Events to offer education on preventing the spread of euthanasia and assisted suicide

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 “It is I who bring both death and life” (Dt 32:39).

Catholic teaching tells us that the dignity of all human life is sacred and must be protected and cared for from conception to natural death. In today’s society, however, there is confusion about what makes a life worth living. Is there value in human life when it is weak, ill and fragile? As Catholics, we know the answer to that question is, without a doubt, “Yes, there is!” We also understand that there are significant graces and healing that can come from suffering. As Pope John Paul II writes in his encyclical Evangelium vitae (The Gospel of Life), “God holds the lives of all people in his gentle and loving care, giving meaning and value to any sufferings that we bear.

Even within the mystery which surrounds suffering and death.” So, how do we prevent the growing trend toward assisted suicide? How do we share the Gospel of Life and clear up the confusion and the lie that assisted suicide is a “death with dignity”? How do we dispel the myth that it is a kind and loving act of charity and that it is a pain-free and peaceful death?

The Diocese of Salt Lake City Office of Family Life is offering two opportunities to provide education and tools on these issues for local Catholics. First, a Euthanasia Prevention webinar on Nov. 4 will clearly define euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide and will address the misinformation propagated by the pro-death lobby. Webinar presenters Alex Schadenberg, executive director of Euthanasia Prevention Coalition; and Sara Buscher, chair of Euthanasia Prevention Coalition USA, will teach the importance of using correct terminology and explaining what assisted suicide is and is not. The webinar will be co-hosted by the Diocese of Salt Lake City Office of Family Life and Respect for Life Commission.

Schadenberg and Buscher also will describe the state of assisted suicide legislation nationwide, including which states have legalized assisted suicide and where bills are currently being debated, as well as how many bills have been defeated in the United States. They will explain how assisted suicide laws work, and will share studies and data that show us that assisted suicide is not what it appears or what it promises to be.

Then on Jan. 29, the Diocesan Respect for the Dignity of Life Day event will present the letter Samaritanus Bonus, on the care of persons in the critical and terminal phases of life. This letter is by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by Pope Francis. As it states in the conclusion of the letter, “The greatest misery consists in the loss of hope in the face of death. This hope is proclaimed by the Christian witness, which, to be effective, must be lived in faith and encompass everyone – families, nurses, and physicians.

It must engage the pastoral resources of the diocese and of Catholic health care centers, which are called to live with faith the duty to accompany the sick in all of the stages of illness, and in particular in the critical and terminal stages of life.” The Jan. 29 presentation also will include practical considerations for end-of-life care and advocacy opportunities related to Church teaching on the dignity and sanctity of every life. Information about registration will be forthcoming.

The Euthanasia Prevention webinar with Schadenberg and Buscher will be Thursday, Nov. 4, noon to 1 p.m. online. To join the webinar, you must register in advance at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwrdeyprjkoHtQDGeToQhZbtqRrYDnnDpqz If you cannot join on that day and time, you can still register, and a recording will be emailed to you after the event.

Crystal Painter is director of the Diocese of Salt Lake City Office of Marriage & Family and the Respect Life Commission.