The New Jersey Catholic Conference of bishops has sent a letter to the state’s 40 senators regarding the Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act, legislation that would allow physicians to prescribe medications to terminally ill patients in order for them to end their own lives.
Mailed Dec. 16, the letter expresses the bishops’ joint concern over state Senate bill S2474 and entreats the senators to vote no or abstain if the bill is posted in the Senate.
“The General Assembly passed an identical bill (A2451) by one vote,” said Patrick Brannigan, NJCC executive director. “The vote count in the Senate is similar … unfortunately some of the six ‘unannounced’ senators are leaning to a ‘yes’ vote.”
Twenty-one votes are needed to pass S2474. The next scheduled days the legislation could come up for a vote in the state Senate are Jan. 9 and 12.
“We certainly oppose Senate bill 2474 because of our belief in the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death,” the bishops’ letter states. “However, it is important to note that other flaws with the bill have led many groups, including those who do not embrace any particular faith, to oppose [the bill]. The risks and potential unforeseen consequences of passing [it] clearly are significant.”
The letter outlines several unintended possibilities of the bill’s passage, including the potential denial of health care in favor of low-cost lethal drugs.
“Medical science is called on to eradicate the illnesses from which we suffer, not to eradicate the patients who suffer the illnesses,” the letter stated. “The finest expression of compassion is care that reduces or eliminates physical pain, psychological distress, depression and hopelessness – not providing someone with lethal drugs to end their life.”
The bishops reminded senators that in California, Vermont and Oregon — states with existing assisted suicide bills — insurance companies have denied costly health care coverage to terminally ill patients, instead offering life-ending drugs.
In addition, the letter points to the mixed messages the bill could send to troubled youth, especially since the Madison Holleran Suicide Prevention Act — a suicide-prevention law requiring colleges and universities to have 24-hour mental health assistance available to students — was passed in the summer and signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie in July.
Because suicide is the third-leading cause of death among youth ages 10-24, the passing of S2474 could potentially contradict those efforts, the bishops’ letter states.
“If we pass a law that says it is okay to end your life if you have pain — physical or psychological — what would we be telling our youth who are troubled?” the bishops asked. “Would we be saying it is okay to take the path of suicide?”
Brannigan noted that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops “also has given high priority to opposing assisted suicide, in part, because Compassion & Choices is working in support of assisted suicide in five other states.” Compassion & Choices is a nonprofit organization working in the United States to promote individual choice at the end of life, including access to methods of assisted suicide.
This article was originally printed in The Monitor, newspaper of the Diocese of Trenton.
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