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Tennessee bishops welcome ‘landmark’ school choice voucher program
Posted on 02/4/2025 22:05 PM (EWTN News - US Catholic News)

CNA Staff, Feb 4, 2025 / 17:05 pm (CNA).
Tennessee Catholic bishops on Monday lauded the passage of legislation establishing Tennessee’s first-ever universal school choice program, which is set to fund more than 20,000 scholarships to private schools.
Gov. Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Act of 2025, which was passed on Jan. 30, will fund 20,000 scholarships, half of which are income-restricted. The passage of the act shortly followed the Trump-Vance administration’s executive order last week instructing federal agencies to expand school choice.
The Education Freedom Act provides $7,000 scholarships to enable students to attend private schools while also increasing funding for public schools. It sets aside bonuses to be awarded to public school teachers for excellence, increases K–12 facilities funding, and the legislation promises that school district funding won’t decrease due to disenrollment.
The Tennessee Catholic Conference applauded the Education Freedom Act in a Feb. 3 statement.
“This landmark legislation reflects our shared commitment to ensuring families that every child, regardless of background, has access to an education that nurtures their potential and supports their families’ unique needs,” the statement read. “In addition to supporting family choice in education, the new law includes provisions to support public schools across the state with significant funding for facility maintenance and expansion as well as financial bonuses for public school teachers.”
The act sets aside nearly $146 million for the Education Freedom Scholarships as well as a little more than $198 million for teacher bonuses. It also sets aside $77 million in funding for K–12 facilities and $2.7 million for administration costs.
The program builds off of a previous pilot program in which Tennessee had expanded school choice via an education savings account pilot program in several counties.
“We thank Gov. Bill Lee for his leadership in the area of family choice in education,” the statement continued. “The education scholarships already in place in Memphis, Chattanooga, and Nashville are making progress educating students looking for opportunities not available in public schools. This new program will make options available across the state.”
The expanded school choice program will kick off in the 2025-2026 school year with 20,000 scholarships available for Tennessee students. Half of the vouchers are set aside for students with disabilities, students who are already eligible for the existing ESA program, and eligible families whose household incomes are under the threshold of $173,000 for a family of four.
In the 2026-2027 school year, the bill would remove these income restrictions altogether, providing universal eligibility for all Tennessee students, but would prioritize currently enrolled students, low-income students, and public school students. The program will expand to meet demand, adding 5,000 universal eligibility scholarships each year that three-quarters of the available scholarships are awarded. Scholarships are applied to private school tuition and fees first, but the remaining funds may be used for other approved education-related expenses.
Tennessee Rep. John Ray Clemmons, an outspoken opponent of the act, criticized the program, saying it was designed to “primarily benefit wealthy families.”
But Lee said he believes in increasing access to private schools while improving public schools.
“I’ve long believed we can have the best public schools and give parents a choice in their child’s education, regardless of income or zip code,” Lee said in a Jan. 30 statement.
Notably, the act does not require a private school “to alter its creed, practices, admission policies, hiring policies, or curriculum in order to accept recipients” of the scholarships.
The legislation “does not expand the regulatory authority of this state” to further restrict private schools beyond what is required for the program to function. This is especially important for Catholic schools that often maintain archdiocesan-level requirements for their policies.
For instance, Catholic preschools in Colorado took legal action after they were unable to participate in Colorado’s Universal Preschool program due to the program’s policy requirements.
The Tennessee Catholic Conference noted that “Catholic schools have long been dedicated to serving the common good by providing an education that values not only academic excellence but also the holistic development of students.”
“Rooted in faith and guided by the principles of compassion, justice, and respect for human dignity, Catholic schools focus on the needs of students and families, striving to form individuals who will contribute positively to society,” the statement continued.
“The Education Freedom Act aligns with our mission to create an environment where all children can thrive, offering families more flexibility and access to the educational opportunities that best fit their values and aspirations,” the statement read. “We believe this law will help foster a more inclusive and equitable educational landscape, empowering parents to make choices that reflect their children’s needs and supporting schools in their efforts to provide the highest quality of education.”
“As Catholic schools continue to serve Tennessee communities, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the common good, working together with families, educators, and policymakers to ensure a future where every child can succeed in both faith and learning,” the conference concluded.
Religious freedom advocates at IRF Summit outline hopes for Trump’s term
Posted on 02/4/2025 21:25 PM (EWTN News - US Catholic News)

