United Church of Canada approves prayers for medically-assisted dying as the ‘compassion of Jesus’

The United Church of Canada has approved a collection of prayers for “those in great pain and those ready to die,” including people who have “chosen medically assisted dying,” as well as “those who will accompany, support, and help them in practical ways to die.” Canada has legally permitted physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia under its Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) program since 2016.

The list of prayers is preceded by a document entitled “Pain, Dying, and Our Understanding of God,” which is intended to provide “[s]ome explanation of the theology behind the prayers.” This document states: “In Jesus the Christ, his teaching, his tragic death, and the way he overcame death we can understand God’s pattern worked out in full humanity.”

As Mark Tooley pointed out on the Institute on Religion & Democracy’s blog, however, this statement is particularly ironic because “Jesus, who suffered more than any other human, did not Himself seek assisted suicide.” 

This position document, and the euthanasia-specific prayers, were co-written by Sheila Noyes, former co-president of Dying With Dignity Canada. Noyes once wrote in favor of “forc[ing] faith-based institutions to offer assisted dying,” calling those institutions which invoke conscience protections the “antithesis of anything Christ-like[.]”

The prayers themselves appear to sugar-coat and even glorify assisted suicide and euthanasia. “Prayer Following the Decision by a Suffering Person to End Their Life” insinuates that physician-assisted death is superior to natural death, and that those who don’t choose euthanasia lack courage: “We pray for others we know who are dying, that they may have the courage and the encouragement to decide for themselves when they must die.” 

“Prayer of a Medical Professional” implies that doctors who kill their patients have a divine commission: “I am doing your compassionate work, Loving God.” And “Prayer in the Midst of Fear” insinuates that euthanasia can get one closer to God: “I feel that fear throws up a barrier between you and me, Loving God, a barrier so hard to penetrate, and I want that barrier down.” It also expresses the wish that loved ones “will be proud of my decision and will understand that MAID is consistent with the love and compassion of Jesus.” 

Presumably, they are referring to the same Jesus who cured the sick and resurrected the dead.

The reality of assisted suicide and euthanasia in Canada is far from the rosy picture painted by the United Church of Canada’s related prayers. Reports of patients being pressured into accepting MAiD instead of the legitimate medical treatment they were seeking are not uncommon. Furthermore, incurable illness is not the sole reason people seek – and receive – MAiD. In 17.3% of MAiD deaths for 2021, “isolation and loneliness” was cited as the primary reason. People have also sought MAiD for homelessness, financial strain, and even anxiety over climate change.  

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