We need your help to protect Delaware’s vulnerable citizens! House Bill 140, that legalizes physician-assisted suicide, was voted out of committee and is on the “ready list” to go before the full Delaware House of Representatives.  For years, the Catholic community has joined advocates for the disabled and others to oppose this bill that would put the lives of our most vulnerable citizens at risk. It's time to stand up and make our voices heard!

What is at Stake? HB 140 is government-sanctioned suicide. It can lead to a slippery slope, with vulnerable individuals — such as the elderly, disabled, or those experiencing depression —being pressured into choosing death over life. Every state or country who has legalized physician-assisted suicide has experienced dangerous expansions and abuses of the law. This practice threatens the values of compassion, care, and respect for human life - from conception to natural death - that we hold dear.

We need to tell our legislators that we oppose physician-assisted suicide. Your voice is critical in protecting the lives of our loved ones and neighbors.

Take Action NOW!

Here’s how you can help:

1. Contact Your Delaware Senator and Representative:
   • Call, email, or write to your state rep and ask them to oppose physician-assisted suicide. Let them know that legalizing this practice will endanger vulnerable populations and undermine the dignity of human life.  Click the link below to send a customizable email directly to your Representative and Senator. 
2. Speak From the Heart:
   • Share why you are personally against physician-assisted suicide. Whether it's your belief in the sanctity of life or your concerns about the potential for abuse, your personal story can have a real impact.
3. Encourage Others to Join the Cause:
   • Talk to friends, family, and colleagues. Encourage them to take action, too. The more voices we have, the stronger our impact will be.

Why We Must Act Now:

• Protecting Vulnerable Populations: People with disabilities, the elderly, and those experiencing mental health crises could feel pressured into choosing assisted suicide, feeling like a burden to their families and society.
• Preserving Life: Every life has inherent value and deserves the opportunity for compassionate care, not the option to end it prematurely.
• Ethical Concerns: A physician’s role is to heal and help, not to harm. Physician-assisted suicide compromises the trust and ethics within the medical profession.
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Time is of the Essence! This legislation could move quickly, and your action is crucial. Don't wait—contact your legislator TODAY to urge them to stand against physician-assisted suicide and protect the lives of vulnerable individuals in our state.

Thank you for your consideration.

Together, we can make a difference and protect human life and dignity.

We must accompany people towards death but not provoke death or facilitate assisted suicide. I would point out that the right to care and treatment for all must always be prioritized, so that the weakest, particularly the elderly and the sick, are never discarded. Indeed, life is a right, not death, which must be welcomed, not administered. And this ethical principle applies to everyone, not just Christians or believers.”  Pope Francis, General Audience, Feb. 9, 2022

We urge all people of good will to demand that our lawmakers reject suicide as an end-of-life option and to choose the better, safer path that involves radical solidarity with those facing the end of their earthly journey. Let us choose the path that models true compassion and dignity to those facing end of life decisions and protects the most vulnerable from the deadly proposition of physician assisted suicide."  Most Reverend William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore, Wilton Cardinal Gregory, Archbishop of Washington and Most Reverend William Koenig, Bishop of Wilmington. A Better Way Forward, January 2024