Holy Cow

In my last blog, I talked about how I think assisted suicide should be legal. On Friday June 15, the British Columbia Supreme Court took the first step toward making that happen by calling the current law, which bans assisted suicide, unconstitutional. To read about the ruling, click here http://ca.news.yahoo.com/laws-banning-assisted-suicide-infringe-charter-rights-b-183058665.html I was very encouraged by this ruling. Then, today, I read on the Huffington Post that the Catholic Church is weighing in on the subject. While I do believe that they are entitled to voice their opinion (as I am doing right now), it is my fervent hope that the legislature sees it as just that… an opinion. To read the article, go here http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/06/16/archbishop-michael-miller-assisted-suicide_n_1603063.html?utm_hp_ref=canada

In Canada, a secular nation, we take the separation of church and state seriously. No election is ever won because of the religious beliefs of the candidate. In fact, I couldn’t tell you what religion Stephen Harper is, even if you had a gun to my head. There is no prayer in our public schools… and that’s the way we like it.

In the article Roman Catholic Archbishop Michael Miller states that  the decision “sadly reflects a distorted view of equality rights that emphasizes autonomy over human dignity and the value of life.” I don’t understand how he can say that it is more dignified to die in excruciating pain, begging for death with medicine prolonging the inevitable, than to die peacefully, without pain with help from a morphine drip… when YOU decide enough is enough. Of course, I am an atheist heathen who thinks that it’s my life and I will end it when I see fit and does not believe that a god exists… any god. But that’s also part of my point about the separation of church and state. I do not want any church telling me what I can and cannot do with my life, and thankfully, this is not something I have to worry about. The church’s opinion in this case is a moot point because the legislature must rule for everyone, not just those who believe in religious doctrine. The Church already has quite a few members who live their lives according to religious rules, why does it feel the need to tell the rest of us how to live… or die?

So speak up and voice your opinion all you want, Mister Archbishop. Thanks to the separation of church and state, the lawmakers will be forced to see it as they would a cow’s opinion… a moo point.