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New York Archdiocese Joins Nuns in Assisted Suicide Lawsuit
· Confirmed
In Short: Archbishop Ronald Hicks of the Archdiocese of New York and ArchCare, a Catholic healthcare ministry, have joined a lawsuit brought by four orders of Catholic nuns and other Catholic healthcare ministries against New York’s assisted-suicide mandate.
The lawsuit, which was launched in July, seeks to protect Catholic healthcare providers from being forced to participate in practices that are contrary to their mission of caring for patients.
On July 30, New York agreed to an order that temporarily protects the nuns and ministries involved in the lawsuit.
Archbishop Hicks, along with ArchCare, is now seeking similar protection for Catholic healthcare providers within the Archdiocese of New York.
The lawsuit argues that the state’s assisted suicide rules would force Catholic healthcare providers to participate in the process of helping suicidal patients kill themselves, a violation of core Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life.
In addition to the New York ruling, Catholic objectors in Illinois, including the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Springfield, have secured victories at federal court, with a judge ordering the state to hold off on enforcing suicide rules against them while the suits play out.
The archbishop added his name to a lawsuit that includes Rockville Centre Bishop John Barres, the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, and the Missionary Sisters of St.
The law means that those who care for the terminally ill are required to proactively inform and counsel their patients about their ‘option’ to kill themselves, which the lawsuit argues is far broader than anything required by states such as California, Oregon, and Washington.
What this adds
The Archdiocese of New York says the law would force Catholic hospitals to participate in practices contrary to their mission of caring for patients.
Most Catholic health workers in Illinois are now covered by a temporary restraining order on Illinois’ physician-assisted suicide law, which took effect Sept.
Background
Archbishop Ronald Hicks of the Archdiocese of New York has joined a lawsuit brought by four orders of Catholic nuns and other Catholic healthcare ministries against New York’s assisted-suicide mandate.
Archbishop Ronald Hicks of the Archdiocese of New York has joined a lawsuit brought by four orders of Catholic nuns and other Catholic healthcare ministries against New York’s assisted-suicide mandate.
What's confirmed
- WASHINGTON – Archbishop Ronald Hicks, the Archdiocese of New York and the Catholic healthcare ministry ArchCare have joined a lawsuit brought by four orders of Catholic nuns and other Catholic healthcare ministries against New York’s assisted-suicide mandate.
- Archbishop Ronald Hicks joined a suit brought by several orders of religious sisters against the state’s recently instituted suicide regime.
- In addition to the New York ruling, the Catholic objectors in Illinois — which include the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Springfield — have secured victories at federal court, with a judge ordering the state to hold off on enforcing suicide rules against them while the suits play out.
- The Catholic plaintiffs in that suit argued that the state’s assisted suicide rules would force them to participate in the process of helping suicidal patients kill themselves, a violation of core Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life.
- Hicks is the latest Catholic prelate to join the legal fight against assisted suicide in the U.S. A total of four bishops and dozens of religious sisters have sued the governments of New York and Illinois after the states enacted assisted suicide programs.
- The archbishop added his name to a lawsuit that includes Rockville Centre Bishop John Barres, the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, the Missionary Sisters of St.
- Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, a federal court ordered that the state could not enforce the suicide rules against the Catholic objectors while the suit itself played out.
- The New York Archdiocese joins the suit after it was launched in July of this year by Catholic objectors to the state’s new suicide law.
What's still developing
- Most Catholic health workers in that state are now covered by a temporary restraining order on Illinois’ physician-assisted suicide law, which took effect Sept.