What does the Catholic Church teach about assisted suicide?

Faith, Life, Talking Points, On 12th November 2024 by Catholic Truth Society

(This video comes from a longer interview with bioethicist Pia Matthews about issues including IVF, abortion, disabilities, and marriage. Watch here.)

Is euthanasia morally permissible?

In Brief:

Source: DOCAT

The direct killing of a human being, even if he is terminally ill, is always against the Fifth Commandment (Ex 20:13): You shall not kill. That applies to my own life, too. Only God is the master of life and death. On the other hand, to support a dying person and supply him with all possible medical and human care so as to alleviate his sufferings is to practise love of neighbour and perform a work of mercy. The hospice movement and palliative medicine provide important services in this regard. The principle must be: We help the dying person (and not: “We help the person to die”). Accordingly, from a medical and moral perspective, it may even be imperative to discontinue procedures that offer no hope of improvement and also to use palliative means, even if they shorten the patient’s life. In all this, however, the patient’s will must be taken into consideration. If no directives have been made and the patient himself can no longer state his wishes, they can be expressed by an authorized representative, but they must, however, be consistent with the moral law.

Defintion of Palliative Medicine:

Palliative Medicine (from Latin pallium = cloak). When a human being is terminally ill and all medical options have been exhausted, one can finally still accompany the dying process and make sure that the patient does not suffer needlessly. This palliative care alleviates suffering when healing is no longer possible; the use of painkillers makes it possible for the patient to endure his
illness better.

“Suicide and euthanasia are never morally acceptable options. The task of medicine is to care even when it cannot cure. Physicians and their patients must evaluate the use of technology at their disposal. Reflection on the innate dignity of human life in all its dimensions and on the purpose of medical care is indispensable for formulating a true moral judgement about the use of technology to maintain life… In this way two extremes are avoided: on the one hand, an insistence on useless or burdensome technology even when a patient may legitimately wish to forgo it and, on the other hand, the withdrawal of technology with the intention of causing death.”

– United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (Fifth Edition, 2009)

In Detail:

Source: Catechism of the Catholic Church

2276. Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve special respect. Sick or handicapped persons should be helped to lead lives as normal as possible.

2277. Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable.

Thus an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator. The error of judgement into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded.

2278. Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is the refusal of “over-zealous” treatment. Here one does not will to cause death; one’s inability to impede it is merely accepted. The decisions should be made by the patient if he is competent and able or, if not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient, whose reasonable will and legitimate interests must always be respected.

2279. Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be legitimately interrupted. The use of painkillers to alleviate the sufferings of the dying, even at the risk of shortening their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity if death is not willed as either an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable. Palliative care is a special form of disinterested charity. As such it should be encouraged.

2324. Intentional euthanasia, whatever its forms or motives, is murder. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator.

Do I have the right to determine for myself the moment of my death?

In Brief:

Source: DOCAT

No. Christians believe that “life” is not personal property with which you can do whatever you want. Because God is the one who gave us life, there is no absolute freedom in dealing with this gift that is entrusted to us for a time. “You shall not kill” applies to my own life, too. The desire to live and to have life is the deepest desire of a human being. Physicians report that even the request to be killed because of unbearable suffering is often a last desperate cry for help. Moreover, we should ask how free the call for euthanasia really is. Where euthanasia is already possible today, suffering patients often ask for it so as not to be a burden to others. Thus the supposed right to “death on one’s own terms” suddenly seems to become a duty to one’s relatives.

“The request for active euthanasia is an attempt to take the final process of life completely into one’s own hands. This is incompatible with the commending of oneself into God’s loving hand, as the Church’s sacramental liturgy puts it. … Euthanasia does not solve suffering, but rather snuffs out the suffering person.”

– Pastoral Assistance of the Dutch Bishops Conference, 2005

“God took from us authority not only over the life of another but also over our own life.”

– St Thomas More (1478–1535), Lord Chancellor of Henry VIII, and martyr

In Detail:

Source: Catechism of the Catholic Church

2280. Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honour and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.

2281. Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbour because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.

2282. If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary cooperation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.

Grave psychological disturbances, anguish or grave fear of hardship, suffering or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.

2283. We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.

Why does the Church get involved in the bioethics debate?

