Professor Lucia A. Silecchia of The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law (Catholic Law) was quoted by the National Catholic Register in a January 25 article regarding a recent report on the economic implications of assisted suicide in Canada. In the portion for which she was interviewed, Silecchia—whose areas of legal expertise include the intersection of the law with the social teachings of the Catholic Church—elucidated the Church’s position on euthanasia and voiced concern over the new report’s implications for its broader societal discussion.

The Register’s article is available for viewing here.

Publication: National Catholic Register
Date: January 25, 2024
Title: “Assisted Suicide Will Bring About ‘Reduction in Health Care Spending,’ Report Claims”

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Lucia Silecchia, a law professor specializing in Catholic social thought at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., told CNA that evaluation of assisted suicide in terms of potential money to be saved pose a grave threat to human life.

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“To justify or advocate for the taking of life to save money places a price tag on priceless human persons,” she went on. “It sends the message that some lives are worth saving, and others are not.”

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Silecchia said that end-of-life medical care is a nuanced topic that demands serious consideration, beginning from the perspective of valuing and protecting human life. “Taking innocent human life — one’s own or another’s — is impermissible,” she said. “However, it is not morally required to pursue every possibility of extraordinary care — or what Pope John Paul II called ‘extraordinary or disproportionate means’ — when to do so is medically futile or the potential benefits are not justified by the burden. This is a question that requires far more attention and discussion.”

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