(OSV News) \u2014 A federal judge July 30 temporarily shielded four orders of women religious and Catholic health care ministries from enforcement of a New York state law allowing physicians to aid terminally ill adults in dying by suicide.<\/p>\n
The Catholic entities \u2014 the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict and the Little Sisters of the Poor \u2014 sued the state July 17, arguing the law would require them to facilitate such deaths for their patients in violation of their faith.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamilies entrust their loved ones to us because they know our homes will be places of tenderness, dignity, and faithful care,\u201d Mother Mary Rose Heery, prioress general of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, said in a July 31 statement. \u201cWe are grateful that we can continue honoring that trust and remain beside every resident until the very end.\u201d<\/p>\n
U.S. District Judge Anne M. Naracci\u2019s temporary restraining order also sets an Aug. 20 deadline for New York Attorney General Letitia James to respond to the emergency motion.<\/p>\n
James\u2019 office did not immediately respond to OSV News\u2019 request for comment.<\/p>\n
Supporters of physician-assisted suicide argue the practice protects the autonomy of suffering or terminally ill individuals in their final days, but opponents argue the practice disregards the dignity of human life and leaves those who are ill or dying vulnerable to coercion, among other concerns.<\/p>\n
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explicitly condemns the practice of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide as \u201cmorally unacceptable\u201d and a violation of the Fifth Commandment, \u201cYou shall not kill.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., who is Catholic, signed the Medical Aid in Dying Act in February, arguing she had \u201csecured\u201d guardrails during the legislative process that ensured the \u201cintegrity of patient decision and preparedness of medical institutions.\u201d The state\u2019s Catholic bishops were among those who objected to the law, which authorizes terminally ill New Yorkers with less than six months to live to seek physician-assisted suicide.<\/p>\n
\u201cForcing Catholic nuns to participate in suicide \u2014 and robbing New Yorkers of the choice to receive faithful, life-affirming care \u2014 is both unlawful and unjust,\u201d Mark Rienzi, president of Becket, a religious liberty law firm, and the lead attorney for the healthcare ministries, said in a July 31 statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis agreement protects the sisters and those they care for while we fight to end New York\u2019s suicide mandate for good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Bishop John O. Barres of Rockville Centre, New York, said in a statement issued through Becket, \u201cThis agreement is an important first step towards protecting religious freedom.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew York cannot force the Church to answer suffering with suicide or abandon the sick and dying when they need care most,\u201d he said. \u201cUntil our legal fight is resolved, this temporary agreement keeps our ministries free to serve every patient according to the Gospel. We continue to proclaim that every human life is sacred and worthy of love until its natural end.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also on July 31, the New York State Catholic Conference submitted a public comment to the state\u2019s Department of Health calling The Medical Aid in Dying Act \u201cthe most significant \u2014 and misguided \u2014 piece of public health legislation in many years.\u201d<\/p>\n
They argued that the state\u2019s proposed regulations implementing the law fail to \u201cprovide adequate oversight of the practice of MAID,\u201d and fail to \u201cresolve flaws in the conscience protection provisions in the MAID law.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Catholic entities\u2019 lawsuit against the assisted suicide law is among several lawsuits from Catholic nuns against recent Empire State laws.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, who operate a 42-bed palliative care program for the dying poor, challenged a law implementing requirements on gender identity accommodations for nursing home residents.<\/p>\n
New York is one of 13 states, as well as the District of Columbia, that have legalized assisted suicide. The state\u2019s law is scheduled to go into effect Aug. 5.<\/p>\n
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