Dear Friends,
I rarely send this type of communication out, but I wanted to bring to your attention a piece of legislation that is being considered in the state of Maryland. The sanctity of human life is endangered through the so-called “death with dignity” movement. Whether one refers to it as “physician-assisted suicide,” “mercy killing,” or “death with dignity,” the end result is the same. It is the taking of a human life and is gravely wrong.
The Church stands firmly on the side of respect for life and providing palliative care for the terminally ill, but the intentional taking of human life is tantamount to murder. The Maryland legislature will again be considering a bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide. Attached is a document outlining the Church's opposition to this legislation now called the "End of Life Options Act."
It is important to note that the Catholic Church does not stand alone in opposition to such legislation. The American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, the American Nurses Association, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, the National Council on Disability, and numerous other medical, palliative care, and disability organizations oppose physician-assisted suicide. Pope Francis has commented, “There is no human life that is more sacred than another — every human life is sacred — just as there is no human life qualitatively more significant than another.”
We don't advocate for keeping someone alive at all costs, by resorting to extraordinary means. We do oppose taking measures that are designed to intentionally end a human life.
The Catholic Church embraces the truth that all human life is sacred, from conception to natural death. I encourage you to study this issue and, most importantly, contact our legislators and let them know of your opposition. We are a society that is becoming more and more callous towards the most vulnerable in our population, buying into an erroneous argument that if life isn’t near perfect, it isn’t worth living. While circumstances in health may change as time goes on, that doesn’t mean that life is without meaning. God has a purpose for each of us from the moment we are conceived, until we take our last breath.
As we hear this may be coming to a vote as early as February 19, I ask that you contact your legislators and ask them to vote NO to this legislation. You can do so by going to: http://stopassistedsuicidemd.org/take-action/contact-your-legislator/.
You can learn more by checking out http://www.mdcathcon.org/pas.
God bless you all.
Fr. Jim Proffitt