In Brief:

Source: DOCAT

The Church welcomes all genuine scientific progress, for it is in keeping with God’s command to be stewards of creation. Advances in medical technology in particular are very beneficial for mankind. Through them, however, human beings acquire more and more decision-making power over others. Suddenly it seems “useful” to cultivate human embryos in a Petri
dish, it seems “feasible” to kill handicapped infants in their mother’s womb, and it seems “humane” to put sick people out of their suffering. Whenever there is a misuse of human power, the Church must always stand on the side of the victims. Research must not be exploited and suddenly turned against human beings, especially the weakest members of society. The Church is not interested in making narrow-minded prohibitions; rather, she wishes to promote the dignity of the human person at all stages of life and in all circumstances.

“As far as the right to life is concerned, we must denounce its widespread violation in our society: alongside the victims of armed conflicts, terrorism, and the different forms of violence, there are the silent deaths caused by hunger, abortion, experimentation on human embryos, and euthanasia. How can we fail to see in all this an attack on peace? Abortion and embryonic experimentation
constitute a direct denial of that attitude of acceptance of others which is indispensable for establishing lasting relationships of peace.”

– Pope Benedict XVI, Message for the World Day of Peace 2007

In Detail:

Source: Catechism of the Catholic Church

1699. Life in the Holy Spirit fulfils the vocation of man. This life is made up of divine charity and human solidarity. It is graciously offered as salvation.

1700. The dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God; it is fulfilled in his vocation to divine beatitude. It is essential to a human being freely to direct himself to this fulfilment. By his deliberate actions, the human person does, or does not, conform to the good promised by God and attested by moral conscience. Human beings make their own contribution to their interior growth; they make their whole sentient and spiritual lives into means of this growth. With the help of grace they grow in virtue, avoid sin, and if they sin they entrust themselves as did the prodigal son to the mercy of our Father in heaven. In this way they attain to the perfection of charity.

1701. “Christ,… in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love, makes man fully manifest to himself and brings to light his exalted vocation.” It is in Christ, “the image of the invisible God”, that man has been created “in the image and likeness” of the Creator. It is in Christ, Redeemer and Saviour, that the divine image, disfigured in man by the first sin, has been restored to its original beauty and ennobled by the grace of God.

1702. The divine image is present in every man. It shines forth in the communion of persons, in the likeness of the unity of the divine persons among themselves.

1703. Endowed with “a spiritual and immortal” soul, the human person is “the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake”. From his conception, he is destined for eternal beatitude.

1704. The human person participates in the light and power of the divine Spirit. By his reason, he is capable of understanding the order of things established by the Creator. By free will, he is capable of directing himself toward his true good. He finds his perfection “in seeking and loving what is true and good”.

1705. By virtue of his soul and his spiritual powers of intellect and will, man is endowed with freedom, an “outstanding manifestation of the divine image”.

1706. By his reason, man recognizes the voice of God which urges him “to do what is good and avoid what is evil”. Everyone is obliged to follow this law, which makes itself heard in conscience and is fulfilled in the love of God and of neighbour. Living a moral life bears witness to the dignity of the person.

1707. “Man, enticed by the Evil One, abused his freedom at the very beginning of history.” He succumbed to temptation and did what was evil. He still desires the good, but his nature bears the wound of original sin. He is now inclined to evil and subject to error: Man is divided in himself. As a result, the whole life of men, both individual and social, shows itself to be a struggle, and a dramatic one, between good and evil, between light and darkness.

1708. By his Passion, Christ delivered us from Satan and from sin. He merited for us the new life in the Holy Spirit. His grace restores what sin had damaged in us.

1709. He who believes in Christ becomes a son of God. This filial adoption transforms him by giving him the ability to follow the example of Christ. It makes him capable of acting rightly and doing good. In union with his Saviour, the disciple attains the perfection of charity which is holiness. Having matured in grace, the moral life blossoms into eternal life in the glory of heaven.

1705. By virtue of his soul and his spiritual powers of intellect and will, man is endowed with freedom, an “outstanding manifestation of the divine image”.

1708. By his Passion, Christ delivered us from Satan and from sin. He merited for us the new life in the Holy Spirit. His grace restores what sin had
damaged in us.

Why do so many people want the option of assisted suicide?

