3-06 Assisted Suicide: The Ethics, the Law and the Dangers

Session 3: 10:00 – 11:15 am

Catechist re-certification credits: Morality & Doctrine

Five states have legalized physician-assisted suicide and Nevada has been targeted by those seeking to expand this agenda. Assisted suicide lies at the borders between medical ethics and social justice: It violates a fundamental principle in the physician’s traditional oath, and it tests our nation’s tradition of equal protection under law by replacing suicide prevention with suicide “assistance” for one class of vulnerable people. Nevada’s legalization bill will be reviewed to highlight how this agenda poses real and practical dangers to those who deserve our utmost care.

Richard Doerflinger retired last year from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, where for 36 years he prepared policy statements and testimony on abortion, euthanasia and other medical-moral issues. He has published in many journals, and his syndicated column is distributed by the national Catholic News Service. He is an Associate Scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute and a Fellow at the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Ethics and Culture. He holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Chicago, and conducted doctoral studies in Theology there and at the Catholic University of America.