Canada Parliament to Vote on MP’s Bill Legalizing Assisted Suicide Next Week
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 16, 2010
Ottawa, Canada (LifeNews.com) — The Canadian Parliament is expected to vote on a bill next week that would legalize assisted suicide. Yesterday, Francine Lalonde, the MP sponsoring Bill C-384 to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada, had an article that was published in Le Devoir, a french language newspaper.
There, she explains that Bill C-384 will have its second-hour of debate on Tuesday and head to a second reading vote on Wednesday.
"We expected Lalonde to trade with another MP and delay the vote, but this confirms that the vote is coming now," Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition told LifeNews.com.
Schadenberg urges pro-life advocates to contact their members of parliament immediately to urge them to oppose the bill.
"Remember: C-384 gives medical practitioners the right to directly and intentionally cause the death of their patients, if the patient ‘appears to be lucid,’ and is suffering chronic physical or mental pain or is terminally ill," he explained. "That means that a person who is not terminally ill but ‘appears to be lucid’ and is living with chronic depression can be directly and intentionally killed by a medical practitioner."
"We need to maintain the political pressure on every MP in Canada. We need you to send hand-written letters to your MP or to every MP," he has urged.
A recent poll conducted by the polling firm Environics for a Canadian pro-life group shows residents of Canada support legalizing assisted suicide, but do so with considerable reservations. The poll finds 61% said they favored legalization if a patient consents but large majorities also have concerns. https://www.lifenews.com/bio2989.html
Support for assisted suicide included 75% of Quebecers but that support drops to 56% in Ontario, 52% in Atlantic Canada and 51% in Saskatchewan.
However, the poll also found 70% of Canadians worried that if legalization occurs, sick, disabled, or elderly persons would be euthanized without their consent. In addition, 56% were concerned that elderly persons would be pressured to accept euthanasia due to rising health care costs.
Related web sites:
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition – https://www.euthanasiaprevention.on.ca
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