Washington D.C., Feb 4, 2025 / 16:25 pm (CNA).
Two weeks into Donald Trump’s second presidency, religious freedom advocates are urging the new administration to prioritize the promotion of religious liberty globally in its foreign policy agenda over the next four years.
The International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit kicked off Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C., with a panel discussion on how foreign aid, deterrence measures, and strong relations with foreign leaders can promote peace, security, and religious freedom throughout the world.
Several hundred people from dozens of countries who represent many religions are attending the conference to discuss ways in which faith leaders, lawmakers, and others can end religious persecution.
The conference’s speakers will include Vice President JD Vance, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, faith leaders from various religions, and religious freedom advocates.
The major faiths represented at the conference include Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism. Several smaller faiths who face persecution, including members of the Baha’i faith, the Yazidi faith, and the Falun Gong religious movement, also have a strong presence at the summit.
“[We are at] a moment of tremendous challenge and a moment of tremendous opportunity,” Annie Boyajian, the co-president of the human rights group Freedom House, said during the opening panel.
Boyajian was joined on the stage by Scott Flipse, the director of policy and media relations for the Congressional Executive Commission on China, and David Beasley, the former director of the United Nations’ World Food Programme.
Boyajian expressed cautious optimism about the new administration, saying Trump “did a tremendous job” on religious freedom during his first term as president. However, she also conveyed her concerns about the White House freezing grant programs from the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
“A lot of programs benefiting religious freedom and folks of all faiths have been … put on hold,” Boyajian said.
Boyajian urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “not to throw the baby out with the bathwater” when reassessing State Department grants and to expedite the review of paused grants that have religious liberty implications, emphasizing: “Lives really are on the line.”
“It is incumbent on us to help protect others who are targeted,” she said.
During the panel discussion, Flipse, the panel’s China expert, shared his confidence in Trump’s pursuit to “be a peacemaker” and argued that the defense of religious liberty is directly connected to the president’s security and peacemaking goals.
“[Creating] social stability between religious groups in places where there is conflict,” he said, helps “create paths for peace.”
Flipse underlined the importance of staffing the State Department, emphasizing “getting people into positions who know what your priorities are … [and] what common sense in foreign policy is going to look like.”
Similarly, Beasley, of the U.N.’s World Food Programme, said officials “can’t just come down with a hammer” when negotiating with foreign leaders who restrict religious liberty, adding: “You’ve got to have time to touch the heart.”
Beasley spoke about his negotiations with Taliban leaders in Afghanistan and Houthi leaders in Yemen when leading the World Food Programme, saying many of those leaders are “victims of their own propaganda a lot of the times” but that “respecting [their] religion” and appealing to religious leaders in their faith to discourage religious persecution is an effective strategy.
“I can’t tell you how many problems we’ve solved by just respecting someone else [and by giving] them a chance to be heard,” Beasley said.
However, he also said using deterrents like the threat of cutting off aid can also push leaders to scale back religious liberty persecution.
The IRF Summit gathers representatives from some 90 U.S. and international partner organizations, including The Catholic University of America, the Family Research Council, Alliance Defending Freedom International, and In Defense of Christians.
In conjunction with the 2025 summit, the partners also published a seven-page paper that listed some of the organizers’ top priorities for the Trump administration.
They urged the administration to guarantee humanitarian funds are targeted toward religious communities under persecution and to restore the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program with a prioritization for religious minorities. They also requested that the White House use foreign aid to promote religious freedom and impose stronger sanctions on governments that violate religious liberty.
The organizations also jointly called on the Trump administration to closely watch religious freedom in Syria as the country establishes its new government after rebels ousted former President Bashar al-Assad. They also urged close monitoring of religious freedom in Iran.
Federal government scrubs transgender language from websites
Posted on 02/4/2025 20:55 PM (EWTN News - US Catholic News)

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 4, 2025 / 15:55 pm (CNA).
Many federal government agencies have changed or removed transgender wording on their websites to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order on gender ideology.
Trump issued the order, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” on his first day in office. According to the White House, the policies are meant to “defend women’s rights and protect freedom of conscience by using clear and accurate language and policies that recognize women are biologically female and men are biologically male.”
The order specified: “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”
Since the order was issued multiple federal agencies have altered their websites. Here’s a look at some of the changes in website messaging since Trump took office.
The U.S. Department of State
A U.S. Department of State webpage offering travel advisories changed a listing from “LGBTGIA+ Travel Information” to “LGB Travel Information.”


