Maryland Assisted Suicide Measures Halted - For Now

From the Maryland Catholic Conference:

Today, Maryland Senate leadership announced the votes aren't there to pass a bill legalizing physician assisted suicide in our state.

 

In a press conference, Senate President Bill Ferguson said, “We are not going to be taking a vote on the bill this year. It does not appear that we have the votes to pass it in the Senate and so we will not be moving forward.”

 

The vote was close – one to two votes short on the 11-member Judicial Proceedings Committee that was considering the bill. House leadership already said they would not move ahead unless the Senate did.

 

Your emails, calls and prayers made the difference.

 

Senator Will Smith, chair of the committee, said, “I think that as folks got closer to the vote and had more in-depth discussions with their constituents, folks just expressed unreadiness to move on it….[Y]ou have to respect the decisions of the individual senators who are listening to their constituents and listening to their conscience on this issue.”

 

What does this mean going forward?

 

While this is great news, he and Senator Ferguson made it clear they expect the bill to come back in the future. And, it’s important we not only prepare for next year, but stay vigilant this year. The session isn’t over until April 8.

There are two key takeaways here.

1. The phone calls, emails, lobbying efforts of each and every citizen counts.  It certainly did in this case, as the vote was quite close in the Judicial Proceedings Committee.  When we first heard of this, I posted about a great lobbying tool.  I link now to it for your future use.  That brings me to the second takeaway.
2. We must always be vigilant regarding our legislators and be ready to act, no matter what else may be going on in life.  The anti-life cartel is quite disciplined in that regard, ready to drop everything else and engage in lobbying.  We must do no less.

Maryland session ends next month.  As other matters come up, I will post them.

Maryland Citizens! Action Needed TOMORROW, Wednesday Feb 14

An assisted suicide measure is meandering its way through the Maryland legislature and we must stop it now.  Please see the alert below from Maryland Right to Life.

ASSISTED SUICIDE ACTION ALERT

Cassilly: Md. ‘End-of-life Option Act’ about money, not compassion By READER COMMENTARY - Baltimore Sun February 8, 2024 at 6:38 a.m. The General Assembly is about to vote on whether we should encourage suicide by the aged and poor to reduce our medical costs. Advocates for Senate Bill 443 misleadingly proclaim the bill is all about allowing the terminally ill to die without pain. But the truth behind this misguided effort is clearly exposed by the provisions of the bill and the current law. Read the article in full HERE

Harford County Executive Robert Cassilly. (Matt Button / The Aegis/Baltimore Sun Media)

This Friday, February 16th, the House HGO and Judiciary Committees will hold a joint virtual legislative hearing on HB403, the House version of proposed Assisted Suicide legislation. Written testimony must be submitted TOMORROW 2/14 from 8AM - 6PM. PLEASE TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS TO OPPOSE ASSISTED SUICIDE IN MARYLAND 1) Please go to the TAKE ACTION tab at MDRTL.org to learn more and to send a pre-written, editable, message to hearing committee members as well as your state Representatives and Senator. We need to send thousands of emails and phone calls, and YOUR VOICE MATTERS. REMEMBER - Your voice is strongest when you CALL legislator offices and inform the legislative aid that you OPPOSE Assisted Suicide and urge a "NO" vote. You will not be required to debate. Phone numbers for your legislators office will display when you click the phone icon after sending the email message. 2) To submit written testimony, you must create a MyMGA account and then sign up online TOMORROW, Wednesday 2/14 from 8AM-6PM using the following user friendly tutorial links and sign up page: Tutorials: MyMGA New Account & Witness Signup Sign In to MGA Tracking for Written Testimony OR CONTACT Julie@mdrtl.org, 410 269-6397 for assistance. We are here to help you!

TAKE ACTION

Please take the time to create that MyMGA account, as it will be useful in future legislative actions.

President Of Pontifical Academy For Life Blasphemes By Justifying Murder

Most of us veterans of the pro-life movement, particularly those of us who have gone "toe-to-toe" with deathscorts and other proabortion people will recognize a familiar ring to this phrase: "Personally I would not practice assisted suicide, but I understand that legal mediation can constitute the greatest common good that is concretely possible in the conditions in which we find ourselves."

Yes, it is another version of "personally I oppose abortion, but won't stand in the way of others to do so and won't judge their situations".  Maryland's former US representative Connie Morella used to chirp that pabulum regularly as she voted for every pro-abortion measure that came her way, and even co-sponsored (along with Chuck Schumer) the FACE act.

This nonsense was recently uttered by Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia.  Recall several years ago, he commissioned a gay artist to paint a blasphemous mural in his cathedral church in the Diocese of Terni-Narni-Amelia.  All the people in the picture, including Our Lord Himself, are portrayed as gays, in homo-erotic poses.  One of the people portrayed is an unmistakable depiction of Paglia himself, complete with zucchetto.

