'Assisted Suicide Might Be Good for You': Lawyer Slams New York's Push to Impose State Orthodoxy

A lawyer representing four Catholic religious orders in New York has accused the state of imposing an 'orthodoxy' on assisted suicide after a federal judge temporarily blocked officials from requiring the nuns to counsel patients about medical aid in dying.

The order came as New York's Medical Aid in Dying Act took effect, placing religious healthcare providers at the centre of a dispute over freedom of conscience and end-of-life care.

New York Assisted Suicide Law Faces Religious Challenge

The news came after more than 10 Catholic plaintiffs, including the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Little Sisters of the Poor, the Diocese of Rockville Centre and Catholic Health, filed a lawsuit in federal court on 17 July.

The complaint argues that New York's law compels religious healthcare providers to counsel terminally ill patients about physician-assisted suicide, refer them to participating providers and, in some circumstances, accommodate assisted suicide at their facilities.

A federal judge ruled on 30 July that the religious orders would not be required to recommend medically assisted suicide while the case continues. The temporary protection does not resolve the wider legal challenge, but it allows the religious providers to continue operating according to their Catholic beliefs for now.

Adèle Keim, senior counsel at the religious liberty organisation Becket, said the case was not only about medical aid in dying. In an interview, she argued that it would test whether the government could require religious ministries to act against their beliefs inside facilities they have operated for generations.

'If you care about freedom, you should care about this case, because if the government can force its way into a home that's been owned and operated by a group of Catholic nuns for 150 years and order the nuns around and tell them what they can do, there's nothing that the government won't try to force its way into,' Keim said.

That is the argument at the heart of the lawsuit. The nuns say their objection is not simply to administering life-ending medication. They also oppose being required to present assisted suicide as an option or help patients find a provider who will offer it.

'Assisted Suicide Might Be Good for You' Claim

'New York just passed a law legalising assisted suicide, and it told providers in the state, "Hey, you have to counsel your patients about the benefits of assisted suicide, and you have to help hook them up with a provider who can provide assisted suicide to them if you're not going to do it yourself,"' Keim said.

New York's Medical Aid in Dying Act was signed into law in February. According to Compassion & Choices, which supports the legislation, it allows adults aged 18 and over who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and given six months or less to live to request and self-administer life-ending medication if they are experiencing immense suffering.

Governor Kathy Hochul's office has defended the law while declining to comment directly on the pending litigation. A spokesperson pointed to an earlier statement from Hochul, who said participation was voluntary and that religious facilities could opt out.

'While we cannot comment on any pending litigation, under this historic legislation, participation is entirely voluntary, and religious facilities have the right to opt out if they choose to do so,' Hochul said.

She added that the law allows terminally ill New Yorkers with less than six months to live to make a 'voluntary, informed decision,' while the Department of Health works on regulations to implement it. The disagreement appears to turn on what opting out means in practice. Hochul's statement presents the law as a measure that preserves institutional choice.

The plaintiffs contend that counselling and referral requirements still force Catholic providers to participate in a process they believe conflicts with their faith. Keim said the religious orders were also acting on behalf of residents and families who specifically chose Catholic facilities for end-of-life care.

'The sisters are standing together in solidarity with each other,' she said. 'They're also standing in solidarity with their residents and the residents' families who chose Catholic homes for their loved ones because they wanted Catholic care at the end of their lives.'

The case now moves towards a fuller ruling on the competing arguments. Keim said the court could issue an initial decision within two to six months, although the temporary order remains the immediate protection for the nuns.

'This case is about whether people in the United States can join together and care for one another at the end of life without having the state come in over the top and impose orthodoxy like, 'Assisted suicide might be good for you. You should check it out,' Keim said.

For the Catholic providers, that is the line they say they cannot cross. For New York, the law is intended to give terminally ill adults another choice. The next ruling will determine whether those two positions can coexist under state law.