Commentary

Canada is now in the throes of a national fight over physician-assisted suicide.

The drama begins with an edict from the high priests on the Canadian Supreme Court that the Parliament must enact a law to legalize physician-assisted suicide. That was something like a year ago.  The new prime minister, pin-up model Justin Trudeau, has dutifully come forth with legislation.

Fierce opposition has developed over many of the provisions proposed.

Some argue that the proposal would provide a perfect cover for a person to commit murder. The language provides immunity to “any person” who participates in an assisted suicide.

The language also requires that every physician in Canada, if they object to participating in the premature destruction of a patient, refer their patient to a doctor or facility who will help kill the person.

One Canadian physician has publicly challenged this requirement and the lack of conscience protections for medical professionals.

“If a father were to request that his daughter undergo circumcision (i.e., genital mutilation) and I deliberately provided an effective referral to a willing physician, I would be complicit in an extremely grievous breach of medical ethics,” writes Dr. Ewan Goligher. “This scenario is not ethically identical to physician-assisted death, but it effectively illustrates the moral and ethical responsibility attached to an effective referral.  Knowingly referring a patient to a physician willing to cause the patient’s death makes doctors complicit in that death.”

To make matters worse, the association of life insurers in Canada has come out with a new policy, saying they would be happy to abandon their long-standing practice of denying coverage in cases where the policy holder commits suicide – as long as those policy holders follow the procedures outlined by the government. That practically provides something of an incentive to persons suffering from financial hardship: they can arrange to provide for their family by submitting to premature death.

While this Canadian development does not directly affect the U.S. – the legislation supposedly bans “tourism suicides” – it is a bad omen for the future. Not only do we share a long border and common pop culture, but we share vital roles in defending the fundamental Christian values of Western Civilization.  That is our common heritage.

From that perspective, we must be concerned with the obvious love affair in Western culture with death, and self-destruction in general. The advanced cultural cancer which is destroying Europe has reached the shores of North America.