Apologia

My new book Untangling Popular Pro-MAID Arguments: Critical Thinking about Medical Assistance in Dying (in Canada) is now available at Amazon and Hull’s.

Context: On March 17, 2024, Canada’s government will expand MAID (killing of patients) to include persons who suffer solely from mental illness. There is also talk about providing MAID to “mature minors.” The criterion that MAID was limited to the context of terminal illness (“reasonably foreseeable natural death”) was dropped in 2021. Since 2016, when MAID became legal in Canada, nearly 45,000 Canadians have been killed via MAID. And the number is growing each year. (For comparison, the number of MAID deaths since 2016 is nine times greater than the number of homicides for the same period.)

I submit that many Canadians have been convinced of the appropriateness of MAID because of faulty arguments (propaganda) promulgated by a MAID-promoting government (led by the Liberals) aided and abetted by a lack of critical thinking in the medical profession (e.g., Manitoba’s College of Physicians and Surgeons), and the result is that many of Canada’s powerless and vulnerable citizens have been-and are-at risk.

This short book is my attempt to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves (Proverbs 31:8a).

Endorsements

“In this compilation of his thoughtful critiques authored over many years, Professor Hendrik van der Breggen deploys sharp logic and critical thinking with devastating effect to demonstrate the fallacies and failures of Canada’s legalized euthanasia regime.”

– Ewan C. Goligher, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Physiology, University of Toronto, author of How Shall We Then Die? A Christian Response to Physician-Assisted Death (Lexham Press, 2024)

“Even before the final Carter v Canada ruling came down in 2015, Dr. Hendrik van der Breggen was among the more vocal Canadian Christian philosophers speaking out about MAID. His consistent stance in the public arena has been one of principled opposition, not only on the basis of unambiguous Biblical prohibitions, but also on the basis of moral insights understandable by any rational person of good conscience. Untangling Popular Pro-MAID Arguments brings together a selection of his published work from the past decade, as well as introductory material providing the latest statistics on MAID’s increasing prevalence. Concerned Canadians, religious or non-religious, have much to learn from this concise and accessible work.”

– Travis Dumsday, PhD, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Concordia University of Edmonton, author of Assisted Suicide in Canada: Moral, Legal, and Policy Considerations (UBC Press, 2021)

“Hendrik van der Breggen once again distills inevitably complex and often deliberately convoluted ethical issues into accurate, accessible prose. His positions are reasoned, his criticisms careful, and his convictions nuanced. This short book needs to be read by doctors, lawyers and politicians across the spectrum concerned about end-of-life care in Canada today.”

– Tim Perry, PhD, Canadian theologian at large, author of Funerals: For the Care of Souls (Lexham Press, 2021)

“People matter. By virtue of being created in the image of God, there is dignity, value, and beauty in all human life. Said otherwise, there is no life unworthy of life. People matter. Given such, it is important to think carefully about Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID). In his book, Untangling Popular Pro-MAID Arguments, Hendrik van der Breggen makes clear that MAID is not only unwise but evil and that the (extreme) danger it poses to people should be exposed. In a world increasingly shaped by diverse (and often divisive!) perspectives, van der Breggen encourages informed discourse on a topic which touches the very essence of our humanity. By uniquely melding theological insights with empirical evidence, philosophical reasoning, and effective critical argumentation, Untangling Popular Pro-MAID Arguments is persuasive and powerful.”

– Dustin Burlet, PhD, Instructor of Bible, Millar College of the Bible (Winnipeg), author of Judgment and Salvation: A Rhetorical-Critical Reading of Noah’s Flood in Genesis (Pickwick Publications, 2022)

“For anyone wanting to make an informed decision on the practice of MAID, two questions are absolutely necessary: what is MAID and what are the best reasons its proponents give for it? This book not only clarifies what MAID is (and what it is not) but also shines a clear and critical spotlight on the reasons its proponents believe it should be legal and available.

Hendrik van der Breggen draws on a lifetime of engaging issues philosophically to identify assumptions implicit in many pro-MAID arguments and to follow the arguments through to their perilous logical conclusions. In so doing, he provides the fuller picture readers need to make informed assessments.

Furthermore, the author’s concise and readable writing style, illustrations, and avoidance of technical jargon, make this information easier to digest than many other books and articles on the subject. This book is a valuable analysis of a life-and-death issue for our culture.”

– Paul Chamberlain, PhD, Professor, Ethics and Leadership, Trinity Western University, author of Final Wishes: A Cautionary Tale about Death, Dignity, and Physician-Assisted Suicide (InterVarsity Press, 2000; Wipf and Stock, 2009)

“Untangling Popular Pro-MAID Arguments is a well-written and well-researched book that closely examines the intrinsic value of life and its connection to Canada’s current MAID legislation. It also clearly debunks the arguments and myths of the alleged benefits of MAID, while exposing the conflicts and tensions that exist in a MAID regime.”

– Ted Falk, Member of Parliament (Conservative), Provencher, Manitoba, Canada