The glorification of death in Canada

La Maison Simons is a Canadian fashion giant and department store. Recently, La Maison Simons thought it would be nice to add its support for euthanasia. At least, that’s what it seems, based on a controversial ad (now pulled without comment) featuring a recently euthanized woman who recorded the ad before her death. 

The ad proclaims that “last breaths are sacred” and showcases dreamy, dystopian footage of the woman in her final days at the beach, mesmerized by luminescent jellyfish, playing a cello, dining with friends to a soundtrack of soothing, synthesized music.

“When I imagine my last days,” she says, “I see bubbles, I see the ocean, I see music.”

Simons’ effort is pure propaganda that glamorizes euthanasia, red-carpeting a pathway toward chosen death for anyone so inclined. Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) Act, federal legislation passed in 2016, was updated last year to include less stringent requirements, the likely catalyst for the Simons ad.

As it was, MAID already demonstrated the country’s amoral attitude toward the sanctity of life. With the 2021 changes, Canada is practically pushing people towards suicide. Prior to 2021, one’s natural death had to be “reasonably foreseeable” to pursue euthanasia under the law. That is no longer a requirement. Starting in March 2023, MAID will even be open to those suffering from mental illness. The latest change prompted the resignation of two members of the government-appointed “expert panel,” one noting that the policy would lead to more people “having MAID performed than is warranted.”

In 2021 alone, more than 10,000 Canadians died by assisted suicide or euthanasia under MAID, a 32 percent increase over 2020. Canada’s Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclose said he was “proud” to represent the legislation and is presumably leading the charge for even more liberal allowances. 

MAID advocates say this is about “choice,” but the Simons ad showcases what can only be called coercion of a sort toward the choice of euthanasia. Vulnerable people are influenced by the media, politicians, and advocacy groups. Perhaps overwhelmed by pain and struggle, one might be convinced that death is the best option, even as other possibilities emerge. 

Consider the case of Amir Farsoud, who sought and was approved for euthanasia under Canadian law. He suffers from debilitating back pain, but applied for MAID because he feared homelessness. After City News reported his story, a stranger set up a GoFundMe that ultimately raised over $60,000 for Farsoud. He rescinded his application for MAID, saying the outpouring of support had reversed the “darkness” and “hopelessness” that had defined his life before. He was certainly not better off dead.

The Simons ad displays a godless utopia where the dying (or desperate, in Farsoud’s case) live out their best days, a place where you need only be “brave enough” to see the “beauty” that still exists. It’s all a facade, a carefully coordinated marketing campaign to persuade people that chosen death is dignified.

It’s easy to see through this mess of legislation. Apparently, Canada thinks offering euthanasia to those who complain about lack of accessibility is also dignified. Retired Army Corporal and paralympic athlete Christine Gauthier testified that after she sent a letter to the government complaining about delays to a wheelchair lift being installed in her home, she received a letter back saying “if you’re so desperate, madam, we can offer you MAID, medical assistance in dying.”

In Canada assisted suicide is considered valid “healthcare,” offered even on the basis of non-fatal disability. That it is even an option conveys a depraved message toward the imperfect: your lives are not necessarily worth living. 

In the pulled Simons ad, a voiceover coaxes viewers away from hospitals, where death isn’t “natural” or “soft.” They pull viewers toward a non-existent, end-of-life heaven on earth where all is well. But there is no heaven on earth and the Bible calls death “an enemy.” Presumably, those participating in the Simons ad don’t know Jesus, either, since He is never mentioned, nor is a heavenly afterlife awaiting. 

Our bodies are not our own. As Christians, we don’t have the authority to end our own lives. As citizens of an imperfect world where all human life is a reflection of God’s image, no one else does either. Legalizing euthanasia is a fast track to even more glorification of death than we already see in places like the pro-abortion lobby. 

If this life is all there is, why should anyone be burdened or inconvenienced? Who is next in this movement to rid us all of strife and struggle? Eat and drink, for tomorrow you die? For some, sooner than others.