OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — MPs in Canada’s House of Commons this afternoon voted down a private members bill introduced by Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) MP Ed Fast that would have repealed the expansion of euthanasia laws to those suffering from mental illness.
With 150 votes for to 167 against, Fast’s Bill C-314, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying), was defeated during its second reading in the House.
All Conservative MPs voted in favor of the bill as did all left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) MPs, a rare occurrence in Canadian politics. Only a handful of Liberal MPs voted in favor of the bill, along with two Green Party MPs and one independent MP. The bill was defeated in large part by votes against by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party and MPs for Bloc Quebecois.
Bill C-314 reads, “This enactment amends the Criminal Code to provide that a mental disorder is not a grievous and irremediable medical condition for which a person could receive medical assistance in dying.”
Fast said of his bill shortly after it was introduced earlier this year that the government expanding assisted suicide to “include mentally ill persons” and potentially even so-called “mature minors” shows Canada is on a “slippery slope.”
Should the bill have passed, it would have proceeded to third reading where it would have stood a good chance of getting passed to Canada’s Senate.
Bill C-314 was introduced in February by Fast. It received immediate praise from Canada’s top pro-life organization, Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), after it passed its first reading.
CLC yesterday had urged all Canadians to act “right away” to urge their MPs to vote in favor of the bill.
CLC said that Fast’s bill “will help save troubled souls from suicide” and “will help stop the radical expansion of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ‘MAiD Service’ euthanasia program.”
Fast recently spoke about his bill during question period in the House of Commons. On October 5, he said his bill seeks to undo what he called the “terrible decision” of Canada legalizing euthanasia via “MAiD” (medical assistance in dying).
Fast mentioned an Angus Reid poll that found only 28 percent of Canadians agree that the nation’s MAiD laws be expanded to those suffering from a mental illness.
The federal Liberal government under Trudeau legalized euthanasia in 2016. Since that time, it has continued to push to further expand who can qualify for state-sanctioned death.
The expansion to include those suffering solely from mental illness came as part of the 2021 passage of Bill C-7, which also allowed the chronically ill – not just the terminally ill – to qualify for so-called doctor-assisted death.
The mental illness expansion was originally set to take effect in March. However, after massive pushback from pro-life groups, conservative politicians, and others, the Liberals under Trudeau delayed the introduction of the full effect of Bill C-7 until 2024 via Bill C-39, which became law on March 9.
The delay comes after numerous public scandals, including the surfacing of reports that Canadian veterans were being offered the fatal procedure by workers at Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC).
This story is developing…