Retired Canadian Priest Cleared of Assisted Suicide Charges

Windsor, Canada, 1 Aug 07 -- A retired Canadian Anglican priest has been cleared of assisted suicide charges for accompanying his wife to Dignitas.

The Southwest Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit has decided no laws were broken and closed the case against a Windsor [Canada] man being investigated after he accompanied his terminally ill wife to an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland.

Acting on information referring to the Zürich clinic in the June 8 obituary of Elizabeth MacDonald, the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition in Ontario requested RCMP investigate Eric MacDonald and lay charges against the retired Anglican priest.

MacDonald said during a recent interview he was relieved no charges were laid against him. "I was relieved as I didn't think I did anything wrong so I wasn't terribly fearful, but you're never sure." However, MacDonald had some harsh words for the Coalition and also of the religious body that had been his career.

"I think the people that make up the suicide prevention group are a bunch of fundamentalist busybodies only too glad to ensure that terminally ill people must suffer and die in a most horrible and inhumane way. And in this capacity, every member should be ashamed of the needless suffering they cause by pretending to know God's will or anything about compassion for the dying," MacDonald said.

He also said anti-euthanasia groups, "seem to be linked to the Catholic Church through a mutual interest."

Faith tested beyond the limit

Working as an Anglican priest for much of his career, MacDonald said his faith has been tested to the limit by the ordeal he and his late wife, who suffered from extreme MS, endured.

"My faith has been shaken for a while now; I have practically no sense of belonging to the church anymore," he said. "I blame the church for people like Elizabeth dying prematurely because if she didn't have to travel to Switzerland,. I'm convinced she would still be alive today if assisted suicide were legal in Canada."

Because his wife had to be able to travel, move her arm and swallow, MacDonald said the "window of opportunity to travel to Zürich was closing rapidly and this was her only hope.

"I blame the church because its influence on society and law is very strong. Catholics, Anglicans and the United Church, as evident by their belief, have to be resolutely opposed to this kind of death," he said.

However, "I have a bone to pick with the church as it has been a large part of my life from my early childhood onward, yet when you go through the

tension and have to watch someone you love suffer in such terrible circumstances, the whole idea of faith is badly shaken. Even when I was a priest I was starting to lose my faith because someone I love was suffering such agony. Yet church doctrine insists it is 'God's will' and that just doesn't seem like any God I can believe in."

MacDonald said his wife felt strongly about the official stance of the church. "God can go on 'working in mysterious ways', but as Elizabeth said, 'if this is part of a bigger plan, then someone messed up'."

Possible book may help others

MacDonald said he's considering writing a book on what he and his late wife endured for nearly a decade. "I thought I may write a book. I'm currently researching, but in time that's what I'd like to do."

MacDonald said a book would help further his late wife's cause to change the law in Canada to permit physician-assisted suicide in terminally ill cases where all hope of recovery is gone.

The premise of the book, MacDonald said, is how society and the church views 'ownership' of our bodies. "The church believes our bodies belong to God, not anyone else, especially ourselves. The idea that we shouldn't pre-empt God's design through doctor-assisted suicide is ridiculous because we do it all the time with modern medicine."

MacDonald said a revolution in moral intuition is needed to help educate people on terminal illness and suffering. "A recent Canadian study indicates that 79 per cent of those polled were in favour of some form of assisted suicide," MacDonald said. "I think our understanding of dying is slowly changing and the majority of people see it as wrong to allow themselves to die in pain and suffering, and made it quite clear that changes in the laws need to come."

MacDonald said if writing a book on his experience would help others in similar circumstances, "then Elizabeth's wish would start to become a reality, and that would be very worthwhile."

MacDonald said he was extremely grateful for the overwhelming support he has received during the past several weeks. "I have been touched by the care and support I've received. It's really quite humbling and amazing."

By Fred Lawrence, NovaNewsNow.com