When I read that the United Kingdom recently passed a bill to legalize medically assisted dying, my first thought was: Only now??
Then I learned that Canada is the only country in the Western world to fully legalize and license sales of marijuana. My first thought was: Not even Denmark??
Perhaps not surprisingly, Canada has become a liberal bastion of progressive policies and ideas. We seem to be ahead of the curve on many social issues. Or maybe too far ahead, if you’re more conservative in your views.
I get it. Some of you think this is a bad thing. I’m what you might call “progressive,” so I’m for moving things along – if it makes practical sense for the betterment of society, then do it. At least give it a try!
This doesn’t mean everything progressive has positive results. Legalizing illicit street drugs, for example, has not been the panacea some thought it might be in places like Vancouver and Oregon. From what I’ve read, this experiment showed that society still requires legal consequences.
But at least they tried. That’s all we can ask for when dealing with a problem that’s causing enormous social harms. Canada, for the most part, seems more open to experimentation.
Medical assistance in dying (MAID) was introduced in Canada in 2016 and that’s why I’m surprised a country like the U.K. is only considering it now. It’s been normalized here. So much so, that even a former conservative Mennonite pastor chose this option after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. As a Mennonite, I was surprised to read about this in, what else, but my weekly publication of the Canadian Mennonite. While some Mennonites are quite progressive, we’re generally not known for breaking glass ceilings.
As progressive as I am, I recognize that any new policy requires careful implementation. Medically assisted dying has obvious benefits in that it can ease human suffering. But we don’t want situations where people are manipulated into thinking this is their only option. We also don't want to make it too easy, to the point where society no longer provides the necessary supports for the disabled, the poor and the destitute. Hence the need for guardrails. And, from what I've read, it may be time to re-examine those guardrails here in Canada.
This is nothing new. We raise guardrails in many places in society to protect the most vulnerable and ourselves. We don’t let minors purchase alcohol or cannabis; we limit the use of guns; and we tax the heck out of cigarettes to prevent premature deaths. There's a balance between personal freedoms and creating a safe, healthy society.
For the most part, Canadians subscribe to the view that if you’re not causing harm to yourself or others, you can live how you want. Since the late 1960s, government has made a point of staying “out of the bedrooms of Canadians” when it comes to sexual orientation. This certainly isn’t the case in many countries around the world, even the one to the south of us, where certain businesses can still refuse service based on sexual orientation.
While this might create in us a sense of moral superiority, we should realize we’re typically only a few years ahead of other countries. Where Canada is today, the U.K. will be by 2030, and the U.S. will be by, well.... 2050?
We’re still grappling with a number of progressive issues like transgender care and how to appropriately deal with young people who want to undergo fundamental changes to their bodies. The issue is not black and white, so the answers aren't so simple. But the blanket response can’t be to ban everything.
Most of our collective decisions depend on how prepared society is for change and, ultimately, our overarching values. I recently learned, for instance, that almost half of Americans believe the man is the "master of the home", while less than a third of Canadians believe the same. A difference like this can significantly influence the policies our nations develop. In turn, what we accept here in Canada as normal, someone from the southern U.S. might view as abhorrent (but, quite frankly, do we really care?)
All I can say is, fifty years from now, we may think a lot of things we do today are abhorrent.
The best we can do is learn our lessons as we go.
