CNA Staff, Oct 8, 2020 / 19:00 pm
A bill reintroduced by the Canadian government this month would expand access to euthanasia and assisted suicide in the country while eliminating important safeguards, Catholic leaders and other opponents of the bill have said.
"We unequivocally affirm and maintain the fundamental belief in the sacredness of all human life, a value that we share with many others in our country, including persons of different faiths and no faith at all," Archbishop Richard Gagnon, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
"Despite the misleading euphemism, 'Medical Assistance in Dying' (MAiD) remains simply euthanasia and assisted suicide – that is, the direct taking of human life or the participation in his/her suicide, which can never be justified," Gagnon added, according to Grandin Media.
Gagnon also serves as the Archbishop of Winnipeg. Grandin Media is the news outlet of the Archdiocese of Edmonton.