We’ve been asking ministry leaders and individuals to engage in discussions on euthanasia – to talk to friends and neighbours, to share concerns with MPs. And it’s making a difference.
An Angus Reid poll commissioned by the EFC this fall found that Evangelicals are more likely to be aware Canadians will be eligible for MAiD on the basis of mental illness beginning in March 2024. And the more frequently a person attends religious services, the more likely they are to be aware. Only 51% of the general population is aware of the coming expansion of MAiD, compared to 59% of Evangelicals and 66% of Evangelicals who attend services more than once a week.
In the vote last month on a private member’s bill that would have stopped MAiD for mental illness, we saw a shift in how MPs are voting. The vote was close, as we mention in an earlier blog on the vote.
Thank you for raising this important issue with your friends, family and community. This is a fundamental social issue of our time.
Please continue your faithful witness. Half of Canadians are not aware of the change in the law that will make Canadians eligible for MAiD on the basis of mental illness. MPs are able to stop, to delay or to impose tighter limits on MAiD for mental illness before March 2024. It’s within their ability to make these kinds of changes. In a democracy, it’s in our hands to ask them to do it.
See the EFC’s new video on MAiD for mental illness and other resources at www.TheEFC.ca/TakeActionOnMAID.