Carter Tag

04 Jul 2014 ARPA Granted Intervenor Status in Supreme Court Euthanasia Case

With thankfulness to God, we are grateful to report that ARPA Canada has been granted standing as an intervenor in the Supreme Court of Canada case Carter et al v Attorney General of Canada, which will decide whether Canada's laws against euthanasia and assisted suicide will stand. As with the Loyola case, the Court is allowing us 10 pages of written arguments, and will decide later if we will also get to make oral arguments. This case will have a huge impact on the value of human life in Canadian law. Once a line is crossed where some human lives are deemed not worth living, then it is up to the subjective will of some to decide whether others meet their criteria or not. 
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26 May 2014 Liberty cannot be permitted to trump life

{easymail 198}Euthanasia is not a dignified answer to end-of-life care The ARPA staff are preparing to intervene in the Carter v. Canada case at the Supreme Court, which will examine whether Canada's current laws on euthanasia and assisted suicide will stand or be struck down. The matter of death is one that affects us all and we are looking to the courts to rule against the legalization of euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide. The value of an individual should never come at the cost of what he or she can contribute to society, but instead in the simple fact that we are all human beings, created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). The Calgary Herald has once again published an op-ed from ARPA Executive Director, Mark Penninga, Liberty can't be permitted to trump life. Calgary Herald - July 14, 2014 - Mark Penninga - A few years ago, I was driving my girlfriend home from a date at a Vancouver Giants hockey game. All was going well until my Mazda 323 started chugging up the Port Mann Bridge to cross the Fraser River.
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27 Jan 2014 ARPA in National Post: Defining Human Dignity

ARPA Note: One important line was left out of the published version which explained where the Court can find an objective foundation for human dignity - the Supremacy of God. We encourage our readers to write letters to the editor of the NP, explaining where dignity ultimately comes from. By Mark Penninga, National Post, January 27 2014: The euthanasia debate will come to a climax in the coming year, as the Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear an appeal of the Carter case from the B.C. Court of Appeal. It was a little over 20 years ago that the Supreme Court first visited this issue, with the case of Sue Rodriguez, who pleaded with Canadians and the Court for the right to a doctor-assisted death to end her suffering from Lou Gehrig’s Disease. In the Rodriguez decision, just five of the nine justices upheld the Criminal Code sanction against assisted suicide. Twenty years later we have different judges, but the very same issue. Central to their decision will be how the justices define human dignity. The answers they provide to what makes human life valuable will impact far more than Canada’s laws on assisted suicide and euthanasia. It will go to the heart of how we, as a nation, understand and value human life and human rights.
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09 Jan 2014 Death with Dignity – A Priority Issue for 2014

Update: The Supreme Court has now agreed to hear the Carter case, revisiting the euthanasia issue and making a final decision. Please pray! By Mark Penninga (French version available below as an attachment). Although we originally published this article some years ago, the issue is more alive in 2014 than ever before. Quebec is pushing to allow euthanasia regardless of the Criminal Code. And an appeal of the law against euthanasia is likely going to be made to the Supreme Court of Canada. Words can pack a punch. As such, they can be used for both noble and crafty purposes. Advertisers, political spin-doctors, and even Supreme Court judges know this well and take full advantage of the power of words. One example is the concept of dignity. Because dignity seems to be such a favourable word it is being used, and exploited, for purposes as far ranging as Hillary Duff’s latest pop album to the push for legalized abortion in third world countries. But the movement that has most exploited the concept of dignity is the political effort to legalize euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. The term “death with dignity” is being used by right-to-die advocacy groups because they know that associating dignity with euthanasia will soften the public perception of what they are really demanding– state condoned death.
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18 Oct 2013 Two Very Encouraging Court Decisions about End of Life Care

Today the Supreme Court of Canada released their decision in the Rasoulie case about end-of-life care. They ruled that physicians are required to get consent from a patient or their substiute (if they are unable to make a decision) before they may remove life support.  Last week the BC Court of Appeal reversed the BC Supreme Court ruling which had declared that our euthanasia laws were unconstitutional. Combined, these two cases are a much needed encouragement in the face of growing pressure from provincial governments and activist organizations to promote euthanasia and assisted suicide. ARPA tips its hat to the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition for their exemplarly leadersship on both cases. They are still looking for funds to cover their legal expenses.
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