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Physician Assisted Suicide and The Church

Life is a gift and we have limited time on earth to live it. According to John A. Di Camillo, staff ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, PA. “We don’t have the authority to take into our hands when life will end,” he says. “That’s the Creator’s decision.”

Life, no matter how much death is imminent, always needs to be preserved. According to the Declaration on Euthanasia by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, it is necessary to state firmly once more that nothing and no one can in any way permit the killing of an innocent human being, whether a fetus or an embryo, an infant or an adult, an old person, or one suffering from an incurable disease, or a person who is dying. Furthermore, no one is permitted to ask for this act of killing, either for himself or herself or for another person entrusted to his or her care, nor can he or she consent to it, either explicitly or implicitly, nor can any authority legitimately recommend or permit such an action.

That language is clear and direct because assisted suicide poses a serious challenge to both Catholic teaching and the common good, which is God; nothing more, nothing less. He is the perfection of all things: all things come from God as their source, and so all things must return to him as their end. God is the unique source and unique end of all things (Summa Theologica). The common good, for St. Thomas Aquinas and the Catholic Church, can be called the good of the universe. Each thing plays its finite part in the infinite drama of creation, redemption and final consummation.

In Illinois right now, there is a bill (SB 3499) named the End of Life Options Act. This act has implications that go far beyond the obvious. For example, insurance companies may opt to cover lethal drugs instead of treatment for certain ‘terminal’ illnesses, and the act targets those with mental health challenges such as depression. It will be important for Catholics to oppose this bill as it moves forward.

Watching our loved ones suffer is never a desired option. As Catholics, suffering is part of our faith. Our Blessed Lord showed us the way through his passion and taught us to pick up and carry our cross, whatever that might be. Redemptive suffering is a gift and true healing is “how God transforms us through…suffering…We have to trust that in the grand scheme of eternity this is what He sees fit for the greater good – which can be hard to fathom when it can pierce our hearts with sadness.” (@blessed_by_cancer).

We’d love for you to join Respect Life! Email RespectLife@olwparish.org for more information.