The May 2010 Euthanasia Prevention Coalition Newsletter can now be found at: http://www.euthanasiaprevention.on.ca/Newsletters/Newsletter108(May2010)(RGB).pdf Bill C-384 was soundly defeated by a vote of 228 to 59. Check how the Members of Parliament voted at: http://www.euthanasiaprevention.on.ca/HowTheyVoted.pdf On June 5, 2010, we are co-hosting the US/Canda Push-Back Seminar at the Radisson Gateway Hotel at the Seattle/Tacoma Airport. The overwhelming defeat of Bill C-384 proved that we can Push-Back the euthanasia lobby in the US and Canada and convince people that euthanasia and assisted suicide are a dangerous public policy. Register for the Seminar at: http://www.euthanasiaprevention.on.ca/2010SeminarFlyer(RGB)(LetterFormat).pdf The Schindler family are being attacked by a Florida television station and Michael Schiavo. The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition is standing in solidarity with the Schindler family. My blog comments: http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2010/05/att...
Reflections from the pastoral ministry of an Evangelical Catholic Priest.
Thank God our MP's stood up for what is right. God is the Creator of our life and He will determine when we are ready to live with Him forever in the New Jerusalem. It is a victory .
ReplyDeleteTwo hundred twenty-eight cowards sit in the House of Parliament.
ReplyDeleteMary, if that's what you believe, then fine for you, but what about those of us who don't believe the same way? We don't live under the auspices of your god, so why should we be subject to your religious fears?
ReplyDeleteLadyJanus: I trust you'll appreciate if I disagree with you on this one. I'm glad the vote went the way that it did. I do not want to give to anyone the right to terminate my life. This is what that bill would have permitted.
ReplyDeleteIt was a mirror of the Netherlands law, and even the person who put that law forward now says it was a mistake with too many people euthanized without expressly asking for it.
The right way to go is to develop palliative care services so that people can be offered a pain-free (as much as anything is) death in an environment that is caring and loving.
Fr. Tim
Lady Janus,
ReplyDelete"Mary, if that's what you believe, then fine for you, but what about those of us who don't believe the same way? We don't live under the auspices of your god, so why should we be subject to your religious fears?"
Whether you believe it or not, you do live under the dominion of the same God that Bible-believing christians believe. He is the God that created us, sustains us, and governs this world. So whether you agree or not, we all do owe him our allegiance, respect, and to follow his commandments and precepts. Those who refuse to do this will one day be held accountable for their actions. Those whom God has chosen to be his children (sons and daughters) will inherit eternal life with him.
In the meantime, believers must stand up for the sanctity of human life at all stages from conception to natural death.
"I do not want to give to anyone the right to terminate my life. This is what that bill would have permitted."
ReplyDeleteNo, Tim, that's not what it was for. The bill was to legalizing your asking someone else to help you end your own life if that's what you wanted and could not accomplish it on your own. It's your life; it's your right under law to end it if you choose. If you have religious prohibitions against it, that's another matter entirely.
I've seen "palliative" care. It stinks. And it's degrading. And it's expensive. And it's in short supply. And it's nothing more than the warehousing of pre-corpses, and everybody concerned knows it. Not to mention that "pain free" is an illusion because doctors will not prescribe the drugs required to eliminate the pain for fear of two things -- "premature" death and drug addiction!
No. The right to assisted suicide will eventually come. No one, however, is saying that anyone is required to exercise it. But it must be made available for those who need it.
This is my personal opinion for me, hooked up to feeding tubes, machines, breathing apparatus etc..is not my idea of a happy ending death. It is not living, it is just existing. If you want all those machines to work for you...so be it...go for it!
ReplyDeleteEvery person's life is special as well as their own death is special.
I already express to my husband and family that no way to keep me alive by machines and tubes. When the results are in...say some prayers, your good-byes and let me go and be with my Maker. According this latest news now, they(my family) may be pressured to keep me alive no matter what my condition is and that folks is what scares me. Keeping me alive against my wishes!
Lina
Wayne, speak for yourself. Stop trying to speak for me. I won't allow it.
ReplyDeleteI often note how cavalier many people will say things like "theres no way I want to live if I'm crippled, on a feeding tube, in a comma or in pain etc. etc. Put me out.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't think anyone is capable of making such a drastic choice when they're in good health. I know people that have worked in hospitals with very sick people and the will to live can be amazing despite great adversity. I wonder how many of those same people fighting like hell to stay alive have said similar things when they were well? Never grasping how they might actually feel facing death for real. It would be sad if we started knocking people off that when rubber meets the road, they really don't want to die but are incapable of communicating it.
Cheers
Paul
"But I don't think anyone is capable of making such a drastic choice when they're in good health."
ReplyDeleteThey're not only capable, but they also follow through. They're not allowed to make such decisions while they're in dire straits.
Your problem is that you refuse to take what you hear at face value. You can't imagine yourself doing it, so you think no one else is capable, either.
Think again.