Re: Letters to the Editor from March 14 regarding MAiD controversy
To appease Graham Dowden, I’ll start with the disclaimer that I am a Christian and I believe in the sanctity of life from conception to death. This letter will try to show that Christians are justified in using the slippery slope argument when referring to MAiD, because history repeats itself.
Prior to 1969, abortion was illegal. In 1969, PM Trudeau legalized abortion, as long as a committee of doctors would sign off that it was necessary. On January 28, 1988 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that that law was unconstitutional, as it infringed on section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and directed Parliament to create a new law to replace it. Parliament has yet to fulfill that direction. As you can see, once you move away from the objective truth that all life should be sacred, you move farther and farther away from it. Never mind the fact that the right to life should trump every and all other rights, because without life, how can you enjoy any of our other rights?
A. Holierhoek says that there is “a law in place that describes exactly how, when, and under which circumstances MAiD can be given” which prevents having to fear it. But if he thinks back to before June 17, 2016 that law was not on the books. So just as easily as his statement became true with the stroke of a pen, that statement can be changed with a stroke of a pen, as evidenced with the abortion law previous mentioned. When C-14 became law in June 2016, there were already critics of it that claimed it was too restrictive, so you can be sure there are groups that are lobbying to change that law that A. Holierhoek puts his faith in.
And if and when the time comes, and I hope for her that she does not get to the point where she feels she has to make this decision, I trust that Phyllis Fawcett will keep her promise and keep her decision personal, and not compel someone else who is not willing to help her in her death.
The right to a medically-assisted death is a step backwards and shows how morally corrupt our society is becoming. When we give people the option to end a life (abortion) or their own life (euthanasia) and consider it medical treatment, society is not progressing. And to use A. Holierhoek’s own logic, since almost every single country in the world has an abortion law, isn’t it time for Canada to get into the 21st century?
Tyson Huttema