Cardinal Dolan Urges N.Y. Legislators to Oppose Assisted Suicide

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, said the state should spend more on preventing suicide rather than passing legislation that would legalize assisted suicide.

Dolan laid out his argument in a new op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.

"Our state spends millions on anti-suicide efforts," Dolan wrote. "Under Gov. Kathy Hochul’s leadership, the state has made historic investments in mental health care.

"Which is why I am more than puzzled, I am stunned, when I read that New York lawmakers are on the verge of legalizing suicide — not by leaping from a bridge but via a poison cocktail easily provided by physicians and pharmacists."

Dolan said legalizing assisted suicide is like handing someone a loaded gun and telling them to have at it.

"Advocates say this is only for the most serious terminal cases — people with six months or less to live," Dolan said.

"But many controllable illnesses can become terminal if untreated. In a recent podcast, the Assembly sponsor conceded that diabetics could become eligible if they cease taking insulin, making their condition "terminal" by definition.

"We all know that depression is one of the five stages of grief, but the bill under consideration in Albany doesn’t even require a psychological screening before offering suicide drugs."

The Archbishop argued that other countries have expanded assisted suicide rules, like eliminating the need for a physician to prescribe the medication or removing residency requirements.

Loosening the requirements has led to 5% of deaths in Canada being due to assisted suicide, Dolan said.

"While opponents include Catholic, Orthodox Jewish, and evangelical believers, they also include disability and patients-rights advocates," Dolan wrote.  

"Among the 21 Assembly Democrats who voted against the bill were numerous members of minorities, who cited fears about how poor, medically underserved communities would be targeted and the danger that unconsumed drugs could be sold on the streets of their districts.

"Will state senators or Ms. Hochul step up to protect precious human life? That is my prayer."

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