MEXICO CITY (LifeSiteNews) — The official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Mexico City published a forceful op-ed this month denouncing “totalitarian and eugenic ideologies” that are emerging in the country, in an effort to stymie a bill that seeks to legalize euthanasia.
In its weekly Desde la fe, the archdiocese rebuked the argument that assisted suicide is “death with dignity.” It also warned that the bill is a “major mistake from an anthropological, legal, and human rights perspective.”
“There is a romanticized idea that euthanasia involves dying without pain, but there are also medical reports that people who undergo lethal injection do suffer, and it is not pleasant for loved ones to witness this scene,” the letter reads. “Offering euthanasia is inhumane and symbolic of a state that is failing in its duty.”
The archdiocese is pushing back against “The Law That Transcends,” which was introduced in Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies on October 19. It has the backing of several major political groups, including the ruling Morena party.
The bill is spearheaded by a 30-year-old activist journalist Samara Martínez, who has lived with systemic lupus erythematosus since she was 17. Backed by the so-called “Coalition for Dignified Death Now” group, the measure would permit assisted suicide for persons above 18 years old with terminal diseases. It also establishes other restrictions such as full consent and two diagnoses of a person’s condition.
Per Catholic World Report, multiple lawmakers from the country’s Senate and lower chamber have expressed strong support for it. The bill is currently advancing through related committees. President Claudia Sheinbaum has not yet weighed in on the matter, though members of her Morena party are supportive of it. At present, Mexico punishes persons who assist or entice another to commit suicide with one to five years in prison.
READ: Mexico drops plan to censor online speech after religious groups’ fierce backlash
The Archdiocese of Mexico City is led by Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, who was appointed to the role by Pope Francis in 2017 after having been named a cardinal in 2016. The archdiocese’s op-ed further warns of the consequences that assisted suicide has on the value of life and suffering.
“Equating dignity solely with freedom from pain or disability distorts both the Mexican Constitution and fundamental anthropology. To accept that suffering renders life unworthy … is to open the door to discarding entire categories of people – a logic that echoes the darkest episodes of the twentieth century,” it reads.
The statement concludes by invoking Pope Leo XIV’s designation of November as a month of prayer against suicide, underscoring the intrinsic value of every life, regardless of illness or pain. The Church therefore urges lawmakers around the world to reject the “easy way out” and to strengthen palliative services while ensuring no person is abandoned to the point of seeing death as the only escape from suffering.
The Catholic Church teaches that suicide or the intentional ending of one’s own life is gravely evil, as man is not the author of his own life. “Intentional euthanasia, whatever its forms or motives, is murder. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator,” the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2324) affirms.
Ten U.S. states plus the District of Columbia currently allow assisted suicide. Illinois lawmakers passed a euthanasia bill earlier this month. It awaits the signature of pro-abortion Democrat Governor JB Pritzker, who recently met with Pope Leo at the Vatican. Legalization bills are also currently being considered in Montana and New York.