The Status on Death in Canada
Next month, on May 9, 2024, pro-life advocates will gather for the National “March for Life” on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
The theme is: I will never forget you.
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.” Isaiah 49:15-16 (NIV)
Each day in Canada 300 women undergo an abortion. On that same day, our MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) law allows physicians to kill 15 Canadians. An insidious culture of death envelops our nation.
Canadians gather on May 9 to march for the life of the unborn, expectant mothers, the terminally ill, seniors, and the vulnerable. All who are particularly at risk within Canada’s culture of death.
Here are some recent statistics regarding abortion in Canada from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) who took over the compiling of abortion statistics from Statistics Canada in 2007:
MaiD in Canada
- Both NWT and NU did not report any MAiD deaths
- MAiD deaths increased by 31.2% between 2021 and 2022 and 32.6% between 2020 and 2021. Between 2019 and 2022 the annual growth rate was 31.1%.
- There were 463 cases in 2022 (3.5% of all MAiD deaths) and 223 cases in 2021 (2.2% of all MAiD deaths) where MAiD was provided in cases where natural death was not reasonably foreseeable (this eligibility began in 2021).
- There were only seven cases of self-administered MAiD in Canada which is legal in all jurisdictions except Québec. Québec witnessed the highest percentage increase year over year (2021–2022) of MAiD being provided (45.5%).
Forty Years with no Protection
Canada has had no law protecting the unborn since 1988. Dr. Henry Morgentaler, an immigrant, a survivor of the Holocaust, and an Order of Canada member (2008), successfully argued that the former abortion laws were unconstitutional. However, the court did not actually recognize a constitutional right to abortion. Only Justice Wilson recognized that abortion as a constitutional right. The abortion laws of the day were struck down because the “process” to obtain an abortion was declared unconstitutional. In fact, the rights of unborn children were acknowledged by the court. Justice Beetz wrote that the primary objective of the abortion law was, “the protection of the fœtus.” The protection of the life and health of the mother was an “ancillary” one, according to Justice Beetz’s ruling. He expressed that the protection of the unborn was a valid objective in Canadian criminal law, noting that the state’s interest in protecting an unborn child would become so compelling that the liberty rights of women must give way. However, he and the other justices noted that this decision belonged to Parliament, not the courts. Parliament has never filled the legal void left by the court in 1988.
The Bible on Life
The Bible has much to say about life and a clear condemnation of the taking of a life from the womb or a long-term senior’s residence (and everything in between).
From Prenatal to Postnatal
When Jeremiah and Isaiah reflected on God’s call on their lives, both referred to their call to serve God happening in the womb.
- “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5 ESV)
- “…the Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.” (Isaiah 49:1b ESV)
They heard God before they were born. There was no barrier from hearing God’s voice between prenatal and postnatal life. God sees life from the moment of conception.
From the Womb to the Tomb
The Psalmist reminds us that God is intricately involved in our lives from conception (womb) to our home-going (tomb), saying:
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:13-14 ESV)
Pregnancy Care Canada
Our FAIR department has partnered with Pregnancy Care Canada. We introduced the Fellowship family to PCC’s Executive Director, Dr. Laura Lewis, at our Fellowship National Conference in 2019.
I encourage you to go online to their website to seek resources to inform your church, your friends, and any women you know who are undergoing an unexpected pregnancy. May we all ensure that mothers and vulnerable seniors know that they “are not alone”!