Source: DOCAT

People are afraid of serious pain. Moreover, they have a fear of becoming incapacitated. We can address such fears very well today, however, through proper care, comprehensive support of the dying, palliative medicine, and hospice care. Experience shows that the great majority of patients stop asking for death once they learn about the possibilities of pain management and end-of-life care. To help dying persons (instead of “helping people to die”) may mean discontinuing or refusing some treatments or else relieving intolerable suffering through painkillers and sedatives. This is true even if administering them shortens the patient’s remaining lifetime.

“Respect for the right to life at every stage firmly establishes a principle of decisive importance: life is a gift which is not completely at the disposal of the subject.”

– Pope Benedict XVI, Message for the World Day of Peace 2007

Why are people afraid of becoming incapacitated?

In Brief:

Source: DOCAT

There is a concern about being at the mercy of others. People fear dependency or loneliness. The legitimate hospice movement addresses all these concerns. Precisely in the final phase of life, we must give the dying the opportunity to approach their own death with the loving care of other people. In addition to that, they especially need spiritual assistance in the last weeks and days of their life.

In Detail:

Source: Catechism of the Catholic Church

1506. Christ invites his disciples to follow him by taking up their cross in their turn. By following him they acquire a new outlook on illness and the sick. Jesus associates them with his own life of poverty and service. He makes them share in his ministry of compassion and healing: “So they went out and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them.”

1507. The risen Lord renews this mission (“In my name… they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover”.) and confirms it through the signs that the Church performs by invoking his name. These signs demonstrate in a special way that Jesus is truly “God who saves”.

1508. The Holy Spirit gives to some a special charism of healing so as to make manifest the power of the grace of the risen Lord. But even the most intense prayers do not always obtain the healing of all illnesses. Thus St Paul must learn from the Lord that “my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”, and that the sufferings to be endured can mean
that “in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his Body, that is, the Church.”

1509. “Heal the sick!” The Church has received this charge from the Lord and strives to carry it out by taking care of the sick as well as by accompanying them with her prayer of intercession. She believes in the life-giving presence of Christ, the physician of souls and bodies. This presence is particularly active through the sacraments, and in an altogether special way through
the Eucharist, the bread that gives eternal life and that St Paul suggests is connected with bodily health.

1510. However, the apostolic Church has its own rite for the sick, attested to by St James: “Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders [presbyters] of the Church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”123 Tradition has recognized in this rite one of the seven sacraments.

What is the significance of dying from the Christian perspective?

In Brief:

Source: DOCAT

Today dying often appears to be nothing more than bodily deterioration. Dying, however, is a decisive part of life, and for many people—the step to final maturity. For a Christian, life is a gift. This thought inspires trust even in one’s difficult last hours. We know that we are in the hand of a loving God and have hope that death is not the end but a transition to eternal life. This puts the experience of suffering into a completely different perspective. Again and again those in pastoral ministry find that this hope gives consolation even to seemingly irreligious people who are facing their actual death. In the suffering and dying person, Christ is especially close to us.

In Detail:

Source: Catechism of the Catholic Church

1010. Because of Christ, Christian death has a positive meaning: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”576 “The saying is sure: if we have died with him, we will also live with him.”577 What is essentially new about Christian death is this: through Baptism, the Christian has already “died with Christ” sacramentally, in order to live a new life; and if we die in Christ’s grace,
physical death completes this “dying with Christ” and so completes our incorporation into him in his redeeming act:

“It is better for me to die in (eis) Christ Jesus than to reign over the ends of the earth. Him it is I seek – who died for us. Him it is I desire – who rose for us. I am on the point of giving birth… Let me receive pure light; when I shall have arrived there, then shall I be a man.” (St Ignatius of Antioch)

1011. In death, God calls man to himself. Therefore the Christian can experience a desire for death like St Paul’s: “My desire is to depart and be with Christ.” He can transform his own death into an act of obedience and love towards the Father, after the example of Christ:

“My earthly desire has been crucified;… there is living water in me, water that murmurs and says within me: Come to the Father.” (St Ignatius of Antioch)

“I want to see God and, in order to see him, I must die.” (St Teresa of Avila)

“I am not dying; I am entering life.” (St Thérèse of Lisieux)

1012. The Christian vision of death receives privileged expression in the liturgy of the Church:

“Indeed for your faithful, Lord,
life is changed, not ended,
and, when this earthly dwelling turns to dust,
an eternal dwelling is made ready for them in heaven.”

