A federal judge issued a consent order temporarily blocking New York officials from enforcing provisions of the state’s new medically assisted-suicide law against a group of religious healthcare providers.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Medical Aid in Dying Act into law last February, and under it, certain terminally ill adults are allowed to obtain a prescription for medication they may choose to self-administer to end their lives.
A group of Catholic healthcare ministries, represented by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, filed a federal lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James earlier this month, arguing that though the law says that healthcare providers and institutions are not required to participate in medical aid in dying, the law still exposes them to legal risk because it does not expressly protect all of the actions they consider participation.
The New York law is set to go into effect on Aug. 5.
U.S. District Judge Anne Nardacci sided with the Carmelite Sisters and other religious healthcare organizations to temporarily shield them from the enforcement of the law while their constitutional lawsuit proceeds.
“This agreement is an important first step towards protecting religious freedom. New York cannot force the Church to answer suffering with suicide or abandon the sick and dying when they need care most,” Bishop John O. Barres, bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, said via press release.
“Until our legal fight is resolved, this temporary agreement keeps our ministries free to serve every patient according to the Gospel. We continue to proclaim that every human life is sacred and worthy of love until its natural end,” he added.
Case background
The lawsuit against the state asks the courts to ensure the protection to administer care in accordance with the Catholic faith.
A person must meet all of the following requirements to be eligible for medically assisted suicide, per the law:
- Be 18 years or older.
- Be a New York resident.
- Have a terminal illness that two medical providers determined is expected to result in death within six months.
- Be mentally capable of making an informed healthcare decision.
- Be able to self-administer the medication.
Under the law, a doctor may prescribe the life-ending medication, but another person cannot administer it. It has to be self-administered.
When the law was signed, Hochul said it would allow the “terminally ill to peacefully and comfortably end their lives with dignity and compassion. ... New Yorkers deserve the choice to endure less suffering, not by shortening their lives, but by shortening their deaths — I firmly believe we made the right decision.”
Becket’s argument, on behalf of the Carmelite Sisters and other Catholic ministries, is that under Catholic teachings, they believe they cannot facilitate or cooperate with medically assisted suicide in any way, not just by prescribing the medication.
The lawsuit further says that the law does not clearly protect them from being required to permit the practice on their property, assist in coordinating it or transfer a patient for the purpose of obtaining it, and therefore the groups fear potential lawsuits.