Parliament Resumes Euthanasia Debate

Prorogation doesn't kill private member bills, so bill C-384 was merely scaled back to the first hour of debate.

OTTAWA, Ontario, March 17, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The House of Commons held a debate Tuesday on Bill C-384, a bill proposed by member of parliament Francine Lalonde (La Pointe-de-l'Île, BQ) to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide.
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The bill received an hour of debate in October, but it moved back to first reading again after Parliament was prorogued for January and February.

The legislation was originally scheduled to have already come up for a vote, but Lalonde has traded back the second hour of debate three times, apparently in an effort to buy time to drum up support in a largely unsympathetic parliament. The second hour of debate and vote are currently expected sometime in May. However, Lalonde may attempt to push it back again.

Three MPs spoke in favour of the bill, with Lalonde being supported by Diane Bourgeois (Terrebonne-Blainville, BQ) and Bill Siksay (Burnaby-Douglas, NDP). Five MPs opposed the bill: James Lunney (Nanaimo-Alberni, CPC), Paul Szabo (Mississauga South, Lib.), David Sweet (Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale, CPC), Joe Comartin (Windsor-Tecumseh, NDP), and Mark Warawa (Langley, CPC).

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I'm glad to see multi-party opposition to legalized euthanasia. We won't have the major political parties uniting to support one's right to life from conception, but at least we have multi-party consensus that once born, one has the right to live his life until its natural end; that direct and intentional actions that cause another person's death should remain illegal. Hopefully, with their joint efforts, we'll finally see bill C-384 defeated.