Canada’s Obsession With Euthanasia

Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, , , ,

Recently, our friends at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview have published commentaries on assisted suicide and euthanasia in Canada.

Last year Canada legalized so-called “medical assistance in dying.” However, many Canadian doctors have been reluctant to help patients end their lives.

Last August, John Stonestreet highlighted a proposal to pay Canadian doctors a premium to prescribe deadly drugs. The goal seems to be to offer a financial incentive to doctors who assist with patients’ suicides.

Yesterday, Eric Metaxas cited efforts to make assisted suicide and euthanasia more accessible for the mentally ill. As Metaxas points out, these newest arguments in favor of expanding assisted suicide in Canada center less around compassion for those who suffer and more around improving society. He writes,

In Canada’s case, [assisted suicide is] being championed by people who claim to be working for a better future. Whatever the setting, compassion is the last thing we should call it.

Christians are often criticized for using the “slippery slope” argument when it comes to assisted suicide — the argument that what starts out as assisted suicide for a few terminally-ill people ends with euthanasia.

In this case, Canada doesn’t simply seem to be on a slippery slope; they’re plummeting down it.

Photo Credit: By Gustavo Vilela Alkmin (Máquina fotográfica de colega) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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A.G. Rejects (Another) Recreational Marijuana Proposal

Marijuana

Marijuana activists have worked relentlessly this summer to get Arkansas’ Attorney General to approve a ballot proposal legalizing recreational marijuana.

This week Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s office rejected yet another recreational marijuana amendment. Like past proposals, this amendment would have legalized the growth, sale, and use of marijuana in Arkansas.

By our count, this is the ninth attempt to legalize recreational marijuana since May of this year.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: So-called “medical marijuana” is just a stepping stone. The endgame for marijuana’s supporters is — and always has been — full legalization of marijuana.

You can read the A.G.’s full opinion here.

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Americans Increasingly “Spiritual But Not Religious”

Religion

This week Pew Research Center created quite a stir by releasing the findings of a study it conducted earlier this year. Among other things, researchers found Americans increasingly identify themselves as “spiritual but not religious.”

The study asked participants two key questions: “Do you think of yourself as a religious person, or not?” and “Do you think of yourself as a spiritual person, or not?”

Twenty-seven percent of those surveyed indicated they are spiritual but not religious — which is up from 19% in 2012.

What is striking about the results is that a large number of these people still identify with a religion or denomination. A full 35% of those who claim to be spiritual but not religious also identify as Protestant, and 17% attend services at least weekly.

So what is behind these numbers?

Most seem to agree that Americans probably are withdrawing from religion, but still hold views shaped by religion. For example, they might still believe in God, but don’t attend church any more.

Another possibility to keep in mind, however, is that many people — particularly Evangelical Christians — have a negative view of the word “religion.”

For some, the word “religion” conjures up images of meaningless rituals. For them, going to church is not a religious activity; it’s a deeply personal, spiritual one.

That may be part of the reason why so many people who attend services weekly (or more) would still identify themselves as non-religious.

And let’s not forget that although the number is declining, nearly half of those surveyed still identified themselves as both spiritual and religious. As we wrote a few years ago, weekly church attendance today is roughly on par with where it was in the 1940s.

The numbers may not be encouraging, but they certainly aren’t the death knell of Christianity, either.

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