The U.S. Department of State also removed the “X” gender marker on all consular forms, making it only possible to select “male” or “female.”
The website’s change coincides with a Trump administration directive to no longer process passport applications submitted using the “X” option.


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website includes a notice that it is being “modified to comply with President Trump’s executive orders.”
The site renamed an article called “Safer Food Choices for Pregnant People,” to “Safer Food Choices for Pregnant Women.”

The CDC also removed data specific to LGBT and gender ideology. This included a “fast facts” page with information regarding HIV among transgender people. The website also took down contraceptive guidance pages for health care providers.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons removed its “Transgender Offender Manual,” which explained how the bureau provided “gender-affirming services to transgender individuals.”
A search on its website now alerts users: “This content is temporarily unavailable as we implement the executive order on ‘Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.’”


The U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Census Bureau’s webpage on “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” has been removed. Other pages on its website, including “Mental Health Struggles Higher Among LGBT Adults Than Non-LGBT Adults in All Age Groups,” are also not currently active. According to site archives, both pages were available last week.


New Orleans NFL team denies it had input into archdiocesan clergy abuse list
Posted on 02/4/2025 20:25 PM (EWTN News - US Catholic News)

CNA Staff, Feb 4, 2025 / 15:25 pm (CNA).
The New Orleans Saints NFL team is denying that any members of its organization had input into, or oversight of, a list of credibly accused clergy in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, with the denial coming amid a media controversy over the football team’s role in helping the archdiocese manage the fallout from the abuse scandal.
A media firestorm erupted this week after leaked emails showed the extent of the Saints’ involvement in offering the archdiocese public relations help amid its reckoning with the clergy abuse crisis.
Saints owner Gayle Benson, herself a Catholic, had previously acknowledged in 2020 that team spokesman Greg Bensel had helped the archdiocese prepare for the 2018 release of its credibly accused clergy list.
Benson said at the time that Bensel had urged the archdiocese to “be honest, complete, and transparent” and “own the past wrongs and find a solution to correct them,” among other suggestions.
The Saints were “proud of the role we played and yes, in hindsight, we would help again to assist the archdiocese” in responding to the abuse crisis, Benson wrote in 2020.
Team stands by assistance amid email leak
Multiple news outlets this week reported that they had obtained emails showing the extent of the Saints’ work with the archdiocese.
The New York Times reported on Monday that it had acquired “more than 300 emails” showing “the Saints and the archdiocese working together to temper the fallout from a flood of sexual abuse accusations made against priests and Church employees.”
In a lengthy statement released on Saturday ahead of the news reports, James Gulotta — a senior lawyer with the Louisiana law firm Stone Pigman — said “nothing in the leaked emails” contradicts earlier statements from the football team or Benson.
“First and foremost, no member of the Saints organization condones or wants to cover up the abuse that occurred in the Archdiocese of New Orleans,” the statement said, calling the abuse “a terrible fact.”
Benson’s support for the Church is “unwavering,” the statement said, though she “has no intention of donating funds to the archdiocese to pay for settlements with abuse victims and she has not done so.”
The emails reportedly show Bensel working to ensure “positive media coverage” for the archdiocese amid the release of the list, including writing talking points for Archbishop Gregory Aymond.
Media reports also said the leaked emails showed Bensel had at one point communicated with New Orleans District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro. Bensel allegedly indicated that the exchange with Cannizzaro “allowed us to take certain people off the list.”
In the Saturday statement, Gulotta said that “no Saints employee had any responsibility for adding or removing any names from [the credibly accused clergy] list or any supplemental list.”
“Nor did any Saints employee offer any input, suggestions, or opinions as to who should be included or omitted from any such lists,” the statement said. “Any suggestion that any Saints employee had any role in removing anyone from the archdiocese’s published lists of credibly-accused clergy is categorically false.”
Bensel “did not participate in the conversation with Mr. Cannizzaro,” the statement continued, and the spokesman “has no firsthand knowledge of what was said by anyone during the conversation or in any communication between the archdiocese and the district attorney’s office.”
The Saturday release echoes Benson’s statement from 2020 in which she asserted that “no one associated with our organizations made recommendations or had input on the individual names of those disclosed on the list.”
The New Orleans Archdiocese has been dealing with fallout from the abuse crisis for years. The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020, with Aymond pointing to financial pressure from clergy sex abuse claims as the driving force behind the reorganization.
In 2023 the archdiocese said it would ask “parishes, schools, and ministries” for monetary contributions in order to protect diocesan assets during the bankruptcy proceedings.
In November 2024, the archdiocese said it would release personnel files of priests accused of sexual abuse amid ongoing negotiations of a major abuse settlement there.
Last September, the archdiocese had proposed a bankruptcy settlement as part of its plan for addressing sexual abuse by clergy, offering a $62.5 million payout to victims. The abuse survivors have requested approximately $1 billion.
Faith groups, Department of Justice back Catholic religious freedom case at Supreme Court
Posted on 02/4/2025 19:25 PM (EWTN News - US Catholic News)

