Election call kills Quebec euthanasia bill

(Vatican Radio) A controversial bill that would have legalized euthanasia in Quebec, Canada’s francophone province, died on the table on Wednesday when the premier decided to dissolve the government and call an April election.

Bill 52 had been expected to go to a vote on February 20, but legislators never got to it amid squabbles about the budget. The legislature then adjourned for a two-week recess, after which the premier made the election call.

While in Rome for the consistory, Archbishop Pierre-André Fournier (pictured), president of the Assembly of Quebec Catholic Bishops, told Vatican Radio that the bill not reaching a vote this time around would be an occasion to regroup, raise more awareness about the dangers of legalizing euthanasia and make more headway in the fight against euthanasia.

After Wednesday’s election call, Georges Buscemi, president of the Quebec Life Coalition, echoed these sentiments on his organization’s website, adding that a euthanasia bill will almost certainly be introduced in the next legislature.

Bill 52, also known as An Act Respecting End-of-Life Care, would have allowed people with terminal illnesses to request euthanasia from a doctor. However, Alex Schadenberg, director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, told Vatican Radio that the terms in the bill were never clearly defined.

Schadenberg explained that euthanasia is under federal jurisdiction in Canada and is illegal under the Criminal Code. However, the Quebec government tried to get around the Criminal Code by redefining euthanasia in Bill 52 as medical treatment, which is a matter of provincial jurisdiction.

Listen to the interview with Alex Schadenberg:
Report and interview by Laura Ieraci