BELIEFS

Euthanasia is the deliberate killing of someone by action or omission, with or without that person’s consent, for what are claimed to be compassionate reasons.
Assisted Suicide is counselling, abetting, or an act of aiding someone to kill himself or herself.
Hospice/Palliative Care is the active total care of patients whose prognosis is limited due to progressive, far-advanced disease; its purpose is to alleviate pain and other distressing symptoms and to enhance the quality of life, not to postpone or hasten death. (World Health Organization)
The members of the Coalition believe that euthanasia and assisted suicide should continue to be treated as murder/homicide, irrespective of whether the person killed has consented to be killed.
The present law in Canada does not distinguish between euthanasia, assisted suicide and other forms of murder. The key consideration is the intention to cause death. Consent or motive – even one of compassion – does not change the reality of killing a human being.