In June 2016—not even seven years ago—Canada legalized what they call “medical assistance in dying,” or MAiD, to “support [Canadians’] autonomy and freedom of choice, and protect those who are vulnerable.” But this is not about protecting the vulnerable at all—it’s about killing the most vulnerable.
And that’s exactly what’s happened as Canada has gone from allowing for medically assisted murder of “merely” the elderly and terminally ill to considering the murder of those suffering from mental illness (that was set to go into law this month but has now been postponed) to now the suggestion that “mature minors” should be allowed to choose MAiD.
A “Special Joint Committee recommended the Government of Canada give terminally-ill minors the authority to request euthanasia if the minor is believed to have sound judgment.” Whether or not the minor has this vague “sound judgment” is to be determined on a case-by-case basis by MAiD personnel.
But what if parents disagree with their child’s desire to have a doctor or nurse murder them? Well, that parent is “interfering” with their child’s wish and the committee recommends the government side with the child and override the parent’s wishes. In other words, a child knows what’s best, not the parent, and the government owns the child anyway so they can do whatever they want—no matter what “interfering parents” desire.
The report also stated that, “Most witnesses agreed that MAID should only be expanded to . . . mature minors whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable, at least initially.” Yes, it will be “initially.” Assisted suicide—really murder—is a slippery slope. It always is! If this recommendation becomes law, it will only be expanded as time goes on, and more and more children will have access to death. We are seeing man’s religion of death increasingly permeating the culture.
We truly do live in a culture of death. And the answer is the same as it has always been. It’s the same answer for the abortion issue, the racism problem, the gay “marriage” issue, the gender issue, and so on. The answer is the true history in God’s Word and the gospel of Jesus Christ! Here’s how it applies to this issue of assisted suicide:
- God created everyone. We are not products of chance. We are not animals; we are not just molecules bumping around. We are persons made in the very image of God (Genesis 1:26), and therefore our lives have value and worth no matter our level of ability, perceived quality of life, level of dependency, or age.
- We live in a world that has been broken because of our sin. Suffering and pain are now part of the world, and we should do all we can to fight against the effects of the curse (Genesis 3) and alleviate suffering. But only God holds the authority of life and death—we don’t! When we take an innocent life, we are committing murder, and that is a grave sin (Exodus 20:13).
- Each person has an eternal soul—this life is not all there is! For those who have trusted in Christ, we look forward to a time when all pain and suffering will be gone and we will dwell with Christ in heaven for eternity (see Revelation 21). But those who have not trusted in Christ for salvation will live forever separated from God in hell. Please, if you haven’t turned to Christ, trust in him today! Death will not solve your temporary, earthly problems! It only seals your fate for eternity.
The solution to both your earthly problems (Christ promises to walk through them with us!) and your eternal problem is the same—Jesus Christ!
