News

euthanasia 800

Wesley J. Smith has criticised a Dutch Supreme Court decision that allows doctors to perform euthanasia on people with advanced dementia.

The decision extended euthanasia to patients who have previously put their desires in writing but are no longer able to confirm them because of their illness.

“The ruling is a landmark in Dutch euthanasia legislation which up to now had required patients to confirm euthanasia requests”, said Smith.

“This had not been considered possible for mentally incapacitated patients like advanced dementia sufferers.”

Smith noted that a media story failed to mention that the woman at the centre of the case fought against being killed.

“Nor does the story mention that the doctor had drugged the woman before starting to euthanize her, and that the doctor instructed the family to hold the struggling woman down so that she could administer the lethal injection.

“Moreover, the patient had also stated in her instructions that she wanted to decide ‘when’ the time for death had come — which she never did. The termination ‘choice’ was made by the doctor and/or family in violation of the patient’s advance directive.”

euthanasia 800

Many countries with euthanasia are freezing end-of-life requests and are instead prioritizing palliative care – a response that exposes what true care is about, according to a Dutch ethicist.

In the Netherlands, the sole dedicated clinic for euthanasia and assisted suicide has closed since March, and has admitted in a statement, “euthanasia care cannot be identified as a top priority in healthcare”.

Two euthanasia and assisted suicide clinics in Ontario have stopped providing medical assistance in dying (MAID) because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Globe and Mail.

Hospices in the Netherlands, Ontario and Scotland continue to remain open, and some have even begun providing palliative care to COVID-19 patients.

The lack of priority given to suicidal ‘medicine’ during this worldwide health crisis has led ethicist Professor Theo Boer to conclude that the supposed need for such poisons is abstract rather than practical.

Boer believes that the suicide clinics’ stock in trade, “the existential angst about death that seems to make euthanasia a necessary human right – has disappeared in this time of crisis. Death, in this time of war against a disease, no longer appears a comforting friend or a useful medical treatment.”

“The reality is that most people die peaceful deaths,” Boer said. “But many fear loss of control and find the prospect of others caring for them terrifying.”

“Perhaps, though, we can remember this time when we made huge sacrifices to preserve every life, no matter how frail and vulnerable. We can remember this time when euthanasia no longer seemed necessary.”

black wooden church budakirkja PK352CR 2

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has agreed to fix her COVID-19 mass gathering ban that unconstitutionally targets churches.

In the interim, the Governor has subjected herself to a 14-day extension of the court-imposed temporary restraining order issued against her.

The move comes as part of an agreed motion filed in case of First Baptist Church v. Kelly.

“Singling out churches for special punishment while allowing others to have greater freedom is both illogical and unconstitutional,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Ryan Tucker.

“That’s why Gov. Kelly has agreed to an extension of the temporary restraining order against her in our case, filed on behalf of two rural churches.

“It is beyond shameful that the governor is claiming that her administration has resolved this legal challenge and that ‘under the agreement, the two churches agree to comply with safety protocols put in place by the court.’

“As noted in the court’s order against her, the churches themselves created and proposed those safety protocols long ago—protocols that the governor refused to consider acceptable until the court compelled her to abide by them.

“The governor claims that she and her administration are ‘confident that we have the law on our side,’ but if this were true, the governor would not be consenting to an agreed motion that states that she ‘intends to issue a new executive order with less restrictive mass gathering provisions that will start May 4’ and abide by the court’s order against her for an additional 14 days, until May 16.

Tucker said that the ADF reserved the right to continue litigating the issue if Governor Kelly does not follow through with appropriately amending the mass gathering ban.

US Attorney-General William Barr has also warned state governments against targeting churches.

press release

A religious freedom bill introduced by NSW MP Mark Latham is “long overdue and will help to safeguard freedom and faith,” according to Christian advocacy group FamilyVoice Australia.

“FamilyVoice Australia urges all NSW political parties to allow debate and a conscience vote on Mark  Latham’s freedom bill that is long overdue and will help to safeguard freedom and faith,” said FamilyVoice spokesman Greg Bondar.

“The bill is based on the recommendations of the Ruddock Religious Freedom Review that is yet to see any legislative outcome,” he said.

