Quebec College of Physicians Must Reject Infanticide
TO: Quebec College of Physicians
On October 7, 2022, Dr. Louis Roy addressed the Parliamentary Committee tasked with reviewing Canada’s euthanasia law. He did so as a representative of your organization and of Quebec doctors.
In his statement, entered into the parliamentary record, he called for the euthanasia killing of children under age one with “severe malformations” and “grave and severe syndromes”, whose “survival is null, so to speak.” In other words, speaking on your behalf, he has urged the actual murder of deformed and sick infants – babies in their cribs! This is known as “infanticide”, a barbaric, unconscionable practice and Criminal Code offence.
I am outraged and horrified by this proposal. Every child matters, regardless of their age, race, disability, deformity, or sickness. Their God-given right to life must be respected, and they must receive appropriate, life-affirming treatment, care, and compassion from our medical professionals. There must be no option to murder a vulnerable child experiencing any sickness or deformity. Even the thought of such an act, which is rooted in discrimination and prejudice, must be banished from every doctor’s mind.
Inclusion Canada, a national federation of thirteen intellectual disability rights organizations, states: “Canada cannot begin killing babies when doctors predict there is no hope for them. Predictions are far too often based on discriminatory assumptions about life with a disability.” They also note that “providing MAiD [euthanasia] to a person who cannot consent is a standard that is wildly dangerous for all persons with intellectual disabilities in Canada.”
Therefore, I am calling on you to officially renounce your policy in favour of infanticide and to reaffirm your historic mission of healing and caring, which is summed up in the words of the Hippocratic Oath, pledging to “do no harm”.
I am also calling on you to initiate a new policy to discipline doctors like Dr. Louis Roy, who advocate for infanticide. In order to restore the public’s trust in Quebec health care, doctors who promote criminal activities and undermine human rights must be punished.
Sincerely,
[ The Undersigned ]