BY JEN WOOLDRIDGE
Suicide on Demand for Mental Illness Coming Soon to Canada broader group of people are eligible to receive medical assistance
A in dying ( MAID ) according to changes in legislation in 2021 . According to the website of the government of Canada , the program is soon set to expand even further : “ After March 17 , 2023 , people with a mental illness as their sole underlying medical condition will have access to MAID if they meet all of the eligibility requirements .” 1 A physician or nurse practitioner “ directly administers a substance that causes death .” Also available is the new self-administered option in which a physician or nurse practitioner “ provides or prescribes a drug that the eligible person takes themselves , in order to bring about their own death .”
Though he argues for the selfadministered option to be more widely used , medical ethics professor Daryl Pullman expresses concern about including those with mental illness in MAID : “ We ’ re medicalizing suicide in Canada , effectively , so that people who , for whatever reason , judge their life to be unacceptable they can , under this legislation , get medical assistance in ending their life , and that ’ s a little bit disturbing .” 2
Dr . John Maher , a Canadian psychiatrist specializing in the treatment of severe mental illness , writes of his convictions : “ Holding a gun to your head , sticking a needle in your arm , or holding a poison pill and a glass of water in my hands for you to take , are all morally equivalent actions . And don ’ t tell me your desire to die changes the moral nature of my complicity .
Your desire to die should call forth in me all possible action and means to keep you alive . Such have been the laws that require me to admit you into a hospital for your own safety . We can ’ t have it both ways : suicide prevention and facilitation are fundamentally incompatible moral and pragmatic positions .” 3
Dr . Maher tells of one particularly troubling visit : “ A 30-year-old patient with very treatable mental illness asked me to end her life . Her distraught parents came to the appointment with her because they were afraid that I might support her request and that they would be helpless to do anything about it . It ’ s horrific they have to worry that by going to a psychiatrist , their daughter might be killed by that very psychiatrist . That same patient said to me , ‘ a doctor killing me is not suicide ; it is totally different .’”
As someone who has struggled with treatment-resistant depression since childhood , I am deeply troubled over the message MAID sends to those suffering from debilitating mental illnesses . During depression episodes , the brain can often experience unwelcome thoughts of self-loathing , despair , and death . While fighting these destructive thoughts , sufferers in Canada will now have to carry the additional heavy burden of knowing they can legally opt to end their life with their doctor ’ s aid .
The Bible teaches that our lives are not our own . Intricately created with purpose by a loving God , our lives are worth living even when we must go through immense suffering . This unshakable , eternal hope can become clouded in bodies wracked with physical and psychological pain . We need to know and be reminded that God is faithful and that there is an eternal hope we can hold tightly to ( Heb . 10:23 ). Let ’ s encourage others in their suffering while praying for and working toward legislation that supports every life . ■
1 . “ Medical assistance in dying ,” The Government of Canada , accessed May 6 , 2022 , https :// canada . ca / en / health-canada / services / medical-assistance-dying . html # a2 . 2 . Yvette d ’ Entremont , “ Nova Scotians eligible for medical assistance in dying will soon have option to selfadminister ,” The Halifax Examiner , January 13 , 2022 , https :// www . halifaxexaminer . ca / featured / novascotians-eligible-for-medical-assistance-indying-will-soon-have-option-to-self-administer . 3 . Dr . John Maher , “ Why legalizing medically assisted dying for people with mental illness is misguided ,” CBC News , February 11 , 2020 , https :// cbc . ca / news / opinion / opinion-assisted-dying-maid-legislation-mentalhealth-1.5452676 .
Evangelical Churchgoers Want More In-Depth Teaching
irtually no evangelical
“ Vchurchgoers wish their church would lighten up a little on [ in-depth teaching ], but three out of ten would like more of it ,” according to a survey of evangelical churchgoers in America . 1 “ Younger evangelicals are the ones most likely to want more in-depth teaching from their churches . Evangelicals under 40 are twice as likely as their seniors ( 39 % to 20 %) to want more substance from the pulpit ,” writes Kate Shellnut for Christianity Today . ■ 2
1 . “ Satisfaction with Church ,” Grey Matter Research and Consulting , January 7 , 2022 , https :// grey matterresearch . com / satisfaction-with-church . 2 . Kate Shellnut , “ 9 in 10 Evangelicals Don ’ t Think Sermons Are Too Long ,” Christianity Today , January 17 , 2022 , https :// christianitytoday . com / news / 2022 / january / evangelical-sermon-length-churchsatisfaction-pandemic-surv . html .
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