United States: The bishops condemn California’s legalization of euthanasia
In the United States, in the state of California, the bishops have expressed their disapproval after governor Jerry Brown signed on October 5, 2015, the legalization of “medically assisted suicide” in the state. The prelates emphasize, in a statement quoted by the Catholic News Service (CNS) on October 6, 2015, that the 48 Catholic hospitals in California offer “excellent palliative care, which all the medical institutions of the state ought to offer as well.”
The bishops’ conference of California agree on the issue with “groups defending the rights of the handicapped, of doctors and health professionals, and of the elderly.” Indeed, “the temptation to offer them cheap lethal drugs in the place of appropriate medical care is likely to soon become overwhelming.” In the US, Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont are already authorizing “medically assisted suicide.”
(Sources: kipa-apic.ch – CNS – California Catholic Conference DICI no.324 dated November 6, 2015)
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