Early on in his papacy, Francis revamped the Pontifical Academy for Life by ejecting all the solidly pro-life membership of that body and replacing them with those of lesser qualifications.  Some of them have shown themselves to be pro-abortion.  This academy is chaired by Paglia.

Here is the full text, translated into English by Google.  There is quite a bit of error here to unpack.  Right in the first paragraph is a whopper: "There is a mutual learning relationship between believers and non-believers."  When it comes to matters of faith and morals, nothing could be further from the truth.  The Church possesses the fullness of truth through Divine Revelation.  To imply that there is some kind of equality between the revelations from God Himself versus what mere man can dredge up is to blaspheme against Divine Revelation.  Mind you, this is a bishop uttering this garbage.

He then says, "due to the maturation (?) of reflection on rights, the pope has modified the Catechism".  I've no doubt that Paglia alludes to Francis' mangling of the catechism with respect to capital punishment.  I stated years ago that the twisting of that teaching would lead to other matters being similarly mangled, and I am proven correct on that score.

Then he goes on to say, "it cannot be excluded that in our society a legal mediation is feasible which allows assisted suicide in the conditions specified by the Constitutional Court's judgment 242/2019".  Let's stop right there and unpack this.  It is never "feasible" to violate God's Fifth Commandment and commit murder.  No "constitutional court's judgment" trumps the Fifth Commandment nor Church law.  The term "assisted suicide" is just a cutesy little euphemism for murder.  The chair of the Pontifical Academy for Life, an archbishop, just committed gross blasphemy by saying murder is feasible. 

This Pontifical Academy for Life, once a respected body, has been rendered into an abysmal joke and a tool of Satan.  The same can be said for much of the establishment in Vatican City and many of the chanceries throughout the world.

Regarding Fuller's Suicide, The Clergy Knew Beforehand

Father Dupont knew of Fuller's diabolical plans at that Mass.  Dupont is not the pastor of St Therese in Seattle; rather, he is a priest who regularly assists with Masses and who frequently said Masses at which Fuller attended.  He gave Fuller a "blessing" and even embroiled First Communicant children in his stunt, giving scandal to them.  Now what was it that Jesus said about those giving scandal to little ones?  Oh, yes!

Regarding Fuller's funeral, Seattle Archbishop Sartain gave approval for a Church funeral, in direct contradiction to Canon law.  In recent years, funerals have been granted to suicides, assuming that they were not in their right minds when they committed the act.  However, Fuller's suicide was methodically planned.  He had a party to celebrate his planned sin and even compounded that sin with the celebration of his sodomite relationship by "marrying" his accomplice in sodomy just before his suicide.  I link now to a Church Militant article where two bishops are cited as stating that unrepentant homosexuals cannot be given Church funeral rites.

So here we have two clerics, one a bishop, cooperating with several mortal sins committed by Fuller this past May.  They have cheapened God's laws and the value of human life.  We pray for their own repentance.

Did A Seattle Jesuit Facilitate Murder And Likely Damnation Of A Catholic In A Catholic Church??

The Catholic blogosphere just learned of an "assisted suicide" of a sodomy-practicing man in Seattle Washington.  He learned he was terminally ill.  Instead of preparing for his death to ensure his salvation after his mortal sins of sodomy, he mocked the Sacrament of Matrimony with his accomplice in sodomy and announced his planned suicide with great fanfare.

Mr. Fuller was Catholic, although obviously dissident.  On the Sunday before he ended his own life, he attended Mass and received Holy Communion - obviously sacrilegiously.  Moreover, Father Quentin Dupont, SJ, led the First Communion children in "blessing" Fuller.  Fuller's plans were widely known at that parish.  Unless the priest was inexcusably oblivious, he had to have known them too.  I am unable to determine the nature of Dupont's relationship to the parish; he appears not to be the pastor.

If Father Dupont, at that Mass, was aware of the impending sin of suicide that Fuller was to commit, then he is guilty of that sin by way of being an accessory to the sin.  Several other parishioners would also be in that status.  In a previous post, I listed the nine ways of being an accessory to sin and participating in its guilt.  I'll run through them now.

1. Counsel - Did Father Dupont suggest that Fuller was taking a correct step?
2. Command - Probably not present in this situation.
3. Consent - That "blessing" would appear to constitute consent.
4. Provocation - Did that happen?
5. Praise or flattery - That seemed to be oozing from many parishioners.  What about Father?
6. Concealment - Well that certainly didn't occur.
7. Partnership - This is defined as sharing the fruits of the sin.  Not present here.
8. Silence - Father did not act or speak to prevent Fuller's sins
9. Defending evil - That was all over the praise from the other parishioners.

