Positive Signs in the West

The ancient Saxon King Canute was encouraged by his courtiers to see himself as all powerful. He ordered his throne to be brought to the edge of the waves on the shore, and he ordered the waves and the tide to stop. Obviously, it didn’t. Sometimes it can seem that we are engaged in as useless an endeavor as King Canute faced with our growing tide of mercy killing and euthanasia and the ceaseless onslaught of the killing of the preborn. Many people are just prone to give up.

We should not.

In Alberta, the Smith government has decided to go against the tide. They are trying to restrict and indeed perhaps reverse much of the extension of mercy killing and euthanasia. They have put forward a new act - Bill 18 the Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act. This Act will set out a regulatory framework for Medical Assistance in Dying. What is the overview? Their government thinks that the federal government’s planned MAID Eligibility Expansion in March 2027 is going entirely too far. Though there are many problems with it, the biggest area of concern is the extension of mercy killing to those who are mentally ill. There are several very positive aspects of this act, so I cannot comment on its likelihood of passing with Smith’s large majority in the provincial legislature that seemed likely. There will be legal challenges, and no one can foresee what the various Supreme Courts will decide.

With this bill, they will work to stop automatic approval of mercy killing requests. They will restrict the MAID request to those who’s natural death is reasonably foreseeable. Most importantly for us, MAID will be prohibited in Alberta for individuals under 18, for those who are mentally ill, for advance requests, and for those without the capacity to make their own healthcare decisions. I think it’s interesting that this proposed legislation will prohibit physicians and nurse practitioners in Alberta from making referrals for individuals to receive mercy killings assessments from outside the province. They will require both MAID assessors and providers to meet training and education requirements. They will introduce mandatory sanctions for physicians and nurse practitioners who violate this legislation.

What is very important is that they will restrict regulated health professionals from providing information about mercy killing to their patients when they’re providing other health services to them unless the patient herself brings it up. There are innumerable cases that we’ve heard of, and many more that I’m sure we have not, where nurses and doctors suggest mercy killing to their patients. This is especially disconcerting when one considers that most of these patients are certainly vulnerable, if not compromised. It is important that public displays such as posters promoting MAID are being restricted.

It is encouraging that the government is also protecting the consciences of healthcare providers. The Smith government is respecting the rights of healthcare professionals not to be forced to either conduct MAID assessments or to be forced to refer. Lastly, it allows for certain types of healthcare facilities to have a right to refuse both mercy killing assessments or provision and even allows them to create an “exclusion zone” around their facilities.

I realize that this is only proposed legislation (even though it is likely to pass) and as I said earlier, may have all or part of its provisions struck down with our current pro death judiciary, but this is positive news that at least one government in our Confederation is willing to take a stand for life and to do so in a thoughtful and enforceable manner.

You can follow these links for exact information. Protecting vulnerable Albertans seeking MAID | Alberta.ca

Fr. Tom Lynch (PFLC National President)