Brittany Maynard's reflections on why she was ending her life:
I made my decisions based on my wishes, clinical research, choices, discussions with physicians, and logic. I am not depressed or suicidal or on a ‘slippery slope.’ I have been in charge of this choice, gaining control of a terrifying terminal disease through the application of my own humane logic.Most religions, specifically Catholicism, condemn Ms. Maynard's action as a violation of the Fifth Commandment — "Thy Shall not Kill." Interpreters of the Bible have determined that the homicide dictate is also applicable to suicide.
When the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in 1791 the authors recognized the likelihood that religious leaders would attempt to influence legislative matters and so Article Three affirmed that Congress "shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." The founding fathers knew from past experience that religious disputes cripple governments.
Be that as it may, Congress and state legislative bodies have frequently passed Christian-inspired laws. These controlling measures violate Article Three and civil rights. Most state laws, for instance, forbid physician-assisted suicides. Some other laws based on religious belief (Canon Law) include divorce , reproduction, and sexual preference prohibitions. From the Catholic Church's perspective homosexuality, birth control/abortion, divorce and suicide are not issues of choice.
President Reagan formalized relations with the Holy See in 1984. Those serving as Vatican ambassadors, if Catholic, must agree with the church's position on life issues.
As intended Brittany Maynard provoked a fiery discussion on the right to die while under medical supervision and as expected many dispute her course of action. For instance, Msgr. Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, called Oregon's Death with Dignity Law reprehensible.
The Catholic Church is a misogynistic institution with unresolved pedophilia and forced labor issues.
If Msgr. Carrasco and his employer were in charge of American affairs, women would not be eligible for political office and personal choice laws would be abolished.
