This November, voters in Massachusetts will decide whether to approve a measure that would legalize physician-assisted suicide. If approved, Massachusetts would become the third state, along with Oregon and Washington, to legalize the practice. Catholic teaching condemns physician-assisted suicide, calling it a “false mercy, and indeed a disturbing ‘perversion’ of mercy.” (Evangelium Vitae, No. 66) As Pope John Paul II remarked, “euthanasia is a grave violation of the law of God, since it is the deliberate and morally unacceptable killing of a human person.” (Evangelium Vitae, No. 65)
The Massachusetts Catholic Conference and Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston are working hard to oppose the measure. “We deserve to grow old in a society that views our cares and needs with the compassion grounded in respect, offering genuine support in our final days,” Cardinal O’Malley has said. For more information on the proposed initiative in Massachusetts, click here.