Canadian priest offered euthanasia twice while recovering from hip fracture
Vancouver priest Father Larry Holland, 79, recovering from a hip fracture at Vancouver General Hospital, reports being offered assisted death twice by medical staff. The offers came despite the doctors knowing he is a Catholic priest who opposes euthanasia. Holland said he was not dying and was shocked when the doctor mentioned medical aid in dying, prompting him to state his moral opposition. The incident highlights concerns that healthcare professionals may increasingly initiate conversations about assisted death.
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Father Larry Holland, a 79‑year‑old Catholic priest in Vancouver, says he was offered medical assistance in dying (MAID) twice while recovering from a hip fracture, despite the staff knowing his religious opposition to euthanasia. His account has sparked criticism from church officials, renewed debate over the practice’s expansion in Canada, and prompted legislative proposals aimed at preventing what some describe as coercive offers of assisted death. 1 2
Father Holland was hospitalized at Vancouver General Hospital after a Christmas‑day fall that broke his hip.
During his stay, a doctor first mentioned MAID as an option should a terminal diagnosis arise, then repeated the suggestion, leaving the priest “silent” and shocked. 1
Weeks later a nurse raised the same topic, which Holland described as “false compassion.” 1
Archdiocese of Vancouver pro‑life chaplain Father Larry Lynn called the episode “one of the most appalling examples of Canada’s coercive and insensitive euthanasia regime,” likening the offer to a moral temptation. 1
Vancouver General Hospital chaplain Father Ronald Sequeira emphasized the need to give patients hope and framed suffering as spiritually redemptive. 1
A Vancouver Coastal Health spokesperson said staff may bring up MAID based on clinical judgment if they have the requisite knowledge, and they must answer patient questions about the service. 1
Amanda Achtman, ethics director of Canadian Physicians for Life, described unsolicited MAID conversations as coercive and an attack on personal identity. 1
She cited a recent case of an 84‑year‑old woman, Miriam Lancaster, who was offered MAID in the emergency department before any diagnosis, highlighting concerns about premature discussions. 1
Father Holland acknowledged that severe pain made him “feel the temptation” to accept MAID but ultimately rejected it, noting that enduring suffering can foster personal growth and deeper relationships. 1
Do Catholic priests have a duty to refuse medical aid in dying?
Yes—Catholic priests have a serious moral duty not to participate in “medical aid in dying” when it involves intentionally ending a patient’s life (euthanasia or assisted suicide). The Church teaches that such acts are intrinsically evil and must be refused, even when framed as compassion.
The Catechism states:
Pope Francis also distinguishes authentic palliative care from euthanasia, calling euthanasia “never a source of hope” and describing it as the intentional ending of life rather than true compassion (“suffering with”).
Priests have obligations in two key areas that bear directly on this question:
They are bound by the universal moral law not to will or cooperate in an intrinsically evil act. Since direct euthanasia/assisted suicide is “murder” and “must always be forbidden and excluded,” the priest’s duty to refuse participation flows from that moral norm.
They are responsible for pastoral care of the sick and dying, including sacramental ministry. Canon law states that priests with pastoral responsibility have the duty and right to administer the Anointing of the Sick and that they (and others) have the duty/right to bring the Eucharist as Viaticum to the sick.
This pastoral duty fits the Church’s approach: accompaniment at life’s end and care that does not intentionally end life.
In other words: a priest’s duty is not merely “conscience preference,” but the duty to avoid an action the Church identifies as intentional killing, while still offering legitimate and urgent care for the dying.
The Church is not indifferent to suffering. It teaches that:
So refusing MAiD (in the sense of refusing intentional killing) does not mean abandoning treatment or comfort; it means choosing permissible medical and pastoral care for the suffering while rejecting intentional ending of life.
When someone asks “refuse medical aid in dying,” the Church’s teaching indicates refusal of the killing action itself—not refusal of help. The Catechism also teaches that the moral law prohibits refusing assistance to someone in danger.
Consistent with that, the priest should seek to ensure the dying person is supported by:
Because the Church teaches that intentional euthanasia is murder and must be excluded, a Catholic priest has a real duty to refuse involvement in medical aid in dying when it is aimed at intentionally ending a person’s life. At the same time, priests are obliged to care for the dying through legitimate medical means (including palliative care) and through sacramental and pastoral ministry.