The New York Assembly April 29 passed a bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide in the state, despite strong opposition from the state’s Catholic bishops.
assisted suicide
NY Lawmakers Are Backing Assisted Suicide Legislation Catholic Bishops Call ‘Dangerous’
While New York legislators argue that assisted suicide legislation would allow terminally ill patients to die with dignity, the state’s Catholic bishops on March 5 countered that it would put the state on a “dangerous path that contaminates medicine and turns the notion of compassion on its head.”
As States, Including New York, Consider Assisted-Suicide Measures, Bishops Speak Out in Opposition
Nineteen states this year are considering legislation to allow doctors to prescribe end-of-life drugs to terminally ill patients.
Canadian Bishops Criticize Government’s Move to Postpone Assisted Suicide Law Expansion
Canada’s Catholic bishops have deemed the government’s decision to postpone an expansion to assisted suicide laws to include people suffering solely from mental illness “not good news,” citing the government’s unwavering commitment to the legislation.
California’s Rising Assisted Suicide Rate Alarms Catholics
When California in 2021 relaxed its physician-assisted death rules — easing access to the lethal means for residents to take their own lives — several lawmakers behind the change cited a desire to aid the terminally ill, invoking a sort of legislative altruism.
Vermont Passes Law Allowing Nonresidents to Die by Assisted Suicide
Vermont Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed a bill May 2 that makes the state the first to change its assisted-suicide law to allow terminally ill nonresidents to make use of it.
Archbishop Clarifies Remarks on Assisted Suicide in Italy
The president of the Pontifical Academy for Life affirms his opposition to euthanasia and assisted suicide but believes that to end confusion in the country, the Italian Parliament needs to make clear laws about withdrawing end-of-life care, his office said.
Canadian Bishops: Assisted Suicide Law Perilous for Disabled, Mentally Ill
Canada’s Catholic bishops said the possible pressures the country’s new assisted suicide law will place on Canadians with mental illness or disabilities are “all too real, perilous and potentially destructive.”
Where Catholics Can Find End-of-Life Care That Provides Comfort
Catholic Church teaching, like many other religious traditions, prohibits assisted suicide. The church encourages natural, humane options of caring for patients in the final stages of life — including palliative and hospice care.
State Assembly Considers Bill to Allow Doctor-Assisted Suicide
There are nine states in the United State that allow physician-assisted suicide and pro-life supporters are determined to make sure New York doesn’t become the 10th.