To sanction the taking of innocent human life is to contradict a primary purpose of law in an ordered society. A law or court decision allowing assisted suicide would demean the lives of vulnerable patients and expose them to exploitation by those who feel they are better off dead. Such a policy would corrupt the medical profession, whose ethical code calls on physicians to serve life and never to kill. The voiceless or marginalized in our society – the poor, the frail elderly, racial minorities, millions of people who lack health insurance – would be the first to feel pressure to die.
More on the slippery slope to barbarism
© 2024 The Catholic Thing. All rights reserved. For reprint rights, write to: [email protected]
The Catholic Thing is a forum for intelligent Catholic commentary. Opinions expressed by writers are solely their own.