Toronto, Canada, Mar 2, 2020 / 11:30 am
Canada is embracing "death on demand" in its healthcare laws, according to Cardinal Thomas Collins. The Archbishop of Toronto issued a strong denunciation of the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) laws in an op-ed published Monday, March 2.
Cardinal Collins used the column in The Star to denounce Bill C-7, which would remove safeguards and expand eligibility criteria for MAiD. The bill was introduced in Parliament last week and, if passed, will create advance directives to allow patients to authorize euthanasia in advance and permit those who do not have a terminal illness to receive a physician-administered death.
"Pain medication and other resources and procedures can indeed be used effectively to medically assist people who are dying," said Collins. "But that is not what MAiD involves: it means giving a lethal injection to people who are not dying, so that they will die."
"Under this legislation, any serious incurable illness, disease, or disability would render a person eligible for euthanasia," said the cardinal.