The Seattle bishops intend to "review" this matter.  If Dupont didn't know of the impending suicide, then what reason did he have of "blessing" Dupont and even inducing children to be props in his stunt?  Will the bishops really do an honest review of this matter or are they simply trying to stall in the hopes that we will forget about this atrocity?

Unless Fuller made a perfect act of contrition right at the moment of his death, he is not in a good place.  Let us pray that he did.  But let us also take action.  Contact St Therese Parish and the Archdiocese of Seattle to demand that real investigations be done regarding the apparent approval that Fuller received from Fr Dupont.  That atrocity can never again happen in a Catholic Church.

Sign Petition To Stop Assisted Suicide In Maryland

Two weeks ago I blogged about the assisted suicide measure that was before the Maryland House of Delegates.  Since then it has passed by a 74-36 vote.  It is now before the Senate.  We Marylanders must lobby our state senators to oppose it.  Should it pass, we must again lobby Governor Hogan to veto it.

For the rest of the country, please sign the petition started by LifeSiteNews to combat this measure.

Please pass this on to your other social pages and contacts.  Thanks.

Culture Of Death - Preying On Elderly And Sick

A number of states have been legalizing "assisted suicide" measures.  Recently California joined those deadly ranks.  From Church Militant we hear that the Catholic bishops of California are initiating actions to put the measure to referendum.

Another facet of the threats to life at the "other end of the spectrum" is that posed by hospitals - some hospitals, that is.  Watch these two videos to learn some of the insidious background to the increase of "brain death" diagnoses in various hospitals; some hospitals and doctors are being motivated by considerations completely at variance with the Hippocratic Oath.

First Post Of 2015 - MD Board Of Physicians Displays Some Good Judgment

It's nice to start off the new year with news that a Maryland governmental agency has followed common sense as opposed to political correctness.  The Baltimore Sun informs us that Dr. Lawrence Egbert has been stripped of his medical license for "helping" six elderly MD residents commit suicide then covering up the evidence of his "assistance".   A question I have is whether or not he'll face criminal charges.  The "assistance" in which Egbert engaged is more accurately called premeditated murder.  In a saner time, he would have been facing the death penalty.

The Sun, being a bona fide liberal rag, segues into the "cause" of "assisted suicide".  I think I'll substitute that sanitized pc language with what the action is - unbridled murder.  A state legislator from Montgomery County, Heather Mizeur, made the legalization of murder a campaign issue when she ran for governor (losing to Anthony Brown in the Democrat primary).  That, in addition to being an unabashed lesbian, would make her a prime candidate for the medicine of Canon 915.  Yes she is Catholic but I digress.

The current political climate in Maryland would tend towards permission of unbridled murder.  We pray that the election of Larry Hogan may signal some rebirth of morality and common sense.

Pray For Hans Kung - He Is In Mortal Danger

Hans Kung, wildly dissident theologian who has paved the way for so much spiritual chaos in the Church, is in grave danger.  The 85-year old has Parkinson's - and is considering assisted suicide.  If he does so, he not only will end his own earthly life, but may well seal his own eternal damnation.  By far the latter is the greater peril.

Some may hope his Parkinson's reduces his culpability.  I would entertain no such hope.  Consider that the man has been both priest and theologian all his life.  He is well-acquainted with the teachings of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Teaching Magisterium of the Church.  He may not assent to the truth, but he knows what the Church teaches.  Moreover, he is aware of any Catholic's solemn obligation to adhere to the Church's teachings.

In making these reckless statements, Kung puts forth a putrid example to those who are confused and doubtful of Jesus Christ.  If he follows through with his reckless ambition, he will bring spiritual danger to at least one other person.  "Assisted suicide" is murder; he will seek someone to murder him.  That willing accomplice will jeopardize his/her own immortal soul by committing the capital sin of murder.

Let us pray that Kung repents of his hideous plan and his dissidence in general.  He doesn't have much time.

"Dr Death" Faces His Maker

This morning, after a long illness and hospitalization, Dr Jack Kevorkian, who murdered, uh, "helped" people commit the mortal sin of suicide, faced God Almighty in his Particular Judgment.  See this MSNBC article, that features his murder weapons.

Kevorkian did much to corrupt and corrode our society into a heinous culture of death.  Over 100 people were murdered at his hand, and he influenced the self-inflicted murders of countless more.  Now he has reaped the rewards of his deeds.  We can only hope and pray that he seized upon the last offer of mercy that was proffered him by God - but by any reasonable measure, things don't look good for his eternal fate.

Ladies and gentlemen, all of us will face God one day - sooner or later.  How will you stand before Him?