Roman Catholics must stop laws allowing physician assisted suicide. Spread the message about hospice care to prevent assisted deaths.
Archbishop of New York Ronald Hicks joined a lawsuit against the state of New York over its new law on legalizing assisted suicide.
Aleteia previously reported that Bishop John O. Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Centre sued the state with Catholic Health of Long Island and four religious communities: the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict, and the Little Sisters of the Poor. These sisters provide skilled nursing, dementia and palliative care, daily prayer, and loving presence so that no patient dies alone.
New York legalized assisted suicide on February 6, 2026, when Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Medical Aid in Dying Act into law; it took effect August 5, 2026. The plaintiffs say it threatens them with crippling fines, professional sanctions, and even criminal penalties unless they help patients obtain lethal drugs, in flagrant violation of their faith and religious liberty.
New York agreed on July 30 to a restraining order that temporarily protects the nuns and ministries, and on October 30, the archbishop of New York, Ronald Hicks, joined the lawsuit too, seeking this same protection for Catholic healthcare providers in his archdiocese. Hicks was installed as archbishop on February 6, the very same day the act was signed into law. In a statement, Archbishop Hicks explained his reasoning:
"As Catholics, we are guided by the compassion of Jesus to serve those of every background who are in need of healing. We refuse to allow New York to force us to harm the very ones we’ve been called to care for."
New York’s Catholic healthcare ministry ArchCare also joined the suit as a plaintiff. ArchCare operates hospitals, nursing homes, home health services, hospice care, and other specialized programs, carrying out the Church’s longstanding mission to care for the sick.
ArchCare’s Calvary Hospital is the only fully-accredited acute care hospital in the U.S. devoted exclusively to the palliative care of adult patients with life-limiting illnesses, and its Mother Cabrini Hospital is the only hospital in New York dedicated to the care of children and young adults with serious developmental disabilities and complex medical needs.
The fight is not limited to New York. In Illinois, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago joined two orders of Catholic nuns and a pharmacist in a lawsuit over that state’s new assisted suicide law.
Adéle Keim, senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the plaintiffs in their suit, said in a statement:
These ministries have dedicated their lives to serving those in the most need of healing and compassion, especially at the end of their lives.
Assisted suicide is completely incompatible with the compassionate care that the Sisters and ArchCare offer.
We are urging the court to protect these Catholic ministries as they continue their life-saving work, rather than forcing them to help end lives like New York wants.
The loving care of Catholic ✝️religious sisters has surrounded dying New Yorkers for decades, but now, plaintiffs say a new law would force healthcare workers to take an active part in promoting assisted suicide.
Aleteia previously reported that Bishop John O. Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Centre sued the state with Catholic Health of Long Island and four religious communities: the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict, and the Little Sisters of the Poor. These sisters provide skilled nursing, dementia and palliative care, daily prayer, and loving presence so that no patient dies alone.
New York legalized assisted suicide on February 6, 2026, when Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Medical Aid in Dying Act into law; it took effect August 5, 2026. The plaintiffs say it threatens them with crippling fines, professional sanctions, and even criminal penalties unless they help patients obtain lethal drugs, in flagrant violation of their faith and religious liberty.
New York agreed on July 30 to a restraining order that temporarily protects the nuns and ministries, and on October 30, the archbishop of New York, Ronald Hicks, joined the lawsuit too, seeking this same protection for Catholic healthcare providers in his archdiocese. Hicks was installed as archbishop on February 6, the very same day the act was signed into law. In a statement, Archbishop Hicks explained his reasoning:
"As Catholics, we are guided by the compassion of Jesus to serve those of every background who are in need of healing. We refuse to allow New York to force us to harm the very ones we’ve been called to care for."
(As a matter of fact, Pope Leo strongly condemned France's newly legalized assisted dying and euthanasia legislation, calling it immoral "false compassion". When he was speaking in Lourdes, France, "What is legal is not necessarily moral.")
In June, Archbishop Ronald Hicks called the new law an “assault on human life” and said it ushers in “a new and frightening era” in New York.
New York’s Catholic healthcare ministry ArchCare also joined the suit as a plaintiff. ArchCare operates hospitals, nursing homes, home health services, hospice care, and other specialized programs, carrying out the Church’s longstanding mission to care for the sick.
ArchCare’s Calvary Hospital is the only fully-accredited acute care hospital in the U.S. devoted exclusively to the palliative care of adult patients with life-limiting illnesses, and its Mother Cabrini Hospital is the only hospital in New York dedicated to the care of children and young adults with serious developmental disabilities and complex medical needs.
The fight is not limited to New York. In Illinois, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago joined two orders of Catholic nuns and a pharmacist in a lawsuit over that state’s new assisted suicide law.
Adéle Keim, senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the plaintiffs in their suit, said in a statement:
These ministries have dedicated their lives to serving those in the most need of healing and compassion, especially at the end of their lives.
Assisted suicide is completely incompatible with the compassionate care that the Sisters and ArchCare offer.
We are urging the court to protect these Catholic ministries as they continue their life-saving work, rather than forcing them to help end lives like New York wants.
Comments
Post a Comment