QUEBEC CITY – Cardinal Gerald Lacroix of Quebec said he has no intention to follow in the steps of his fellow Canadian bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories in refusing funerals for those who asked to be euthanized.

CORNWALL, Ont. – The Archbishop of Utrecht advised Canadian bishops to continue to decry euthanasia and assisted suicide so that Canada never emulates the Netherlands, where assisted killing can now be administered to psychiatric patients and the handicapped.

One would think, as a teenage girl, suicide should be the very last thing on my mind. But in a recent conversation with my grandfather, I’ve had reason to reflect on just how much Canadians have changed their perspective on assisted suicide and what a contrast it is to his generation.

Promoters of assisted suicide and euthanasia have effectively used heart-wrenching stories from those experiencing great pain as they deal with illness. By putting a human face to a discussion, they have been successful in getting the courts and politicians to come aboard the right-to-die bandwagon.

Priests should withhold the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick to people who have requested assisted suicide or euthanasia, according to pastoral guidelines issued by the bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

OTTAWA – The impact of Bill C-14 that legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada will be among the issues facing Canada’s bishops as they gather for their annual plenary Sept. 26-30 in Cornwall, Ont.

OTTAWA – The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) is calling on the government to expand access to euthanasia in a way that, according to opponents, would make it “wide open.”

Widespread abuse of prescription painkillers is a major problem that governments are right to address. But Ontario’s recent move to become the first Canadian jurisdiction to eliminate high-dosage opioid medications from its provincial drug plan goes a step too far.

A Belgian court has fined a Catholic care home for refusing to let a terminally ill woman receive a lethal injection on their property.

Court challenges to Bill C-14 are expected to come from both opponents and supporters of assisted suicide, said Euthanasia Prevention Coalition legal counsel Hugh Scher.

OTTAWA – Members of the Coalition for HealthCARE and Conscience are taking the College of Physicians’ and Surgeons of Ontario (CSPO) to court over its assisted-suicide policy that would force health-care practitioners to refer people for assisted suicide even if it goes against their conscience.

OTTAWA – As euthanasia and assisted suicide became legal in Canada opponents vowed to continue the fight to protect conscience rights of health-care workers and Catholic institutions and to oppose inevitable court challenges to widen the net of assisted killing.

Editor’s note: Toronto’s Cardinal Thomas Collins has long been a voice in the fight against assisted suicide in Canada. Following the passing of Bill-C-14 to legalize the process, the cardinal released the following statement on the bill’s passing.

OTTAWA – The Senate has voted to accept more restrictive access to assisted suicide.

The prevailing legal vacuum around assisted suicide is unacceptable and begs a speedy end to the head-butting between the elected House of Commons and the unelected Senate — even if that means politicians forgoing summer vacations.