A Canadian Anglican dean, together with two physicians, approved, facilitated, and oversaw an assisted suicide last week of an elderly couple who had requested to die at the same time.
Andrew Asbil, the Anglican dean of Toronto and rector of St. James Cathedral, was present and in total support of George and Shirley Brickenden’s decision to end their lives together, which occurred last Tuesday, according to several reports.
A lengthy April 1 article in the Globe and Mail captured their death as the final moment in a long love affair. The story recounted their initial engagement, decades of marriage, and deep affection for each other, mentioning how neither one was nervous about dying. The Brickendens are not the first couple to receive physician-assisted suicide simultaneously but were reportedly the first to speak about it publicly.
Asbil told the publication he had “no hesitation” regarding the couple’s desire that their funeral take place at the Anglican cathedral.
The Brickendens were in their 90s and had been married for 73 years. In addition to being supported by the Anglican dean, their family members also backed their decision and held “going away” festivities to mark the couple’s upcoming death.
Writing in LifeNews Tuesday, bioethics attorney Wesley Smith observed how times have changed.
“There was a time when the joint suicides of elderly people — technically, these were homicides — were deemed to be tragic, and families wracked their hearts wondering what could have been done to save them,” Smith said, adding that “[t]his is how the…
… Read More
—-
Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Urban Christian News