“New York is trying to force us to abandon that vocation and help our residents commit suicide,” said Sister Justyna Owsiejko.
Four orders of nuns and several other Catholic healthcare ministries have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block New York's new assisted suicide law, arguing the state is attempting to force them to violate their faith by participating in the deaths of terminally ill patients.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, challenges New York's Medical Aid in Dying Act before it takes effect on Aug. 5. The plaintiffs include Catholic nuns the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict, the Little Sisters of the Poor, and the Diocese of Rockville Centre. The law would compel healthcare providers who refuse to prescribe lethal medication to inform patients about assisted suicide, help them satisfy eligibility requirements, and refer them to providers willing to prescribe life-ending drugs. Refusing to comply could expose them to substantial fines, professional discipline, license revocation, and even criminal penalties.
For generations, the religious orders have cared for elderly, terminally ill, and vulnerable New Yorkers, with their mission being to provide compassionate medical care, comfort, and spiritual support until natural death. "At our homes, we bring Christ's unbounded love to elderly New Yorkers of every background and walk of life," said Mother Mary Rose Heery, Prioress General of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm. "We strive to bring His compassion to those entrusted to our care, ensuring that no resident ever has to die alone. This law strikes at the heart of that vocation."
Mother Marie Edward, Superior General of the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, said the order has spent more than a century caring for poor cancer patients at the end of life. "Our calling is to offer comfort, prayer, and loving medical care to those in their final days - not death," she said. Sister Justyna Owsiejko of the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict said the sisters "will never" help residents end their own lives. "We are simple nuns whose mission is to serve God," she said. "New York is trying to force us to abandon that vocation and help our residents commit suicide. That is something we will never do."
The Little Sisters of the Poor, which has cared for impoverished elderly people for nearly two centuries, likewise vowed to continue its ministry despite the legal challenge. "We have served God by welcoming the elderly poor and dying into our homes for nearly 200 years," Mother Alice Marie Monica told the Beckett Fund. "Our calling is to protect and care for needy seniors, not steer them toward suicide. We will remain true to that mission, whatever the cost."
The Diocese of Rockville Centre also joined the lawsuit. Bishop John O. Barres described assisted suicide as "a grave moral failure" and said Catholic ministries would not abandon their longstanding mission to care for the sick and dying. "We will never submit to New York's culture of death," Barres said. "Christ the Divine Physician calls us to accompany the sick and dying with compassion, not abandon them to death."
"New York is forcing sick and dying people to consider suicide at their lowest moment, regardless of whether they ask for it or not," Becket President Mark Rienzi said. "Worse, it's conscripting the nuns who care for them into its suicide program on pain of crushing fines and professional ruin." The plaintiffs are expected to seek a preliminary injunction in the coming days to prevent the law from taking effect while the case proceeds through federal court.
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