Mark Latham’s bill is designed to amend anti-discrimination legislation to protect the expression of religious belief or activity. Currently, anti-discrimination protections in NSW beyond relate to citizenship, gender, sexuality, race, disability, etc but not religious faith. The bill is currently under review in the NSW Parliament.

The Latham bill is critical for all NSW Australians in the wake of the recent decision in which the anti-discrimination board rejected a complaint filed by serial litigant Gary Burns. 

“We support Latham’s move to require the President of the Anti-Discrimination Board to reject claims that are frivolous, vexatious, misconceived or unsubstantial,” Greg Bondar said.

“But we also want a rejection of cases that are clearly money-grabbing.”

In a recent rejection of the action against Israel Folau by Gary Burns, the Anti-Discrimination Board rightly threw out the case as vexatious since it was founded on a collateral purpose, as a means to pressure the respondent to settle.

“Since money-grabbing cases should not be considered by the Anti-Discrimination Board, its President must be required by black letter law to refuse such cases,” Greg Bondar said.

“While FamilyVoice Australia does not approve of the use of anti-discrimination remedies to alleged instances of injustice, and although it does not support the use of quasi-judicial tribunals, any reform of their process is welcomed.

“Anti-discrimination legislation is a fundamentally flawed approach to handling the healthy tensions that arise in society as people engage in dialogue.

“However, while such tribunals and processes persist, their reform, as far as can possibly be achieved, is needed. 

The Christian and conservative communities of NSW have been the victims of the current process which has been used as a political weapon by progressive left-wing dominated ideological opponents to natural law."

“The people of NSW welcome Mark Latham’s amendments which will ensure that only complaints of genuine discrimination are heard by the Board” added Greg Bondar

FamilyVoice confirms its support and will urge the NSW government and the Opposition parties to support Latham’s bill ensuring that the Anti-Discrimination Act is a true and fair reflection of the remedies available against discrimination rather than a platform for political anti-Christian activists.

The bill: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bills/Pages/bill-details.aspx?pk=3735

Further Details:  Greg Bondar NSW State Director – 0411 854 115

black wooden church budakirkja PK352CR 2

A city council in the US state of Mississippi has issued a new order that lifts the city’s unconstitutional ban on drive-in church services during the coronavirus crisis.

It comes after legal action by Alliance Defending Freedom representing the local church.

According to ADF, the church voluntarily withdrew its request for a temporary restraining order against the city Wednesday after the Greenville council’s decision.

The legal action against the council had the support of the US Department of Justice. 

The US Department of Justice had filed a Statement of Interest in support of a church in Mississippi that held parking lot worship services.

“The City of Greenville fined congregants $500 per person for attending these parking lot services – while permitting citizens to attend nearby drive-in restaurants, even with their windows open. The City appears to have thereby singled churches out as the only essential service (as designated by the state of Mississippi) that may not operate despite following all CDC and state recommendations regarding social distancing,” said US Attorney-General William Barr before the order was reversed.

“As we explain in the Statement of Interest, where a state has not acted even-handedly, it must have a compelling reason to impose restrictions on places of worship and must ensure that those restrictions are narrowly tailored to advance its compelling interest.  While we believe that during this period there is a sufficient basis for the social distancing rules that have been put in place, the scope and justification of restrictions beyond that will have to be assessed based on the circumstances as they evolve.”

According to the ADF:

The lawsuit came about after members of Temple Baptist Church drove to the church’s parking lot on a Wednesday night and stayed in their cars, as the church instructed, with their windows rolled up while listening to Pastor Arthur Scott preach a sermon over a low-power FM radio frequency from a microphone inside the empty church building. Despite the fact that no one left their cars, which numbered fewer than 20, eight uniformed police officers arrived at the service and issued tickets of $500 per person for violating the mayor’s ban.

“Public officials are right to care about public health and safety during the coronavirus crisis, but they are wrong when they treat churches more harshly than others in government orders related to it,” said ADF Senior Counsel Ryan Tucker.

“We commend Greenville for dropping its unconstitutional ban, which prohibited drive-in church services but allowed similar types of activities, such as eating at drive-in restaurants. That overreaching ban wasn’t necessary to protect health and safety. It only served to unnecessarily violate Americans’ freedoms protected by the First Amendment.”