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Advocating that the “real dignity” is to die naturally, Cardinal Dolan and the New York State Catholic Conference are ramping up a campaign to block legislation that would legalize physician-assisted suicide in New York.
The effort aims to counter the bill A. 2129, “Death With Dignity Act,” which was introduced in the New York state Assembly Jan. 15.
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau County) has already voiced his opposition to the bill.
Similar legislation was introduced in the state Senate Feb. 13.
The New York State Catholic Conference (NYSCC), which represents the state’s bishops in matters of public policy, has issued a memorandum opposing the Assembly bill.
“We would note that the title of the legislation itself—the ‘death with dignity act’—is biased against those persons who allow a natural death to occur, inferring that a natural death is somehow less dignified than assisted suicide. Similarly, language used throughout the legislation references ‘ending life in a humane and dignified manner,’ suggesting that allowing natural death to occur is ‘inhumane and undignified.’
“We find this language to be biased and insulting,” the conference said.
Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed Feb. 4 in Manhattan Supreme Court seeks to declare the ban on assisted suicide is unconstitutional under the New York state constitution. Among the plaintiffs is Dr. Timothy Quill, a Rochester-area doctor who was also the litigant in Vacco v. Quill, a case that was ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1997.
In that case, the high court unanimously rejected the argument that New York’s ban on assisted suicide violated the federal constitution.
If the assisted suicide legislation were to pass, New York would become the fifth such state in the nation to permit terminally ill patients with prognoses of no more than six months to live to take their own lives. The practice is presently legal in Montana, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.
The issue is a “high priority” for Cardinal Dolan and for his fellow bishops of New York, Cardinal Dolan underscored in an exclusive interview with the Daily News on Feb. 9, the same day the NYSCC unveiled the website www.catholicendoflife.org as a resource to explain the Church’s teachings on the topic.
The new website mirrors information from the New York bishops’ 2011 resource booklet, “Now and at the Hour of Our Death: Catholic Guidance for End-of-Life Decision Making.” Among other offerings, the site highlights information on medical definitions and advance directives and provides state-by-state resources and a thoughtfully produced video.
Cardinal Dolan, in his Daily News interview, said the Church does not preach that dying people be required to take extraordinary measures to stay alive but, after refusing further treatment, they may avail themselves of palliative care, such as hospice.
The cardinal acknowledged and is appreciative of the American Medical Association’s opposition to physician-assisted suicide. “Right now when a doctor walks into a room, a patient has a sense of hope—‘Here’s somebody to help me,’” he said. “If a doctor becomes an agent of someone who wants to end things—no wonder the medical profession is against it.”
Edward Mechmann, director of public policy for the archdiocese, discussed the campaign with CNY last week.
“There’s a long-standing law and policy in New York that’s against suicide,” he said. “So we expect that the Attorney General is going to do his job, do his duty, and really defend our law.”
The coalition that is working to counter physician-assisted suicide legislation, Mechmann said, is also advocating for those for whom it poses a particular threat, “the danger to vulnerable people—people who are suffering from depression, people who are lonely, people who are isolated. Those are the real potential victims of this. We want to call attention to that.”
In some ways, “it’s an act of discrimination against the elderly and the disabled,” Mechmann continued. “Everywhere else, we argue against suicide. Teen suicide is a catastrophe in school. We send in grief counselors, we have education programs to prevent it. On every bridge we have these signs, ‘Life is worth living’” and a telephone number for the suicide hotline, he added.
“This is a terrible mixed message. It’s saying to teenagers and sort of well-bodied people, oh, yeah, we don’t want you to kill yourself, but if you’re elderly and sick, no, go ahead, the world is better off without you.
“It’s this strange inconsistency,” Mechmann said. “Almost everybody views suicide as just a terrible tragedy and catastrophe. Legalizing assisted suicide would endanger that message. It would undermine it.”
Additionally, “Everybody’s worried about the slippery slope,” Mechmann said.
Cardinal Dolan, in his interview, said, “There are certain things we don’t choose—that would be the beginning and end of life. We believe the Lord has dominion over that.”
