Assisted Suicide
A Position Paper of the Florida Catholic Conference
Life is the most
basic gift of a loving God, "a sacred trust over which we can claim
stewardship, but not absolute dominion. Therefore, the Church condemns all
attacks on life at any of its stages, including murder, euthanasia, and
willful suicide. It matters not whether death results from an affirmative
act or a deliberate omission intended to cause death. These prohibitions
against murder, euthanasia, suicide and assisted suicide are based on the
inherent dignity and fundamental value of each human being, and thus
cannot be rejected on the grounds of political pluralism or religious
freedom." (Life, Death and Treatment of Dying Patients statement of
Catholic Bishops of Florida, April 1989)
Our tradition, declaring a moral obligation to care for our own life
and health and to seek such care from others, recognizes that we are not
obligated to use all available medical procedures in every set of
circumstances. To take another's life though, or to assist in killing
another, are very different things on which Florida's laws are specific:
782.08
Florida Statute: Assisting Self-Murder. -- Every person
deliberately assisting another in the commission of self-murder shall
be guilty of manslaughter, a felony of the second degree, punishable
as provided in s.775.082, s. 775.083 or s.775.084.
765.309
Florida Statute: Mercy Killing of Euthanasia Not Authorized; Suicide
Distinguished. -- (1) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed
to condone, authorize, or approve mercy killing or euthanasia, or to
permit any affirmative or deliberate act of omission to end the life
other than to permit the natural process of dying. (2) The withholding
or withdrawal of life-prolonging procedures from a patient in
accordance with any provision of this chapter does not, for any
purpose, constitute a suicide.
458.326
Florida Statute: Intractable Pain; Authorized Treatment. -- (4)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to condone, authorize, or
approve mercy killing or euthanasia, and no treatment authorized by
this section may be used for such purpose.
Florida's
prohibitions against assisted suicide protects not only the terminally
ill, but also the chronically ill, the severely handicapped, persons with
disabilities and the elderly.
We urge policy makers to preserve Florida Statutes in opposition to
assisted suicide and "so called" mercy killing and to address alternative
solutions to the problems assisted suicide seeks to solve. Our best
response will involve easing suffering, keeping company with dying
patients, and affirming the dignity of their lives at every stage. Few
dying patients express any suicidal wishes once they receive the kind of
supportive care that can be found in modern hospices. Great advances have
been made in pain management so that no one need be in serious pain while
dying. The American Medical Association recognizes this and is attempting
to educate more physicians on the latest advances in these treatments.
We express sympathy and have due respect for the fears experienced by
dying patients -- fear of pain, loss of control and dignity, and being a
burden to families -- but supportive care for the patient and family will
help eliminate the suffering without eliminating the patient.
