The diocese also issued a statement on Wednesday blasting the state Senate’s passage of the bill: “This ‘solution’ is never acceptable; there is no justification to take an innocent life. Furthermore, it is a violation of a central principle in the medical profession that one is called to heal and preserve life and ‘do no harm’ and turns those who should care for society’s health into agents of death.”
The Dialog noted that after the bill’s initial defeat, majority leader Bryan Townsend “preserved the ability to … call for another tally before the June 30 end of session.”
State Sen. Kyra Hoffner, a Democrat, cast the deciding vote Tuesday, according to a report from WDEL in Wilmington. Hoffner originally registered a “not voting” decision during the June 20 roll call.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church condemns euthanasia as “morally unacceptable” (No. 2277). Pope Francis affirmed this teaching in a message to an interfaith symposium on palliative care earlier this year: “I would point out that authentic palliative care is radically different from euthanasia, which is never a source of hope or genuine concern for the sick and dying.”
The very narrow vote in Delaware stands out. Maryland, just over the border from the First State, rejected a similar proposal on March 1. New Hampshire’s state Senate overwhelmingly voted against “medical aid in dying” on May 16.
Physician-assisted suicide is currently legal in 10 states — California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington state — along with the District of Columbia.
Credit: Source link
