Invoking God’s ‘Mercy,’ NY Gov. Kathy Hochul To Sign Assisted-Suicide Bill
New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced her intention to sign a bill legalizing physician-assisted suicide into law. The Empire State will become the 13th state to legalize euthanasia, following Illinois, which became the 12th state just days earlier.
The New York Assembly approved the Medical Aid in Dying Act (AB 136) on April 29 in a 81-67 vote. The state Senate passed the bill on June 9 in a 35-27 vote.
The governor wrote in the Albany Times Union that state lawmakers will modify the bill to include a residency requirement, a five-day waiting period and a requirement that patients record their oral request to end their lives.
Gov. Hochul, a Catholic, unashamedly cited God’s “mercy” and “compassion” as part of her reasoning for signing the bill, writing,
The governor reflected upon her mother’s death from ALS, saying she “watched that vicious disease steal away the strong woman who raised me as it took her ability to walk, to eat, to speak and, ultimately, to live.”
“I have come to see [physician-assisted suicide] as a matter of individual choice,” the governor said.
Catholic Bishop John Barres, bishop of Rockville Centre, issued a statement calling Gov. Hochul’s reflections during the funeral Mass “profoundly misled.”
“Jesus calls us to help the suffering to carry their crosses with love,” the bishop urged, “not to participate in the willful taking of a life.”
The Catholic Church steadfastly opposes euthanasia. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
The New York Catholic bishops released a joint statement following the governor’s announcement.
“We are extraordinarily troubled by Governor Hochul’s announcement that she will sign the egregious bill passed by the legislature earlier this year sanctioning physician-assisted suicide in New York State,” the bishops wrote.
“This new law signals our government’s abandonment of its most vulnerable citizens, telling people who are sick or disabled that suicide in their case is not only acceptable, but is encouraged by our elected leaders,” they added. “Tragically, this new law will seriously undermine all of the anti-suicide and mental health care investments Governor Hochul has made through her tenure.”
The New York Families Foundation, a Focus on the Family-allied state family policy council, explained that amending the bill doesn’t solve its central problems.
“Empathy, however sincere, cannot justify a public policy that abandons the state’s responsibility to protect vulnerable people and that fundamentally alters the role of medicine,” the organization stated. “Amendments cannot cure a law that is fundamentally flawed.”
Christians should keep these points in mind when discussing euthanasia:
- Euthanasia always violates a person’s dignity, since it kills an innocent human being who is made in God’s image.
- Physician-assisted suicide is not an “individual choice” since it always involves a physician killing another person – either actively or passively.
- Euthanasia violates the Hippocratic Oath to “do no harm.”
- Physician-assisted suicide is essentially never necessary to reduce a patient’s suffering thanks to great improvements in palliative care and hospice.
- Many patients choose euthanasia due to depression or to avoid “being a burden to others”; suicide is never the answer to these problems.
- Euthanasia can easily transform the so-called “right to die” into a “duty to die” to save the government and healthcare system money.
As physician-assisted suicide continues to expand throughout Western countries, and into more U.S. states, we must be even more resolute and fierce in opposing state-sanctioned death for the terminally ill.
As Jesus taught in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (ESV).
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Related articles and resources:
Counseling Consultation & Referrals
A Godly Perspective on End-of-Life Decisions
Understanding God’s Plan for the End of Life
Answers to Common Questions About Physician-Assisted Suicide
The Problem With Ending It All: A Response to Physician-Assisted Suicide
Aging Loved Ones and Physician-Assisted Suicide
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker Signs ‘Dangerous’ Euthanasia Bill Into Law
NY Governor Kathy Hochul Seeks Changes to ‘Nightmare’ Assisted Suicide Bill
Photo from Getty Images.
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