Religious leaders grapple with doctor-assisted dying

LIFE'S beginning and end are, to most religions, sacred moments. Therefore politicians are accustomed to religious leaders weighing in on matters such as contraception and abortion'and on whether and how doctors should be allowed to intervene to speed a patient's passing. So as Maltese parliamentarians debate doctor-assisted dying, in response to a plea by a sufferer from motor neurone disease who wants to be able to get a doctor's help to end his life when he chooses, it is unsurprising that two of the country's most senior religious figures chose to interject themselves in the discussion.In response to deliberation in the parliamentary committee on family affairs which is expected to continue after the summer recess, on July 23rd Charles Scicluna, the Archbishop of Malta, and Mario Grech, the Bishop of Gozo (the western of Malta's two islands), published an open letter to parliamentarians. Their message' 'Medical assistance given to the patients for the abrupt termination of life could never be in his or her best interest.'It is just the latest intervention by Christian figures in political debates on the matter....Continue reading
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