Seth Udinski, FISM News
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The Canadian legislature is considering the idea of allowing minors to partake in medically assisted suicide (MAid), even without the consent of parents, according to recent reports.
The idea was presented by a committee in the Canadian House of Commons earlier this month.
Proponents of the proposed law pointed out that Canada already has laws in place that would allow minor medical patients to make decisions that would speed up the process to death. Those against the bill argue that it would force children to make a disastrous inhumane decision that is simply too heavy for them to handle.
The proposal comes as Canada is likely going to postpone a decision to allow mentally ill patients on the eligibility list for assisted suicide, per last week’s report from the Catholic News Agency.
It appears the Canadian elites have not been able to come to a firm decision on the question of assisted suicide for minors. Some of the members of the committee which proposed the bill said,
So long as these issues remain unresolved, it would be irresponsible for the Liberal government to move ahead with any expansion of MAiD for mature minors.
Author’s Biblical Analysis
I do not want to downplay the weightiness of the assisted suicide question.
There are many who argue that it is far more humane to intentionally end the life of a person who is suffering than it would be to allow them to die a slow death when death will be the end result anyway.
To that question, I would argue that as long as there is life in a person’s body, mankind has an obligation to do whatever we can to save lives and not take lives. I believe this mandate is biblical, based on the notion that human life is sacred.
Humans, made in the image of God, are the pinnacle of God’s creation (Genesis 1); therefore, human life must be defended to the very end.
That said, I believe this is a very difficult issue. I further believe that there is room for debate regarding the question of hospice care, which some will argue is functionally the same as assisted suicide, since it is the removal of life-sustaining assistance.
But even with that, I believe there is a stark difference between hospice care and assisted suicide. In my understanding, hospice care is far more humane, as it is the simple act of accepting the fact that death is imminent and therefore giving the suffering patient as much comfort as possible as they approach death.
Assisted suicide is an intentional, active response to bring about death, and I believe that contradicts God’s clear command in Exodus 20: Do not murder.
Additionally, there is the added layer of putting this weighty decision in the hands of children. As we’ve seen so often with the question of whether or not children can “choose their gender,” children must be protected from such things that they do not understand until they are rationally and legally able to take responsibility for them.
This all brings us back to the main lesson we learn from this report, which is this: Human life must be defended and upheld.
While there are countless sociological reasons why defending human life is necessary and good for a flourishing society, the ultimate reason is theological. We defend human life because God has commanded us to do so.
God is the author of life, and as such, He commands His image-bearers to put the same value on human life as He does. What a great testimony to God, who is the author of both physical life in creation and spiritual life in salvation when we uphold the sacredness of human life!
Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man. – Genesis 9:6