Scottish Catholic Observer

The US bishops have declared suicide ‘a terrible tragedy, one that a compassionate society should work to prevent.’

They issued a policy statement called To Live Each Day With Dignity at their spring general assembly near Seattle last week. It is the first document on physician assisted suicide by the bishops’ conference and follows the legalisation of assisted suicide in parts of the US.

The document required 180 positive votes from the bishops and received 191.

Three arguments

The bishops offered three arguments against the notion that ‘the drive to legalise physician-assisted suicide really enhance[s] choices or freedom for people with serious health conditions.’

Firstly, suicidal persons are typically not truly free; rather, they ‘need help to be freed from their suicidal thoughts … They need care and protection.’

The bishops went on to state: “By rescinding legal protection for the lives of one group of people [the dying], the government implicitly communicates the message—before anyone signs a form to accept this alleged benefit—that they may be better off dead.”

Finally, the bishops said: “The nation’s founders viewed life as an inalienable right. As Christians we go even further: Life is our first gift from an infinitely loving Creator.”

US law

Cardinal Daniel N DiNardo (above) of Galveston-Houston, chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said he hoped it would counter the recent ‘strong resurgence’ in activity by the assisted suicide movement.

“Getting rid of yourself is a false choice,” Cardinal DiNardo said. “The Church needs to respond in a timely and visible way to this renewed challenge, which will surely be pursued in a number of states in the years to come.”

Physician-assisted suicide was approved by voters in Washington state in November 2008. It is also legal in Oregon, where voters approved it in 1994, and Montana, where a state court has ruled it is not against public policy.

The new document said: “With expanded funding from wealthy donors, assisted suicide proponents have renewed their aggressive nationwide campaign through legislation, litigation and public advertising, targeting states they see as most susceptible to their message. If they succeed, society will undergo a radical change.”

Cardinal DiNardo said the bishops were making a contribution to a ‘fundamental public debate.’

“The compassionate way is to bring assistance to people,” he said, not to encourage their deaths.

“Compassion isn’t to say, ‘here’s a pill,’” the cardinal added. “It’s to show people the ways we can assist you, up until the time the Lord calls you.”

Palliative care

At the press conference after the bishops’ meeting, Cardinal DiNardo also warned that the medical field risks losing its basic identity if it moves away from preserving life.

Rather than treating life itself as an illness, the bishops argue, physicians must provide ‘life-affirming palliative care [in keeping with] the principle of equal and inherent human rights and the ethical principles of the medical profession.”