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In an open letter to Le Journal de Québec (February 7th 2014) titled “L’euthanasie: légale mais toujours immorale” (Euthanasia: legal but still immoral), the former péquiste MNA Jacques Brassard worried about the “terrible scope” of the assured adoption of Bill 52.

Monsieur Brassard did not mince words:

• “Provoqued death, euthanasia, is no more dignified than the suicide of a youth or death by homicide.”
• “Eliminating the one who is suffering, even at his request, is not demonstrating proof of compassion.”
• “We can’t really speak of a free and informed consent when it pertains to people who are sick, suffering, aging, often desperate and abandoned.”
• “Euthanasia corrupts the doctor’s primary mission.”
• “It is not because a parlimentary majority, even if it represents a notable part of the population decides to authorize euthanasia by law that this way of bringing about death is moral. If Capital Punishment is immoral, euthanasia is even more so because it concerns innocent people.”
• “In the few states where euthanasia is legalised, we have observed regrettable deviations.”

Thank you, Mr. Brassard, for explaining things so well. Thank you for your audacity.

In the wake of this open letter, many other questions are currently being asked:

Why did the government choose to ignore the deviations which occured in Belgium, where euthanasia has been legal for 10 years and where they are preparing to legalise euthanasia for minors?

Why does the government stubbornly cling to spreading havoc for Quebec Palliative Care? The vast majority of palliative care specialists have clearly manifested their opposition to Bill 52. They have expressed that they will not collaborate with the killing of patients through “medical aid in dying”. We must hear them!

Under what pretense is the government ignoring that vulnerable people cannot give a free and informed consent?

We can still hope against hope, the adoption of Bill 52 is not assured. However, one thing is sure: if this bill is adopted, many vulnerable people risk dying unecessarily.