The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal says it is considering its options after a palliative care home the church funds was denied an exemption from Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) regime.
Quebec’s Superior Court ruled on March 1 that individuals’ right to choose their medical care—including a doctor-assisted death—outweighs any infringement of religious freedom.
“This request was only the first step in proceedings to invalidate, notably on the basis of the right to freedom of religion and conscience protected by the Canadian and Quebec Charters, the obligation imposed on all palliative care homes, without exception, to offer ‘medical aid in dying,” Montreal Archbishop Christian Lépine said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.
Archbishop Lépine said the archdiocese acknowledges the ruling, but noted the impacts it will have on the care offered at St. Raphael Palliative Care Home, which has 12 palliative care beds.
If the request for an exemption had been granted, the archdiocese “would have been able to continue to dedicate itself wholly to its original mission of providing free, high-quality palliative care, alleviating pain, and accompanying individuals, as well as their loved ones, at the end of life, without delaying or hastening death,” Archbishop Lépine said
St. Raphael’s has helped approximately 450 people at the end of their lives since its opening in 2019. The home is on land owned by the archdiocese and was the former location of a parish church, which closed in 2008. The land was dedicated to building a palliative care home in 2009.
Justice Catherine Piché denied the archdiocese’s request for a stay or temporary exemption, saying it “could cause a harmful impact on the public.”
‘Violates Religious Freedom’
Archbishop Lépine argued Quebec’s end-of-life care law violates freedom of religion because it requires the palliative care home to offer a procedure it finds morally unacceptable. He also noted donors and volunteers had developed the care home because it respected their religious beliefs.“I hope that the archdiocese’s involvement with St. Raphael’s will continue for a long time, but if [St. Raphael’s] remains forced to administer medical assistance in dying, I can’t in good conscience continue to support the organization and encourage the faithful of the archdiocese to do so, because medical assistance in dying contradicts my sincere religious beliefs and my moral values,” he said.
An agreement between the province and St. Raphael’s developed in 2019 allowed patients seeking MAID to be transferred to another facility. The province argued the court challenge was not consistent with the agreement.
“The Attorney General contends that the plaintiffs are incoherent in their practices and beliefs by refusing to, on the one hand, administer the medical assistance in dying at Home St-Raphael but in collaborating, on the other hand, under the ’Entente, in the transfer of patients wishing to be accompanied to die to the CIUSS to receive this care,” the court document said.
Justice Piché said that allowing the exemption, even on a temporary basis, could have “adverse consequences” on patients seeking MAID.
“The residents of the House St-Raphael would then not be able to access medical assistance in dying on site until the decision on the merits since this care would continue to be excluded,” she wrote. “They should then be transferred, if requested, to a hospital center. This transfer could have harmful consequences. This is very real and harmful harm, which the evidence supports.”
