In the fifth of a series of voters’ guides for conscience-informed Catholics, Matthew Marquardt notes that abortion and medical non-culpable homicide are leading causes of death for Canadians – yet politicians refuse to discuss them.
Why are Catholics so obsessed about abortion? And euthanasia? There are many other evils we could concern ourselves with. So why don’t we get real, give up, and join everyone else in the 21st century?
The answer, of course, is that the sanctity of life – the dignity of the human person – is the foundation of all principles and all content of the Church’s social teaching. It is our Catholic conviction that the entire purpose of this life is for each of us, each and every human soul God chooses to put into this world, to spend all of the time, talent, and strength He has entrusted to us to find our way back to Him by loving Him, sharing in His work of creation, and caring for all the souls He has placed around us, ensuring that every one has all the opportunity and resources he or she needs to do the same thing – in their own way, using all the time, talent, and strength God has entrusted to them.
Voluntary termination of life at any time necessarily frustrates that purpose.
Abortion and euthanasia (including socially-assisted death, or SAD) are not issues to be ignored.
Why is it, then, that abortion, SAD, and other important life issues have dropped out of virtually all civic discourse outside the Church? It is a sad fact that nearly all of our political parties, along with most of our fellow voters, have stopped talking about or even acknowledging the evils of abortion, SAD, and other sins against the sanctity of the body and the dignity of life. They’ve just gone silent. And they can only do that because, to some extent, we allow it. Is this because we as a society have been distracted by the comforts and worries of modern life, and lost touch with the purpose of life? Or are we simply hiding, like the timid steward of Matthew 25:18?
The intentional killing of human beings is not a small problem in Canada. According to Statistics Canada, the leading cause of death for Canadians in 2022 (the latest year for which comprehensive comparative data is available) was cancer. Based on statistics provided by the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, the federal Ministry of Health, and others, it was homicide:
Causes of Death in Canada, 2022
1. Abortion — 97,211†
2. Cancer — 82,412*
3. Heart Disease — 57,357*
4. COVID — 19,716*
5. Accidents — 18,365*
6. Cerebrovascular Disease*** — 13,915*
7. SAD (“MAiD”) — 13,241**
8. Lower Respiratory Disease — 12,462*
9. Diabetes — 7,557*
10. Influenza and pneumonia — 5,985*
27. Other Assault / Homicide — 489
SAD finished 7th, but with its steady 31% annual growth rate reported by the Minister of Health, it is climbing fast. All told, homicide accounted for the lives of 110,941 Canadians in 2022. An impressively disappointing lead.
Is it possible for us, the Church, to do something about that? Is it possible for us to keep these topics alive in ways that are gathering and healing, rather than divisive and hurtful, and therefor likely to succeed in spreading not only awareness, but change of heart and improvement?
Of course it is. There are many ways. We can (and should) talk to our local candidates and speak up about life issues, and we can (and should) join political parties, whichever seem most attractive (or least objectionable) to us, and we can (and should) speak up (respectfully) to other party members, vote for the best leaders, and even offer our own time and effort as candidates or volunteers.
And if we want to have an effect, now is a good time to start. Canada is in the midst of an election campaign with the national vote looming this month. Liberal leader Mark Carney’s most famous published work bears the watermark of Catholic social teaching, even though it apparently dare not speak that name. And many parties profess concern for upholding the dignity of people in a wide variety of ways – though they seldom trouble to define what they mean by that.
There are other signs of hope, too, including a quietly-introduced new “Quality of Life” index of social well-being meant to drive government policymaking. Enough to work with, if we roll up our sleeves, pray, and start participating.
(Matthew Marquardt is the founder and director of Catholic Conscience.)
†Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, (www.arcc-cdac.ca/media/2020/07/statistics-abortion-in-canada.pdf, updated April 18, 2024)
* Statistics Canada, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250305/t001a-eng.htm
** Health Canada, Fourth Annual Report on Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada 2022
*** defined as strokes and other brain blood vessel concerns
