Dear Friend,
A critical legal challenge regarding the ability of faith-based healthcare institutions to be euthanasia-free is being brought before the courts.
A woman dying from cancer had been admitted into St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. The hospital is run by Providence Health Care, a Catholic organization in B.C. that will not provide MAiD at its facilities because they believe that euthanasia is a form of killing – the intentional termination of a human life – which violates the biblical command of “You shall not murder.”
If a patient wants to access doctor-assisted suicide or euthanasia, Providence will arrange to transfer them to a site that permits MAiD. In this case, the patient, wishing to hasten her death, agreed to be transferred from St. Paul’s to a Vancouver hospice. She was sedated for the transfer and never regained consciousness prior to being euthanized.
The patient’s family felt that she should not have had to be transferred and are now challenging Providence’s policy in court. The B.C. Ministry of Health is also being sued because the government allows faith-based healthcare organizations that receive public funding to opt out of providing certain procedures (like euthanasia) if they conflict with their religious beliefs and principles.
The family’s lawyers will argue that the policies of Providence and the B.C. government regarding MAiD violate two sections of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Section 2 of the
Charter protects the freedom of conscience and religion. In this case, the argument will be that the policies infringe on a patient’s freedom
from religion, even though Providence respects patients’ choices to undergo MAiD by arranging transfers.
Section 7 protects a person’s right to life, liberty and security. In this case, they will argue that patients should have the right to get MAiD on demand and on site in facilities that provide end-of-life care. (The
Charter already protects individual healthcare providers from having to carry out procedures that go against their moral or religious beliefs, but this case challenges whether faith-based healthcare facilities should also have conscientious objection rights.)
Just as a home reflects the life of the people living there, we believe that the ethos of a Christian healthcare facility cannot be separated from the religiously-motivated mission of the people who founded it and those who now direct it; from the administrators, healthcare workers and volunteers who work in it in obedience to the call to “heal the sick” (Matt 10:8); or from the private donors who make sizeable donations to it with the expectation that operational decisions are made in keeping with its religious mandates.
Faith-based healthcare facilities in Canada have long provided the kind of high standard, compassionate, and life-affirming care that is valued by many, Christian or not. These organizations are committed to the inherent dignity of every human life – from conception to natural death – and view the termination of life as contrary to the basic principles of medicine.
This case will likely make its way to the Supreme Court of Canada. If the Court decides that a healthcare facility that does not provide euthanasia on religious or moral grounds is in violation of the
Charter, then any healthcare facility in Canada could be forced to provide MAiD, to shut their doors, or be taken over.
MAiD-free spaces protect both doctors and patients. People with disabilities and others who feel at risk of being pressured toward MAiD are requesting to be treated in these kinds of safe spaces to be protected. There have been cases where patients experience “sanctuary trauma” after being asked by medical staff (sometimes repeatedly) if they want MAiD as a potential “solution” for their condition. Faith-based facilities offer excellent health care
and a refuge from euthanasia.
The conscience rights (religious, ethical, or moral) of facilities must be protected. MAiD will become available to Canadians suffering solely from mental illness in 2027 (unless we succeed in putting a stop to it). Will facilities that treat mental illness be forced to provide MAiD to their patients? The government is also looking to expand MAiD to mature minors. Will all children’s hospitals have to provide MAiD to their patients?
The stakes are high. The repercussions on the healthcare system in Canada – and for all Canadians – could be significant and far-reaching. That’s why the EFC is seeking to intervene in this case. Faith-based healthcare providers should not be forced to betray their religious convictions on life, death, and human dignity.
Would you please consider making a gift in support of our efforts on this case to argue for the conscience rights of healthcare facilities? As always, we value your financial and prayer support for the work that we do, for the benefit of all Canadians and for the glory of God our Father. We cannot do this without you!
Sincerely,
Dr. David Guretzki
President & CEO