The Catholic bishops in Maryland have issued a strong response opposing the state’s latest consideration of legalizing physician-assisted suicide, reiterating “that all human life is created in the image and likeness of God and therefore sacred.”
The Baltimore-based Catholic Review reported on January 30 that “Maryland’s General Assembly has again taken up bills that would legalize physician-assisted suicide with committee hearings scheduled on House Bill 0403 and Senate Bill 0443 in early February.”
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, and Bishop William Koenig of Wilmington all signed a January 30 statement responding to the bill expressing their opposition.
“The central tenet guiding our opposition to this deadly proposal is that all human life is created in the image and likeness of God and therefore sacred,” the bishops wrote:
In 2024, medical advancements and improvements in pain management mean we can make individuals with terminal illnesses comfortable and improve the quality of the remainder of their lives without them feeling the need to reluctantly choose a “dignified death.”
The bishops highlighted that the bill puts at risk not only those in need of ethical hospice care, but those with disabilities and those suffering from mental health crises.
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“In every state or country where this dangerous policy has been legalized grave abuses and expansion have occurred, making assisted suicide available to far more people and not just those facing imminent death,” the MD bishops wrote:
This legislation puts our most vulnerable brothers and sisters at risk of making decisions for themselves that are manipulated by factors such as disability, mental instability, poverty and isolation.
Physician-assisted suicide is already legal in states such as Vermont and California. Other states, such as Minnesota and New York, are facing proposed pro-euthanasia bills similar to Maryland’s.
After pro-euthanasia legislation was introduced in Minnesota, Bishop Robert Barron issued a statement expressing concerns similar to the Maryland bishops’. Barron wrote that in countries such as Canada, where euthanasia has been legalized, the preventative measures against elder abuse have gradually been lifted.
“In many of those places, the elderly, those with dementia, those experiencing depression or severe anxiety can all be candidates for this form of ‘treatment,’” Barron wrote.
The Maryland bishops highlighted that “it is deeply illogical” for a state to promote assisted suicide while also attempting to address the growing mental health crises.
“Maryland has accurately recognized that suicide is a serious public health concern in the general population and has offered substantial resources to address the concern,” the bishops continued:
At a time when our nation is grappling with how to address a frighteningly high suicide rate it is deeply illogical for the State of Maryland to be seeking ways to facilitate suicide for those with a terminal illness, all the while claiming such preventable and unnecessary deaths are somehow dignified.
The MD bishops called for legislative action that ensures ethical end-of-life care and mental health support is provided, stressing that there “is a better path forward for the people of Maryland and it does not involve suicide.”
The bishops “[urged] people of good will to demand that our lawmakers reject suicide as an end-of-life option and to choose the better, safer path that involves radical solidarity with those facing the end of their earthly journey.”
“We believe our elected officials should work to improve access to the network of care available to Maryland families,” the bishops wrote,
by increasing access to palliative and hospice care, enhancing end-of-life education and training opportunities for physicians, and ensuring that there is appropriate diagnosis and treatment for depression and other mental and behavioral health issues.
“Let us choose the path that models true compassion and dignity to those facing end of life decisions and protects the most vulnerable from the deadly proposition of physician assisted suicide,” they concluded.
LifeNews Note: McKenna Snow writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