CNA Staff, Feb 4, 2025 / 14:25 pm (CNA).
A diverse coalition of religious groups and the Department of Justice are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in favor of a Catholic charity group in a religious freedom dispute in the state of Wisconsin.
The high court in December agreed to hear a case brought by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Superior after the Wisconsin Supreme Court in March ruled the agency ineligible for a state religious tax exemption.
The state high court had said the charity’s service to the poor and those in need was not “typical” religious activity, in part because it serves and employs non-Catholics and does not “attempt to imbue program participants with the Catholic faith.” Those factors render it ineligible for that decades-old tax break, the court argued.
The case is expected to be heard before the U.S. Supreme Court this spring. The religious liberty law firm Becket, meanwhile — which is representing the Catholic charity — announced on Tuesday that a coalition of 11 “diverse faith groups” joined the Department of Justice and numerous legal scholars in backing the Catholic charity at the Supreme Court.
Among the religious groups supporting the Catholic charity are the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and the United Methodist Church.
The groups in their amicus brief argued that the Wisconsin high court had committed a “stark departure” from First Amendment case law in its ruling.
The autonomy of religious organizations “would be severely undermined if the First Amendment allowed the government to second-guess their decisions on matters of church government such as a religion’s organizational structure or employment or service decisions,” the brief states.
The First Amendment “forbids such judicial second-guessing of a religious organization’s internal decisions on how to structure itself and its work,” they said.
Also weighing in on the side of the Catholic charity was the U.S. Department of Justice, which argued that the Wisconsin Supreme Court had erred in ruling against the charity.
“Under the proper understanding of the religious-employer exemption,” the Catholic charity is “operated primarily for religious purposes” and is “entitled to the exemption,” the department said.
The federal government has “substantial interests in this case,” the department said, in that the final decision could address how the First Amendment applies to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act.
A group of 19 states as well as several religious liberty scholars also weighed in on the side of the Catholic charity.
The broad show of support “shows just how ludicrous Wisconsin’s position is,” Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, said in the group’s press release.
“As these vast swathes of society attest, courts should not be in the business of telling churches how to church. We’re confident the court will confirm that commonsense principle,” he said.
New York moves to protect transgender surgeries, abortion
Posted on 02/4/2025 17:40 PM (EWTN News - US Catholic News)