1013. Death is the end of man’s earthly pilgrimage, of the time of grace and mercy which God offers him so as to work out his earthly life in keeping with the divine plan, and to decide his ultimate destiny. When “the single course of our earthly life” is completed, we shall not return to other earthly lives: “It is appointed for men to die once.”587 There is no “reincarnation”
after death.

1014. The Church encourages us to prepare ourselves for the hour of our death. In the ancient litany of the saints, for instance, she has us pray: “From a sudden and unforeseen death, deliver us, O Lord”; to ask the Mother of God to intercede for us “at the hour of our death” in the Hail Mary; and to entrust ourselves to St Joseph, the patron of a happy death.

“Every action of yours, every thought, should be those of one who expects to die before the day is out. Death would have no great terrors for you if you had a quiet conscience…. Then why not keep clear of sin instead of running away from death? If you aren’t fit to face death today, it’s very unlikely you will be tomorrow….” (The Imitation of Christ)

“Praised are you, my Lord, for our sister bodily Death,
from whom no living man can escape.
Woe on those who will die in mortal sin!
Blessed are they who will be found
in your most holy will,
for the second death will not harm them.”

(St Francis of Assisi)

Respect for the dead

2299. The dying should be given attention and care to help them live their last moments in dignity and peace. They will be helped by the prayer of their relatives, who must see to it that the sick receive at the proper time the sacraments that prepare them to meet the living God.

From important Church documents

Conspiracy against Life

“Looking at the situation from this point of view, it is possible to speak in a certain sense of a war of the powerful against the weak: a life which would require greater acceptance, love, and care is considered useless, or held to be an intolerable burden, and is therefore rejected in one way or another. A person who, because of illness, handicap, or, more simply, just by existing, compromises the well-being or life-style of those who are more favoured tends to be looked upon as an enemy to be resisted or eliminated. In this way a kind of “conspiracy against life” is unleashed.”

– Pope St John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium Vitae (1995), 12

A Right to Death on One’s Own Terms

“Threats which are no less serious hang over the incurably ill and the dying. In a social and cultural context which makes it more difficult to face and accept suffering, the temptation becomes all the greater to resolve the problem of suffering by eliminating it at the root, by hastening death so that it occurs at the moment considered most suitable.”

– Pope St John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium Vitae (1995), 15

Doing Away with Human Beings

“We see a tragic expression of all this in the spread of euthanasia—disguised and surreptitious, or practised openly and even legally. As well as for reasons of a misguided pity at the sight of the patient’s suffering, euthanasia is sometimes justified by the utilitarian motive of avoiding costs which bring no return and which weigh heavily on society. Thus it is proposed to eliminate malformed babies, the severely handicapped, the disabled, the elderly, especially when they are not self-sufficient, and the terminally ill. Nor can we remain silent in the face of other more furtive, but no less serious and real, forms of euthanasia. These could occur for example when, in order to increase the availability of organs for transplants, organs are removed without respecting objective and adequate criteria which verify the death of the donor.”

– Pope St John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium Vitae (1995), 15

The Battle for Life

“Aside from intentions, which can be varied and perhaps can seem convincing at times, especially if presented in the name of solidarity, we are in fact faced by an objective “conspiracy against life”, involving even international Institutions, engaged in encouraging and carrying out actual campaigns to make contraception, sterilization, and abortion widely available. Nor can it be denied that the mass media are often implicated in this conspiracy, by lending credit to that culture which presents recourse to contraception, sterilization, abortion, and even euthanasia as a mark of progress and a victory of freedom, while depicting as enemies of freedom and progress those positions which are unreservedly pro-life.”

– Pope St John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium Vitae (1995), 17

No Right to Kill

“To claim the right to abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia, and to recognize that right in law, means to attribute to human freedom a perverse and evil significance: that of an absolute power over others and against others.”

– Pope St John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium Vitae (1995)

Accomplices of a Grave Sin

“Euthanasia is an act of homicide that no end can justify and that does not tolerate any form of complicity or active or passive collaboration. Those who approve laws of euthanasia and assisted suicide, therefore, become accomplices of a grave sin that others will execute. They are also guilty of scandal because by such laws they contribute to the distortion of conscience, even among the faithful.”