Montreal Catholic Diocese loses court challenge to block assisted suicide in palliative care home

The Canadian Press / Ryan Remiorz

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Justice Catherine Piche ruled that Quebecers' right to choose what medical care they want to receive outweighs any infringement of religious freedom.

The Archbishop, Christian Lepine, filed a challenge in February to prevent a church-affiliated palliative care facility, St Raphael's, from being forced to allow medical assistance in dying (MAID) to patients.

“I know it’s a complicated issue, and there are many points of view, but I feel that in a democracy and with the Charter of Rights that we have, it should be allowed to respect the freedom of conscience, which is very important,” Archbishop Lepine told The Gazette when the challenge was filed.

The lawsuit sought an exemption for St Raphael's from the new MAID law, which took effect in December 2023. All palliative care homes in Quebec must offer MAID without exception.

The Diocese argued the law meant a choice between ceasing support for St. Raphael's or accepting that "their property, a former church, be used to commit acts that they consider morally unacceptable."

Justice Piche agreed with the Diocese that the law creates a moral dilemma and that those who support St Raphael's, including the Church, would be harmed if MAID deaths were committed at the care home, but she ruled that "those harms did not justify an exemption."

Catholic doctrine states that life begins at conception and ends at natural death.