WINNIPEG, Jan 5, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Arthur Schafer, a darling of the liberal media who is often asked to provide the “ethical” opinion on hot topics has joined the call for Canada to follow Holland in legalizing euthanasia. Schafer, director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba, said in the Globe and Mail Tuesday that “it is time for Canadian legislators to follow the Dutch model.” In his statements Shafer uses all the classic false arguments used initially to bring about the legalization of abortion.
Mimicking the “choice” argument of abortion proponents, Shafer says of euthanasia that “individuals vary so much, on the question of when life becomes too burdensome, that each should be allowed to control the circumstances of his or her own dying and death.” Then comes the backstreet abortionist argument, saying that euthanasia will be carried out in Canada secretly if it remains illegal. “In Canada, as elsewhere, doctors or family who respond to the helpless suffering of patients by hastening their deaths typically conceal what they’ve done, to avoid legal repercussions. The Dutch system has the advantage of openness, accountability and transparency, all of which are likely to diminish the instances of abuse, compared to countries such as Canada, where such practices remain common but clandestine.” The substantial amount of documentation that already exists regarding Holland’s euthanasia regime, exposes such a claim as completely false. Pro-lifers are curious as to whether Schafer’s position is based on ignorance or ideological fervour.
Even the lie of early abortion supporters who argued that liberalizing the practice would not lead to a massive increase in the number of abortions is used. “Of the 130,000 patients who die in the Netherlands each year, only a few thousand die with the assistance of their doctors. Were Canada to emulate the Dutch example, the number of patients who would request assistance in dying would be comparably small.”
Shafer’s missive comes a little more than a month after homosexual and euthanasia activist MP, Svend Robinson (NDP), promised to push for euthanasia again early in this Parliament. Dr. Richard Haughian the president of the Catholic Health Association of Canada responded to Shafer’s article saying assisted suicide is an act of despair and an admission of failure – “failure on the part of the community to provide the necessary support when it is most needed.”
See the Globe and Mail article at https://www.globeandmail.ca/gam/Commentary/20010102/COEUTHY.html (with files from Catholic News Service and Pro-Life E-News)
Dr. Schafer can be reached at: [email protected]