.”

LCC President Timothy Teuscher joins a wide variety of other religious leaders in Canada in signing the letter, including leaders from Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Evangelical traditions, among other others. The letter has also been signed by Mormon, Jewish, and Muslim faith leaders.

Download the full letter here: “We Can and Must do Much Better.”

In recent years, LCC has joined several other open letters by Canadian religious leaders on end-of-life issues, including in 2015 and 2017. Canadian Lutherans care deeply about life issues, and mark Sanctity of Life Sunday every year in January.  Earlier this year, The Canadian Lutheran also published a feature exploring Canada’s current end of life legislation.

———————

For more information on Lutheran prolife activities, visit the websites of Lutherans for Life (USA) and Lutherans for Life-Canada.

Print this article