BC Hospital Offers MAiD to Suicidal Woman Seeking Help
The Story: After a Vancouver woman sought help for suicidal thoughts, a BC medical professional responded by offering assisted suicide to the struggling woman. 37-year-old Kathrin Mentler checked herself into Vancouver General Hospital to seek help for chronic depression and suicidal inclinations. Instead, she left the hospital in greater distress after the clinician told her that the health care system was “broke” and asked if she had considered assisted suicide.
The hospital has stated that the question was part of a routine questionnaire assessing the patient’s suicide risk. Ms. Mentler, however, claims that MAiD was not brought up as a risk assessment but rather as a more comfortable alternative to drug overdose.
The Significance: Once a society has abandoned the idea that life begins and ends according to God’s will, there is very little argument to be made for why life can’t simply end at someone’s personal whim. Kathrin Mentler’s story is just one more in a long line of Canadian medical professionals offering MAiD to suffering men and women who should never have access to death.
Without a full understanding of what it means to be made in God’s image, society has no concept for human beings living a life befitting of their created nature. As a result, death is viewed as a convenient solution to pain for both the individual and the society.
Recently dismissed Liberal Justice Minister David Lametti shocked many when he claimed that Canadians had a “right” to commit suicide. His recent firing, however, had little to do with the principle that every human being is valuable and more to do with his clumsy handling of the issue in public.
Kathrin Mentler was created by God on purpose. She is not an inconvenience, her life has meaning, and all messages to the contrary should be condemned.
Read More: Andrea Woo, The Globe And Mail, “Vancouver hospital defends suggesting MAID to suicidal patient as risk assessment tool.”
Quebec’s Anti-Christian Bigotry Harvests a Lawsuit
The Story: Harvest Ministries International is suing the Quebec Government for canceling their rental of the Quebec City Convention Centre over Harvest Ministry’s pro-life views. According to Pastor Art Lucier, the rental was for a prayer meeting intended to promote reconciliation. Over 1,200 people were expected to attend.
After Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx ordered the cancellation of the event, Premier François Legault backed his Minister, stating that Quebec would not allow “anti-abortion groups to put on big shows in public places.”
John Carpay, who serves as President of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms and represents Harvest Ministries, stated that the lawsuit is “’about the fundamental rights of Harvest, its members and followers, to live out their faith, to express themselves politically and to assemble peacefully without state hindrance.”
The Significance: Once-Catholic Quebec is now the most aggressively anti-religion, pro-death province in Canada. While no singular reason can be given for this transformation, one unquestionable reason is the hypocrisy of allegedly Christian religious and political leaders in years gone by. Their terrible example led an entire province to abandon God.
In place of Christianity, abortion has taken on a near-sacramental status for the secular government, and fealty to unfettered abortion access has become a new shibboleth. No opposition, however mild, can be accepted, as it is now akin to blasphemy.
Additionally, the subdued response of many Christian religious leaders to massive government overreach during the COVID-19 pandemic has emboldened secular governments to aggressively impose their will on churches because they know they can get away with it.
As Christians, we need to use all available tools to push back against government attacks, but we also must understand that our personal example of Christian life is far more important than any single court decision.
Read More: JCCF Press Release, “Harvest Ministries suing Québec government for forcing event cancellation”
Alberta Addictions Minister Launches New Recovery Strategy
The Story: Alberta’s new Minister of Mental Health and Addiction is condemning the safe-supply policies that he says have led to “misery, carnage, and death.” In a recent interview, Minister Dan Williams stated that the progressive left has held a monopoly on addictions policy for two decades and maintaining the same approach would be “crazy.”
According to Williams, his Government’s approach focuses on recovery rather than fueling addiction by providing destructive drugs. “I am a conservative who believes in conserving the good things we’ve been given in our society,” Williams said, “I’m not blinking, because I believe we have the moral obligation to those who are suffering and to the community.”
The Significance. In the name of “compassion,” Canadian society has abandoned all hope for drug addicts by providing the very drugs that have destroyed their lives. Christians, who understand God’s power to change the human heart, should be praying that Minister Williams and Alberta’s United Conservative Government fully implement this new recovery-focused strategy.
Moreover, Christians have an opportunity to love their drug-addicted neighbours by finding tangible ways to minister to addicts in their own communities. Local Church-led recovery houses that focus on spiritual transformation and physical restoration are much more effective at changing lives than government-funded supervised-consumption sites. We should take advantage of every opportunity to replace these failed initiatives with efforts that can truly bring hope and healing to every Canadian living under the oppressive thumb of drug addiction.
Read More: Rick Bell, Calgary Sun, “Smith cabinet minister guts the Left’s lunacy on drug addiction”
Canadian University Professor Recommends Exposing Children to Adult Nudity
The Story: In response to growing concerns over biological men using female-only locker rooms, a University of British Columbia professor stated that children should be exposed to adult genitalia early in life to prepare them for later exposure to adult genitalia in public spaces.
Dr. Katja Thieme’s comments came in response to former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines—a female athlete who was forced to share a locker room with biologically-male swimmer Lia Thomas. Later, Dr. Thieme posted the following message online (Warning: the following language may be graphic for some): “Let. Little. Children. See. Penises. And. Vulvas. Of. Various. Ages. And. Sizes. In. A. Casual. Normalized. Totally. Safe. Way. The world will thank you for it. And so will those children when they grow up.”
The Significance: This story shows how far some LGBTQ activists are willing to go in defence of radical gender ideology. In cultures defined by reality, intentionally exposing children to adult genitalia for the purpose of normalizing nudity is, by definition, grooming. Rather than simply responding with shock, however, we should recognize that this dangerous sexual spire will not stop until the pushback is stronger than the radical advocacy.
While compassion for those experiencing gender dysphoria is appropriate, Christian citizens should recognize that trans-ideology is being used as a wedge issue. For many activists, the goal of the transgender movement is not healing for confused souls but permission for sexualized men to convince children that this is all perfectly normal—remember, nobody is dressing for drag queen story hour in normal, non-sexualized clothing. In this view, the safety of women and children is less important than the supposed rights of sexually-expressive men. Dr. Thieme is simply saying the quiet part out loud.
Read more: Jonathon Van Maren, The European Conservative, “UBC Professor advocates exposing “little children” to adult genitalia to prepare them for transsexuals in their locker room.”
New Brunswick Premier Higgs Poised to Survive Leadership Challenge
The Story: After a months-long effort by trans activists to remove Premier Blaine Higgs as Leader of the New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Party, anti-Higgs organizers have collected just 41 of the necessary 50 membership letters to force a leadership review. The effort to remove Higgs began after Education Minister Bill Hogan introduced an amendment to Policy 713 which requires parental consent for the gender identity changes of students under the age of 16. The campaign has until August 19 to acquire the remaining letters.
The Significance: Despite overwhelming attacks from LGBTQ activists, common sense parental rights advocates appear to be winning on gender identity issues. Not only has the LGBTQ lobby failed to force a leadership review, public support is overwhelmingly on Higgs’ side with 57% of poll respondents indicating support for Policy 713.
By standing against the mob, Premier Higgs has emboldened supporters of traditional morality and proven that the courage of a single person is capable of changing the nation’s trajectory on a major moral issue. Canadians are slowly recognizing the absurdity of gender ideology and Christians now have an opportunity to offer healing for the destruction of gender confusion in the cleansing power of Christ’s blood.
Read More: Elie Cantin-Nantel, True North, “Disgruntled members fail first step to trigger Higgs leadership review”
A Truth To Consider
