Legislation to permit doctor-prescribed suicide has been introduced repeatedly in the Pennsylvania legislature over the past decade. Current proposed bills include SB 570 (Boscola) “End of Life Options Act” and HB 1109 (Hill-Evans) “Compassionate Aid in Dying.”
If history tells us anything, it is this: once progressive lawmakers succeed in neighboring states, pressure quickly follows here at home. And with Democrats firmly controlling the Pennsylvania House, it is only a matter of time before legislation is brought up for a vote.
This is the moment for awareness. This is the moment to speak clearly. And this is the moment to be prepared.
A Growing Threat, Disguised as Compassion
Physician-assisted suicide, often rebranded as “medical aid in dying,” allows doctors to prescribe high-dose lethal drugs (really, poison) so patients can end their own lives. Supporters claim it is about dignity. They claim it is about compassion. They claim it is about choice.
But when you look closely, the only option the law truly expands is death.
As Michael Geer, President of Pennsylvania Family Institute, warned in this week’s Family Update radio broadcast:
“We must also respond to the growing threat of so-called ‘Physician Assisted Suicide’—now legal in a growing number of states, and racking up a terrible and tragic death toll.”
New York has now legalized it. New Jersey adopted it in 2019. Delaware’s law goes into effect this year. Maryland has come dangerously close repeatedly. Pennsylvania is likely next on the list.
What Other States Reveal About the Real Consequences
When legislators argue that “our neighbors are doing it,” they rarely talk about what actually happens after these laws pass.
In a March 2025 opinion piece in The Baltimore Sun, Maryland Family Institute President Jeff Trimbath made the stakes unmistakably clear:
“Physician-assisted suicide is not the compassionate choice. It endangers the weak and vulnerable, corrupts the practice of medicine, undermines the sanctity of human life, and weakens family and societal commitments to care for one another.”
He highlighted documented cases where insurance companies refused to cover life-sustaining treatment while offering to pay for lethal drugs instead. When cost enters the equation, “choice” quickly becomes pressure.
That is not hypothetical. It is already happening in states where PAS is legal.
What the Data Shows, and Why Christians Should Pay Attention
Sociologist D. Paul Sullins, Ph.D., a Catholic priest, a retired professor of sociology at the Catholic University of America, and a member of the Maryland Family Institute’s Academic Advisory Board, studied the impact of physician-assisted suicide laws in Maryland. He warns that these policies do not operate in a vacuum.
His research (available on marylandfamily.org) shows that PAS laws:
- Concentrate lethal prescriptions in the hands of a very small number of doctors
- Expose vulnerable patients to subtle pressure at moments of fear or despair
- Shift end-of-life decisions away from family, pastors, and faith communities
- Normalize suicide as a medical solution rather than a tragedy to be prevented
In Oregon, the first state to legalize PAS, just 32 doctors accounted for 60 percent of all assisted suicide prescriptions in a single year, with one physician alone responsible for over 50 deaths. That pattern reveals something important. PAS does not become a carefully regulated medical practice. It becomes a niche activity carried out by a few willing participants.
Sullins warns that once the state authorizes death, safeguards erode quickly, and trust in medicine declines. His full analysis outlines why PAS undermines the moral foundation of care and endangers those already at risk.
This Is Not About Pain
One of the most common myths is that PAS is necessary to relieve unbearable physical suffering.
But studies consistently show that requests for assisted suicide are driven far more by fear, loneliness, depression, and loss of control than by unmanageable pain.
That matters because:
- Depression is treatable
- Fear deserves compassion, not a prescription for death
- No one should feel like a burden whose life is expendable
As followers of Christ, we affirm something radically different from the culture. Life has value because it is given by God, not because it is easy, efficient, or convenient.
Why Pennsylvania Must Be Ready Now
Wherever PAS legislation has been introduced and a state is targeted, it can move quickly without concerted opposition from those of us who stand up to it.
That is why education must happen before the bill is up for a vote, not after. Low-information voters and even well-meaning believers often struggle to articulate why assisted suicide feels wrong beyond a gut reaction.
You deserve better tools than that.
You deserve clear reasons. You deserve truth spoken with compassion. You deserve confidence when these conversations arise with family and friends.
Join Us: Value at the End of Life
To equip Pennsylvanians for what lies ahead, Pennsylvania Family Institute and the Church Ambassador Network of PA are hosting a free webinar:
Value at the End of Life: A Webinar on Physician-Assisted Suicide
- Understand the truth behind the euphemisms, from medical experts
- Understand how PAS laws take root culturally and politically
- Respond to common talking points with clarity and conviction
- Affirm life, dignity, and hope at the most vulnerable moments
- Speak faithfully in a culture that urgently needs principled voices
Whether you are a pastor, parent, student, or concerned citizen, this conversation matters.
▶️ Register today at pafamily.org and invite someone you know to join you.
Pennsylvania has a choice. Silence now, or courage before it is too late.
