Pope Leo calls out ‘false compassion’ of medically assisted suicide during French hospital visit
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Leo → call → visit
Pope Leo XIV called for an end to medically assisted suicide during a visit to medical facilities in Lourdes, France, on Sunday.
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XIV → call → Sunday
The pope gave Mass in Lourdes before addressing a large crowd who cheered as he emphatically affirmed the dignity of all human lives and admonished listeners to reject the “false compassion” of assisted suicide.
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he → give → suicide
“It is precisely in the name of this inalienable dignity of the human person that we must reject the temptation to cause death under the guise of false compassion,” the pope said, speaking in French.
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pope → reject → French
“It is impossible to regard causing death as something normal.
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It → regard → something
What is legal is not necessarily moral,” he continued.
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he → continue → ?
“Here in Lourdes, the city of the sick and of hope, I appeal to the entire healthcare community to remember the profound meaning of your vocation, which is to care for a suffering person, not to eliminate that person.”
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which → appeal → person
“No one ever has the right based on laboratory algorithms to decide the life of a given embryo or elderly person.
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one → have → embryo
Medicine must never become the servant of programmed death,” he said.
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he → become → death
The practice has come under heavy criticism, particularly in Canada where it has seen widespread use.
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it → come → use
Last week, the family of an 83-year-old Canadian woman demanded answers after she died through the country’s medical assistance in dying program despite allegedly becoming distraught when told the procedure would end her life.
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procedure → demand → life
The Daily Mail reported that 83-year-old Christian grandmother Brigitte Stegemann was killed under Canada’s physician-assisted suicide program, called Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), on July 10.
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Stegemann → report → July
Her granddaughter, Brigitte Kranendonk, said that she was her grandmother’s primary caregiver and that her family had decided to place Stegemann at The Pearl care home in Cannifton due to physical and mental decline.
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family → say → decline
But according to Kranendonk, her grandmother still had a good appetite even following a stomach cancer diagnosis, and rejected the idea of using MAID when it was presented as an option.
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it → accord → option
Kranendonk said she was present for Stegemann’s second MAID assessment, and said that the doctor used “really loose terms, never using the words death or dying.”
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doctor → say → words
“She explains MAID to my grandmother by saying: ‘We’re going to give you medicine, you’re going to feel at peace.
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you → explain → peace
And I just want you to know that you won’t have a bowel movement,'” Kranendonk said.
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Kranendonk → want → movement
When Kranendonk interjected and said, “She doesn’t understand what you’re saying,” the doctor allegedly looked at Stegemann and said, “We’re going to make sure you won’t have any more pain.”
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you → interject → pain
According to a doctor, Stegemann was “deemed fit for MAID, and we’re going to proceed,” The Daily Mail reported.
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Mail → accord → MAID
Kranendonk said that two days before Stegemann’s death, she asked her grandmother directly whether she understood that the scheduled procedure meant she would die.
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she → say → grandmother
Stegemann was allegedly told by the doctor her grandmother could “deny” MAID on the day of the procedure, but Stegemann was already unsure if her grandmother had actually consented to it, did not want to cause her more stress, and wanted to enjoy what could be the last few days she had left with her grandmother.
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she → tell → grandmother
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling.
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you → struggle → counseling
If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
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you → live → SuicidePreventionLifeline.org
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