CNA Staff, Feb 4, 2025 / 12:40 pm (CNA).
Lawmakers and officials in New York state are implementing moving to protect transgender surgeries and abortion doctors following a new Trump administration directive and state-level pro-life efforts.
State orders hospitals to continue transgender procedures
State Attorney General Letitia James told New York hospitals they were required under state law to continue performing transgender procedures in spite of a recent directive from the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump last week issued an executive order restricting transgender surgeries and drugs for youth, directing that every federal agency that offers “research or educational grants” to medical institutions must ensure those institutions are not administrating transgender drugs to, or performing transgender procedures on, minors.
In a letter to hospitals on Monday, James acknowledged that order but said hospitals in the state are under “obligations to comply with New York state laws,” including laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of “gender identity.”
“Electing to refuse services to a class of individuals based on their protected status, such as withholding the availability of services from transgender individuals based on their gender identity or their diagnosis of gender dysphoria, while offering such services to cisgender individuals, is discrimination under New York law,” James wrote.
Trump’s executive order defines “children” as “individuals under 19 years of age.”
Protection for doctors prescribing abortion pills
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also announced on Monday that she had signed legislation allowing doctors who prescribe abortion pills to conceal their names on the prescriptions in question.
The law will allow doctors to opt to “print the name of their practice” on prescription labels rather than their personal names.
The measure gives “additional protections for doctors prescribing medications used to perform abortions to patients” in states where it may be illegal to dispense the deadly prescriptions. Multiple states have restricted abortion drugs in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s repeal in 2022.
The move comes after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit in December 2024 against an abortionist in New York, alleging she illegally provided abortion drugs to a woman in Texas.
Paxton’s suit alleged that Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter gave abortion drugs to a woman across state lines even though not licensed to practice medicine in Texas and the state prohibits the delivery of abortion drugs through the mail. Carpenter has since been indicted in Louisiana on similar charges.
Hochul in signing the bill into law said it would help make New York “a safe haven” for abortion doctors and women seeking abortions.
State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, meanwhile, said the measure would help “secure New York’s status as a sanctuary” for women seeking to abort their unborn children.
This is Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of February
Posted on 02/4/2025 16:55 PM (EWTN News - US Catholic News)

CNA Staff, Feb 4, 2025 / 11:55 am (CNA).
Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of February is for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
“When I was 17 years old, I was a student and was working. I had my own plans. I wasn’t thinking at all of being a priest. But one day, I went into the church and God was there, waiting for me,” the Holy Father recalled in a video released Feb. 4.
He reminded the faithful that “God still calls young people even today, sometimes in ways we can’t imagine.”
“Sometimes we don’t hear because we’re too busy with our own things, our own plans, even with our own things in the Church,” the pope added. “But the Holy Spirit also speaks to us through dreams and speaks to us through the concerns young people feel in their hearts.”
“If we accompany their journeys, we’ll see how God is doing new things with them. And we’ll be able to welcome his call in ways that better serve the Church and the world today,” he said.
“Let’s trust young people! And, above all, let’s trust God, for he calls everyone!”
He concluded with a prayer: “Let us pray that the ecclesial community might welcome the desires and doubts of those young people who feel called to live Jesus’ mission in life: either through the priestly life or religious life.”
Pope Francis’ prayer video is promoted by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which raises awareness of monthly papal prayer intentions.
Catholics back new pro-family agenda on technology and human flourishing
Posted on 02/4/2025 16:10 PM (EWTN News - US Catholic News)

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 4, 2025 / 11:10 am (CNA).
Several prominent Catholic thinkers and policy experts are backing a new pro-family policy agenda on the future of technology.
Ethics and Public Policy Center President Ryan T. Anderson, author and University of Notre Dame professor Patrick Deneen, and Princeton University’s Robert P. George are among the 28 signatories of the declaration on technology, “A Future for the Family: A New Technology Agenda for the Right.”
Published in First Things magazine on Jan. 29, the declaration serves as a mission statement for a broader initiative, “A Future for the Family,” sponsored by several prominent pro-family think tanks, including the Institute for Family Studies, the Ethics and Public Policy Center, the Foundation for American Innovation, and the Heritage Foundation.
“A new era of technological change is upon us. It threatens to supplant the human person and make the family functionally and biologically unnecessary. But this anti-human outcome is not inevitable,” the statement reads. “We must enact policies that elevate the family to a primary constituency of technological advancement.”
The statement offers 10 “guiding principles” for using technology to serve families instead of “military, bureaucratic, and corporate purposes.” Among them are calls to “respect the natural cycle of mortality,” to promote natural fertility methods, and to safeguard human sexuality from societal ills such as pornography, child sex abuse materials, and other AI-generated sexual content.
The statement’s authors also called for measures to combat addictive software on smart devices, especially for children, increased data protection in legislation, promotion of technologies “that enhanced human skill and improve worker satisfaction,” and more projects that encourage “cultivation of the natural world.”
“To undermine the family is to undo the future,” the statement concludes. “To strengthen the family is to fill the future with possibility, invention, and hope.”
Additional signatories include Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, University of Notre Dame law professor and Ethics and Public Policy Center fellow O. Carter Snead, and First Things editor R.R. Reno.
‘Jesus was not a yogi’: Bishop refutes theories spread by priest
Posted on 02/4/2025 13:00 PM (EWTN News - World Catholic News)

