IN CANADA FAITH CONVICTIONS ABOUT ASSISTED SUICIDE DO NOT MATTER

Death on request or aid to suicide violates deeply-rooted moral beliefs of most faiths which deem it to be ethically unjustifiable. Those beliefs do not matter any longer. In the past these beliefs have certainly influenced civic laws in Canada that prohibited euthanasia and assisted suicide. Twelve years ago the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against physician-assisted suicide when Sue Rodriguez petitioned to end her life. Subsequent cases repeatedly challenged that ruling? Sufferers, families of sufferers, and journalists lobbied for approval of assisted death by emotionally describing the petitioners’ desire to leave their pain behind.
If faith groups and legislation were to continue to oppose this practice, there should also have been a clear understanding of responsibility to suffering people, to help them deal with the experience of meaningless suffering. That evidently never occurred. The debate never went away. Civil libertarians continued to assert that the right to life did not imply an obligation to live. They argued that neither from a legal nor a faith point of view have we the right to oblige others to live or to go on living. They held up the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as a guarantor. This past February 2015 the Supreme Court of Canada agreed with them, rendering a decision that lifted a ban on doctor-assisted death. The top court also gave Parliament one year to draft a law that recognizes the right of clearly consenting adults who are enduring intolerable physical or mental suffering to seek medical help to end their lives. Justin Trudeau even last winter urged MPs to form a Commons Committee to study the issue and to prepare a bill. Conservatives blocked his motion. The Conservative government delayed any action and only created a study group in late summer. Now Mr. Trudeau is the Prime Minister elect and he has stated clearly that the Supreme Court made the "right decision" and that MPs have a responsibility to draft new legislation consistent with that ruling. He also has a Liberal majority government. 

In light of that, this past Tuesday, the 27th of October 2015, religious leaders from various faith communities, Catholic, evangelical Christian, Jewish and Muslim, met in news conference to release a joint statement that states that any action to end human life is "morally and ethically wrong, yet knowing his personal view on the matter, the statement asks prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau to quickly create a legislative framework to govern physician-assisted suicide and urges an emphasis on palliative care and ensured control on doctor-assisted death. Mr. Trudeau responded with, “We’re going to abide by the Supreme Court decision and ensure that both vulnerable Canadians are protected and Canadians’ rights and choices are also defended. That’s the balance we’ll be striving for.” It is expected that Trudeau will ask for a six-month extension to study the issue, whereas Dying with Dignity and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association has said there is no need for an extension since the federal government should have a law in place by February that legalizes physician-assisted suicide for those who meet the court’s criteria.