Explainer: What you should know about Canada’s medical assistance in dying law

Last month, the government of Canada introduced legislation to extend the temporary exclusion of eligibility for medical assistance in dying (MAID) where a person’s sole medical condition is a mental illness until March 17, 2024. The legislation (Bill C-39) passed the House of Commons and has been introduced in the Senate.

Here is what you should know about Canada’s law that allows for voluntary euthanasia.

How is your church responding to a post-Roe world?

The Dobbs decision marks a true turning point in the pro-life movement — a moment that Christians, pro-life advocates and many others have worked toward tirelessly for 50 years. As we respond to the ruling in this case, we want to be faithful to pray.

This free Dobbs prayer guide contains a list of 48 specific prayer requests to guide you, your family, and your church in your prayers over the coming weeks and months.

This Week in Washington, D.C.

On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), their first hearing on the proposal since 1984. This proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution would clarify that men and women have “equal rights.” A version of the amendment first passed Congress in 1972.

Though it has long been advertised as a major step forward for women’s equality, the ERA has many damaging implications for life, religious liberty, and human dignity. The ERA could ban all abortion restrictions, require taxpayer funding for abortions, remove conscience protections for medical professionals, eliminate distinctions based on sex, and leave women vulnerable by effectively erasing sex-segregated spaces.

This month, the Senate appears likely to vote on a joint resolution that would remove the ratification deadline to recognize the ERA as a valid constitutional amendment. In a 1978 resolution, the SBC opposed a prior decision to extend the ratification deadline and “any amendment or any substitute bills which would provide for extension of the time for states to ratify the ERA.” The ERLC is actively advocating against this harmful amendment and is opposing this effort to extend the ratification deadline.

Read more about our advocacy against the ERA here.

Featured Podcasts

This week on the ERLC Podcast, Brent and Lindsay talk to Jason Thacker about his new book, “The Digital Public Square,” and how Christian ethics apply in a technological society. They discuss the importance of Christians engaging various technological tools with wisdom and the motivation to love God and love our neighbors.

From The Public Square

Trans youth care ban headed to Tennessee governor’s desk
Associated Press

Transgender youth in Tennessee would be banned from receiving gender-affirming care under legislation currently headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who has voiced support for the bill.

West Virginia GOP majority House OKs religious freedom bill
Associated Press

West Virginia’s GOP supermajority House of Delegates has passed a bill that would create a test for courts to apply when people challenge government regulations they believe interfere with their religious freedom.

Where Are the Churches in Canada’s Euthanasia Experiment?
Plough

Since MAID was legalized, euthanasia is Canada’s sixth leading cause of death. Why are so many Christians silent?

Texas Supreme Court Dismisses Defamation Actions Brought Against Anti-Abortion Proponents
Religion Clause

In Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity v. Dickson, the Texas Supreme Court in two companion cases ordered trial courts to dismiss defamation actions brought against Mark Lee Dickson and Right to Life East Texas.

What You Need to Read

Jordan Wootten with What is racial unity?

Our churches are yearning for unity, but often struggling to bring it to fruition among their congregations. Our communities are scarred and in turmoil. Our society, in some ways, is as divided as it’s ever been. What are we to do? Where are we to look for help? It is the Church—the people of God, the bride of Christ, the residence of the Spirit—to whom racial unity has been conferred, and by whom racial unity can be displayed and, through the Spirit, offered to a watching world.

Matthew Bennett with What I learned about racial unity from the mission field

As people observe the Church manifesting and enjoying a unity amidst diversity, they have to stop and marvel. It will take intentional work, but the result will be an embodied apologetic that supports the gospel claim to make one new humanity in Christ. The work and effort that it will take is worth it—both due to its theological foundation and its missiological impact.

The ERLC with Racial Unity in our Southern Baptist Churches

This conversation between ERLC President Brent Leatherwood and former Missouri Baptist Convention president Jon Nelson comes at a time when our convention and our nation is in need of encouragement. In this frank discussion, Jon talks about the challenges he faces as a minority pastor and the hope he has for our convention. We pray you will be encouraged by his story and his commitment to making a difference toward racial unity in the SBC.