Madrid, Spain, Feb 4, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).
Spanish Bishop José Ignacio Munilla warned about the theories spread by Father Pablo d’Ors that suppose a “crazy interpretation of the Gospel.”
Opponents of assisted suicide renew fight in Delaware against proposed bill
Posted on 02/4/2025 12:00 PM (EWTN News - US Catholic News)

Baltimore, Md., Feb 4, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Opponents of assisted suicide in Delaware and the rest of the United States are mobilizing against the reconsideration of a bill in the First State that would legalize so-called “medical aid in dying” (MAID). Opponents warn that the proposed law would “corrupt [the medical] profession by encouraging doctors to be handmaidens to suicide.”
House Bill 140 was narrowly passed by Delaware’s legislature in 2024 but was vetoed by then-Gov. John Carney. However, his successor, Matt Meyer, voiced his support for the bill prior to his election as the state’s new chief executive. The legislation now has its best chance to become law due to the shift in the governor’s office.
Then-candidate Meyer voiced support for the bill on Facebook less than a week after Carney’s veto: “Everyone deserves the right to a compassionate and humane end to life’s journey when faced with a terminal illness. I stand with those who support medical autonomy and the right to die with dignity and, if elected, will make this law.” The Democratic politician repeated his position after taking the oath of office on Jan. 21, saying: “There was a bill that went through the state House and state Senate last year that I do support.”
Three days after Meyer took office, the Diocese of Wilmington posted an “Action Alert” stating: “Our opposition is rooted in the Church’s belief in the sanctity of life and the dignity of the individual, both of which are objective and nonnegotiable truths and principles of our faith.”
The statement added that the legislation, if passed, “would fundamentally change Delaware’s legal approach to medical ethics, medical practice, and health care decision-making.”
In an email to CNA, diocesan spokesman Robert Krebs indicated that the diocese is “disappointed that physician-assisted suicide is once again before the Delaware legislature. ... We invite Delawareans to contact their legislators and ask them to protect the most vulnerable in our community.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church condemns euthanasia as “morally unacceptable” (No. 2277). Pope Francis reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s condemnation of the practice in a message to an interfaith symposium on palliative care in May 2024: “I would point out that authentic palliative care is radically different from euthanasia, which is never a source of hope or genuine concern for the sick and dying.”
Last week, both supporters and opponents testified before the House Health and Human Development Committee. Delaware Right to Life president Moira Sheridan participated in the Jan. 26 hearing and warned of the dire consequences that would follow passage: “Just mentioning death as an option, which is required by this law if you have a terminal diagnosis ... makes one feel unwanted and is itself a subtle form of coercion.”
Sheridan later decried that committee’s move to squeeze public comments into the final 15 minutes of its two-hour hearing. Fewer than 10 people were able to testify.
The committee cleared H.B. 140 by an 8-1 vote after the hearing. The bill now moves on to consideration by the full House, which will likely approve the legislation. During the last session, the chamber passed it by a mostly partisan 21-16 vote.
Jessica Rodgers of the Patients Rights Action Fund decried the committee’s move, stating that “it is deeply disappointing that committee members chose to ignore disability rights activists and medical professionals who warned them of the dangers we see in states with assisted suicide policy.”
Past failures to legalize ‘medical aid in dying’
Since 2019, Delaware’s General Assembly has considered the controversial legislation four straight times. The measure would allow “a terminally ill individual who is an adult resident of Delaware to request and self-administer medication to end the individual's life in a humane and dignified manner” under certain conditions.
Each time, Democratic members of the Delaware General Assembly have introduced the bill without any Republican co-sponsors. Following its approval by the House last year, the state Senate conducted two votes on the proposed law. The chamber deadlocked on the first vote. However, a week later, the Senate passed the bill by the narrowest of margins — 11-10.
The legislation took another two months to reach the governor’s office. Last September, then-outgoing chief executive Carney vetoed H.B. 140. At the time, Carney underscored that he has “consistently opposed a state law that would allow physician-assisted suicide. ... I am fundamentally and morally opposed to ... enabling someone, even under tragic and painful circumstances, to take their own life.”
Currently, 10 states — California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington — along with the District of Columbia have MAID laws that allow physician-assisted suicide. So far this year, similar bills have been introduced in Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Hampshire (which, like Delaware, rejected it in 2024), and New York.