Controversial initiatives stopped in their tracks
It is nice to be able to speak to successes every now and then. Some of us get "bad news" fatigue. But over the last few weeks, two bad initiatives got stopped in their tracks.
Bill C-384 would have legalized euthanasia. The second item included further liberalization of Ontario sex education curriculum. In both cases, the opposition to the initiatives came mainly from Christians and Christian organizations.
It is 17 years since the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in the Sue Rodriguez case, upholding the law banning assisted suicide. In those intervening years we have seen no less than eight Private Member's Bills in the House of Commons and two special Senate Committees on euthanasia and assisted suicide.
Bill C-384 is Francine Lalonde's third attempt at a Private Member's Bill to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide. Under the Criminal Code, no one can consent to their own death. The bill would have allowed a person to consent to their own death if the person was 18; suffered a terminal illness or "severe physical or mental pain;" and signed two consent forms 10 days apart. Only medical practitioners could assist a person to commit suicide.
If this sounds clinical and gruesome, it is. Fortunately, the bill was defeated on April 21 by a vote of 228 to 59.
Not everyone opposes euthanasia, not even all Christians. So let me explain my opposition to legalizing it. First, I need to clarify that anyone over 18 can refuse medical treatment, even life-saving treatment. Second, I have been through the deaths of family members who suffered at the end of their lives, so I am not insensitive to the difficulty of watching someone suffer.
But legalizing euthanasia changes so much. Currently a doctor is there to heal, never to kill. That would change. Currently if a doctor talks to a patient who is depressed and wants to die, he or she treats the depression. That would change.
As a lawyer, I have seen children pressure an elderly parent to make financial decisions that would benefit the children. Do you think those same children won't put pressure on elderly parents to opt for assisted suicide? We already have problems with elder abuse; assisted suicide will give abusers a very nasty tool.
It is for these reasons that many Christians took action against Bill C-384. From Priests for Life to the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, the pro-life Christian community mobilized. And I applaud them!
It has been challenging for the opponents of euthanasia and assisted suicide to keep supporters mobilized and ready for action. As soon as one bill is defeated or dies on the order paper, another one is introduced. Don't think for a minute that this issue is over. But it has been stopped for now.
Christian mobilization also had a strong influence in Premier Dalton McGuinty's backtrack on changes to the Ontario curriculum involving sex education. The Ontario curriculum is already pretty liberal. But the changes would have seen kids in Grades 6 and 7 learning about masturbation and anal sex. It would have moved sex ed from Grade 5 to Grade 4. Kids in Grade 3 would learn about homosexuality and gender identity.
The curriculum changes were made public in January but became a public issue through the influence of Charles McVety, president of Canada Christian College. After the Catholic Separate School Board announced that it would develop its own sex ed curriculum, McGuinty withdrew the proposed changes. That was on April 22.
Two great days for activism. For now, euthanasia and assisted suicide are still against the law. And the sex ed curriculum in Ontario will remain unchanged. But these issues will still come back, so please do not get activist fatigue. You can and do make a difference.
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