Suicide
If a person who is terminally ill asks a doctor to provide him with narcotics to hasten his death, is this a sin on the part of the person or on part of the doctor?
Suicide and assisting suicide are always mortal sins, if they are done freely and with full deliberation. Often, however, people who kill themselves are mentally ill and therefore may not be fully responsible for their acts. Also, it should be pointed out that one cannot deliberately give sedatives or narcotics to hasten death. However, these things can be used to relieve pain, even if they actually may have the effect of hastening death, so long as the easing of pain is not brought about through the death and the death is not what is intended. In these kinds of questions, it is always good to consult a learned priest who can explain such things as "the principle of double effect" and other moral and ethical matters that should influence our judgment.
Reprinted from November 21, 1997
What does the Catholic Church say about the work of Doctor Kevorkian?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church answers your question clearly in numbers 2324 and 2325: "Intentional euthanasia, whatever its forms or motives, is murder. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the loving God, his Creator. Suicide is seriously contrary to justice, hope and charity. It is forbidden by the fifth commandment." There is much more about these matters to be found in the Catechism and I recommend that you study these matters there.
Reprinted from April 11, 1997