Human beings are not animals. Nor are we machines whose value is determined by how well the system is functioning. We are eternal souls. When we treat people as if their value disappears when their bodies weaken, we abandon one of the most basic truths about humanity, that every life possesses inherent dignity simply because it exists. A culture that forgets this will inevitably begin to view death as a reasonable solution to weakness.

In 2016, Canada legalized what it calls Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID)—physician-assisted death for those experiencing severe suffering. At the time, the policy was presented as a narrow and compassionate option reserved primarily for those nearing the end of life. Less than a decade later, the numbers tell a very different story. Since legalization, over 70,000 Canadians have died through MAID, with more than 15,000 deaths in 2023 alone. That means roughly one out of every twenty deaths in Canada now occurs through assisted suicide.

What began as an exceptional measure has quickly become a normalized part of the healthcare system. And that should make us pause.

God Determines the Boundaries of Life

From a Christian perspective, life is not something we create or control. It is something given to us by God. Scripture consistently teaches that God determines the boundaries of our lives. Psalm 139:16 declares that all the days ordained for us were written in God’s book before one of them came to be. Job famously said: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.”

Human beings are not accidents of biology. We are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). That truth gives every person dignity—whether they are young or old, healthy or suffering, strong or weak.

Historically, this belief shaped Christian civilization. Christians built hospitals, cared for the dying, and defended the weak because every life was understood to carry sacred value. But when a society rejects that foundation, the moral logic begins to shift.

How Secularism Changed the Moral Framework

Modern secular societies increasingly ground ethics in autonomy and personal choice. If the highest good is individual autonomy, then the argument follows that people should have the right to end their lives when they choose. But once autonomy replaces the sacredness of life, a subtle but dangerous shift occurs. Human life begins to be measured by things like independence, productivity, comfort, and quality of life. When those things diminish—through illness, disability, or old age—the value of life itself can begin to appear negotiable.

In that kind of moral framework, assisted suicide begins to look less like a tragedy and more like a solution.

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