In 2016, Canada legalized euthanasia “for people whose natural death was ‘reasonably foreseeable’ and wanted to end their lives.” Less than a decade later, that definition has radically expanded—so much so that 1 in 20 deaths in Canada in 2023 were from euthanasia—and activists want it broadened still further to even include children as young as 12 years old! As we have warned, once the door is opened a crack, it will then be opened wider and wider.
Dying With Dignity Canada, a euthanasia (actually, murder) activist group, believes that “maturity” rather than age should determine who is eligible for medical assistance in dying and “recommends minors as young as 12 be included in the program, and goes as far as to suggest 16 and 17-year-olds shouldn’t even need parental consent to be killed by a doctor if they fit broad criteria.”
But why draw an arbitrary line at 12 years old? Why not younger? And we’ve already seen activists pushing for parents to be allowed to end the lives of disabled newborns and babies (and, of course, abortion is legal at any stage of pregnancy across Canada already). Yes, it’s a slippery slope when humans decide to be their own authority for who lives and dies.
Euthanasia is presented as the compassionate response to suffering, but really it’s just another way to package murder: the purposeful taking of an innocent human life. But it’s God, not humans, who defines compassion—and it does not include killing elderly, disabled, sick, or mentally ill men, women, and children. The Bible is clear on that point when it simply states, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Christians must abide by this foundational principle God gives in his Word.
The slippery slope of euthanasia will only continue in Canada, because if your highest ethic is personal autonomy and consent, then ultimately “anything goes” as long as someone wants it (the provision of consent is in place for now anyway!). It’s another version of being our own gods (the same temptation Adam and Eve fell for in the garden as we read in Genesis 3:5) and thumbing our noses at the true God, who is the Author of life and determines our days.
When we try to be God, the results are disastrous and are always most costly to the most vulnerable, such as those suffering from illness. Instead of trying to be God ourselves, we must subject our “wisdom” to the true wisdom of the Scriptures, given to us by the one true God.
