Thursday, September 13, 2012

Massachusetts religious communities divided over doctor-assisted suicide measure

Massachusetts religious communities divided over doctor-assisted suicide measure - News - Boston.com: In the broadest terms, the teachings of most forms of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam oppose ending life before natural death. Eight prominent Reform rabbis began circulating a letter to their colleagues Monday argu­ing in a gentle tone against the ballot question, which would allow a coherent patient who is expected to survive six months or less to ask a physician for life-ending medication. “Although Reform Judaism gives personal autonomy great weight, Judaism has always under­stood that life is a gift and that ultimately life belongs to God,” the letter says.

Opposition is not uniform. A few denominations, like the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, with about 22,000 members in Massachusetts, officially support the concept. The Unitarians and other mainline Protestant denominations typically do not take positions on specific state proposals.

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