Anglican Church of Canada rolling out assisted suicide liturgy

As assisted suicide continues to expand, the Anglican Church of Canada has rolled out a trial liturgy for people who choose it, drawing criticism from some Anglican groups.

The new church resource provides clergy with prayers, rites and guidance for use before, during and after a person dies by assisted suicide. Critics say the move lends church support to a practice that has grown far beyond end-of-life care in Canada.

The church’s Council of General Synod approved Ministry with the Sick and Dying in the Context of MAiD for trial use in June. MAiD stands for Medical Assistance in Dying, Canada’s term for assisted suicide.

It includes prayers before death, prayers at the time of death, Scripture readings, anointing, Holy Communion and prayers for people who cannot attend the assisted-suicide appointment.

The church says each local bishop may decide whether clergy use the resource, and that it does not seek to settle whether assisted suicide is right or wrong.

“It is not our intent to enter into the ethical arguments regarding MAiD, nor to provide a moral argument for or against MAiD,” the 60-page document says. Clergy may use the prayers “only where permitted by the diocesan bishop.”

However, traditional Anglican groups criticized the decision.

The Anglican Church League in Australia also shared an article from Anglican Samizdat about the Canadian church’s decision.

“The state in Canada has euthanised around 80,000 people as part of its Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) programme since its inception in 2016,” the article says. “That’s one in 20 deaths. So far, you have to be over 18 and of sound mind to request termination. The state even pays for it regardless of income, a claim it can’t make about dental care.

“To solemnise the occasion, the Anglican Church of Canada has published a series of liturgies to be used at the bishop’s discretion.”

Anglican Ink, a Canadian publication, also condemned the decision.

“Whatever pastoral intentions lie behind these prayers, they mark a church more eager to keep company with the culture of death than to bear the offense of the cross,” it wrote.

The Lion has covered Canada’s assisted suicide regime for years as it has expanded far beyond its initial scope.

In 2024, Canada reported 16,499 assisted-suicide deaths, a 6.9% increase from 2023. The country also received 22,535 requests that year.

The Lion has also reported on an 84-year-old Canadian woman who said a doctor offered her assisted suicide after she went to a hospital for back pain. A Canadian actress sought assisted suicide for mental illness, prisoners have received assisted suicide in federal custody and a Canadian woman received approval after she could not get surgery for a rare condition.

Canada currently prohibits assisted suicide when mental illness is the sole underlying condition. That ban is set to expire in 2027 unless Parliament changes the law. A parliamentary committee has recommended keeping the restriction in place.