In spite of opposition from Catholic bishops and patient advocate groups, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Feb. 6 signed a bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide in the Empire State.<\/p>\n
Assisted suicide is already legal in California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
Hochul, a Catholic<\/a>, had already announced she would sign the bill once \u201cguardrails\u201d were added \u2014 specifically, laws to allow faith-based hospice providers to opt out of offering assisted suicide.<\/p>\n The Catholic bishops had urged Hochul not to pass the bill, saying that it undermined her own work on anti-suicide programs.<\/p>\n \u201cHow can any society have credibility to tell young people or people with depression that suicide is never the answer, while at the same time telling elderly and sick people that it is a compassionate choice to be celebrated?\u201d the bishops said in a recent statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Catholic Church is outspokenly<\/a> opposed to euthanasia and assisted suicide. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Church condemns<\/a> assisted suicide and euthanasia, instead encouraging palliative care<\/a>, which means supporting patients with pain management and care as the end of their lives approaches. Additionally, the Church advocates for a \u201cspecial respect\u201d for anyone with a disability or serious health condition (CCC, 2276<\/a>).<\/p>\n Any action or lack of action that intentionally \u201ccauses death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator\u201d (CCC, 2277<\/a>).<\/p>\n \u201cWe call on Catholics and all New Yorkers to reject physician-assisted suicide for themselves, their loved ones, and those in their care,\u201d the bishops continued. \u201cAnd we pray that our state turn away from its promotion of a culture of death and invest instead in life-affirming, compassionate hospice and palliative care, which is seriously underutilized.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhile physician-assisted suicide will soon be legal here in New York, we must clearly reiterate that it is in direct conflict with Catholic teaching on the sacredness and dignity of all human life from conception until natural death and is a grave moral evil on par with other direct attacks on human life,\u201d the New York bishops said.<\/p>\n Hochul said the law, which goes into effect 180 days after its signing, gives New Yorkers \u201cthe choice to endure less suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur state will always stand firm in safeguarding New Yorkers\u2019 freedoms and right to bodily autonomy, which includes the right for the terminally ill to peacefully and comfortably end their lives with dignity and compassion,\u201d Hochul said in the Feb. 6 statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI firmly believe we made the right decision,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n A national disability rights group, the Patients\u2019 Rights Action Fund<\/a>, along with the New York Alliance Against Assisted Suicide, advocated against the law.<\/p>\n