Physician Assisted Suicide

"How a great lie...lurks behind certain phrases which so insist on the importance of 'quality of life' that they make people think that lives affected by grave illness are not worth living!" --Pope Francis

For the third time in three years, the Connecticut General Assembly has introduced legislation which would legalize Physician Assisted Suicide.  In 2013 and 2014, the bill was raised in the Public Health Committee where it died.  This year, the Judiciary Committee is sponsoring an “Act Providing a Medical Option of Compassionate Aid in Dying for Terminally Ill Adults” (Bill No. 668) which, if passed, would legalize Physician Assisted Suicide.  Please inform yourself of this critical issue by visiting the following sites and/or resources:

•  www.dontjump.org or www.ctcatholic.org 
  
• "True and False Compassion" by Archbishop Leonard P. Blair (Catholic Transcript, November 2014) 
• Frequently Asked Questions on Physician Assisted Suicide by the Connecticut Catholic Conference 
  
• "To Live Each Day with Dignity" by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (Many other resources found on their website clicking here)
• "Physician Assisted Suicide" a blog post by Father Jose Mercado
• Prayer Resources by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

It is important to note that as Catholics we do not oppose comprehensive palliative care, but, to kill the patient instead of the pain goes contrary to the teaching of the Gospel which teaches us to value life from natural birth to natural death.  I have already written to our State Representative that represents us, constituents of Saint Augustine Church, expressing my opposition to this bill.  I encourage you to voice your opposition to this bill early on to ensure such a horrendous public policy is not placed into law.  I have placed the contact information of the corresponding representatives of our parishes for you reach out to them and express your opposition:

Saint Augustine Church (4th House District)
Representative Angel Arce
Legislative Office Building
Hartford, CT 06106-1591
Tel: 800-842-1902
Email: Angel.Arce@cga.ct.gov 

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