Catholic hospitals in Canada face pressure to euthanize patients

Catholic hospitals in Canada have traditionally been shielded from obligations to provide euthanasia procedures based on religious grounds. However, a relentless advocacy group is now threatening that protection, arguing that all healthcare institutions in Canada should be required to commit euthanasia procedures. 

St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, which is run by the Catholic organization Providence Health Care, recently came under fire from Dying with Dignity Canada for refusing to provide Medical Assistance in Dying, or MAiD, to a 34-year-old woman with terminal cancer. Providence does not permit MAiD at any of its 10 hospitals and care facilities. 

Samantha O’Neill was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer in April 2022 after experiencing severe stomach pain. Doctors discovered a softball-sized tumor, and a series of treatments ensued, including chemotherapy and radiation. But the pain was severe and never subsided, eventually leading O’Neill to consider MAiD. She was surprised to discover that she was eligible for MAiD at her young age.

However, Canada has some of the most lenient euthanasia laws in the world. In 2016, Canada legalized assisted suicide, and since then it has been making headlines. Doctors have pressured people to be euthanized, rather than getting them the medical treatment they sought. Other people have sought MAiD due solely to poverty, disabilities, or the inability to access resources. A new law set to take effect in March 2024 will permit individuals with mental illness to qualify for physician-assisted suicide when they have no other health concerns. In addition, a recent opinion piece published in the Vancouver Sun pointed out that the rate of assisted suicide in Canada is a striking 22 times higher than that of the United States.

READ: Canada’s assisted suicide policies are nothing to emulate, scholars tell UK

But some hospitals, like St. Paul’s, do not allow euthanasia. After she made her decision to die, O’Neill had to be transferred to another facility that would commit euthanasia. She contends that St. Paul’s did not provide her with the “dignity in dying” that she deserved. She was eventually transferred to St. John’s Hospice.

Providence contends that it cannot allow euthanasia “given the incompatibility of Catholic teaching with actions intended to terminate a human life.” Since MAiD became legal in Canada in 2016, 402 of Providence’s patients have made formal requests for MAID and 131 have followed through with a transfer to other facilities.

Dying with Dignity’s CEO Helen Long told the Vancouver Sun that policies that do not force any person or provider to carry out MAiD will stay in place until there is a successful court challenge. But she believes cases like O’Neill’s highlight the need for a challenge since hospital transfers can be difficult and doctors who support MAiD could come to the Catholic hospitals to carry out the procedure.

Long said, “We’re talking about a hospital and hospitals don’t have conscientious rights. The hospital should have a policy that allows outside physicians to come in and perform MAiD without having to transfer the patient.”

However, MAiD undermines human dignity and sends a message to those grappling with illnesses, disabilities, and oftentimes poverty and homeless, that their lives are not valuable. Instead, Canada could improve access to quality health care and supports, as well as palliative care that affirms the worth of every human life and provides loving, comprehensive support during their final stages.