My longtime visitors know that I am a staunch supporter of DNR and MOLST rights here in New York. This means that I support someone’s right to not seek medical intervention when one’s heart and breathing stops. That’s on one side of the table. On the other side is medically-assisted suicide, something that might actually become law in this state.
Right now, a bill is currently sitting in the state Senate, having passed the Assembly this week. If it becomes law, then terminally ill patients who have two doctors agree that they are in fact terminal with no hope of recovery can self-administer medication that will end their lives with, supporters say, dignity.
Known as the Medical Aid in Dying Act, the proposed law is, as one might expect, generating a lot of controversy. The Senate is mulling it over, and if they pass it, then on it goes to the governor’s desk for either a signature or a veto.
The bill has a lot of support, and that’s nice, but there is one huge catch here. Any good Catholic knows that suicide is a mortal sin. There is absolutely nothing that excuses or justifies it. Suicide is a one-way ticket to hell, and that’s something that someone needs to consider before receiving medical aid in dying.
Yes, I realize that terminally ill patients are in a lot of pain and are suffering. Assisted suicide is the easy way out. I get that. Man’s law says that assisted suicide is justified in several states, possibly New York in the very near future. But God’s law tells a different tale.
Some people may call me hypocritical. I have a DNR and a MOLST, both legal documents here in the state that bar medical professionals from intervening if, through nothing of my own doing, my heart or breathing stops. It bars hospital personnel from taking lifesaving measures. Under the law, all hospitals in this state are allowed to do is render “comfort care.”
So, is it assisted suicide in my case? No. In my case, I am not allowing anyone to render aid after the fact. I am not taking any active steps to end my own life, which is what people do when assisted suicide comes into play.
If people want to receive aid and die of their own doing, no one can stop them. Thousands of people commit suicide every day. Unfortunately, they will not be proceeding to heaven or even purgatory. That’s a one-way ticket to hell with no hope of recovery. The same happens to those who get assistance in dying, even if such a thing is legal in their state.
Look, there will be a hefty price to pay for New Yorkers who get someone to help them commit suicide if this bill becomes law. If an immediate trip to hell is worth it, then so be it. I don’t care if other people kill themselves, I really don’t. I feel no sympathy whatsoever for people who take the cowardly way out. The sinful way out.
A lot of people call a law like this dignified. They think that it allows someone to die with dignity. But is dignity worth an eternity in hell?
Will this actually become legal in this state? It’s starting to look more and more likely. It’s up to the Senate now, and if they pass it along, then it’ll ultimately be up to our governor. Time will tell. But know this: assisted suicide may become man’s law here, but it will come with a hefty price tag for those who avail themselves of it.
Hopefully, the Senate will shut this down and hopefully they will do so with a snap. A DNR is one thing, but “medical aid in dying” is just a fancy way of saying that it’s okay to commit suicide, and a true Catholic knows that suicide is never okay.