Montreal Archdiocese Exploring Legal Recourse Following Court’s Denial of Injunction Against MAID
The Roman Catholic diocese in Montreal is exploring its options after its palliative care home was denied an exemption from Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAID).
Quebec’s Superior Court ruled on March 1 that individuals’ right to choose their medical care, including a doctor-assisted death, outweighs any infringement on religious freedom.
“This request was just the first step in proceedings to challenge, particularly based on the right to freedom of religion and conscience protected by the Canadian and Quebec Charters, the requirement imposed on all palliative care homes to provide ‘medical aid in dying,’ without exceptions,” Archbishop of Montreal Christian Lépine said in a statement to The Epoch Times.
Archbishop Lépine acknowledged the ruling but highlighted its implications on the care provided at St. Raphael Palliative Care Home, which has 12 palliative care beds.
“If the request had been approved, this organization would have been able to continue focusing entirely on its original mission of offering free, high-quality palliative care, easing pain, and supporting individuals and their families at the end of life, without hastening or delaying death,” Archbishop Lépine stated.
St. Raphael’s has assisted around 450 individuals at the end of their lives since its establishment in 2019. The home is situated on diocesan-owned land and was formerly a parish location that closed in 2008. The land was designated for the construction of a palliative care home in 2009.
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Justice Catherine Piché rejected the diocese’s request for a stay or temporary exemption, stating that it “could have a harmful impact on the public.”
“When it comes to the right to choose medical care and access medical assistance in dying, the public interest is paramount, as emphasized in this judgment,” Ms. Piché wrote in her court decision.
Despite the significant interest of the applicants in safeguarding their religious beliefs, this interest carries less weight compared to Quebecers’ right to choose their care, including medical assistance in dying at St. Raphael Home.
‘Violates Religious Freedom’
Mgr. Lépine contended that Quebec’s end-of-life care law infringes on freedom of religion by mandating the palliative care home to provide a procedure it deems morally unacceptable. He also pointed out that donors and volunteers had supported the care home because it aligned with their religious beliefs.
“I trust that the diocese’s involvement with St. Raphael’s will continue, but if St. Raphael’s is compelled to administer medical assistance in dying, I cannot in good faith continue to back the organization and urge the faithful of the diocese to do so as well, as medical assistance in dying contradicts my genuine religious beliefs and moral values,” he remarked.
An agreement between the province and St. Raphael’s, established in 2019, allowed patients seeking MAID to be transferred to another facility. The province argued that the court challenge was inconsistent with the agreement.
“The Attorney General argues that the plaintiffs are acting inconsistently in their practices and beliefs by refusing to administer medical assistance in dying at St. Raphael but collaborating under the Entente in transferring patients desiring end-of-life assistance to the CIUSS for this care,” the court document mentioned.
Justice Piché stated that granting the exemption, even temporarily, could have “negative repercussions” on patients seeking MAID.
“The residents of St. Raphael Home would then be unable to access medical assistance in dying on-site until a decision is made on the merits because this care would continue to be excluded,” she wrote. “They would need to be transferred to a hospital center if requested, which could have damaging consequences. This is a genuine and real harm, supported by evidence.”
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
