Pope Leo XIV Criticizes Medically Assisted Suicide in France

During a visit to medical facilities in Lourdes, France, Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for an end to medically assisted suicide, characterizing it as a form of "false compassion." Addressing a large crowd after celebrating Mass, the Pope emphasized the dignity of all human lives and urged the rejection of practices that hasten death.

"It is precisely in the name of this inalienable dignity of the human person that we must reject the temptation to cause death under the guise of false compassion," the Pope stated in French. "It is impossible to regard causing death as something normal. What is legal is not necessarily moral." He appealed to the healthcare community gathered in Lourdes, a site known for its association with healing and hope, to remember that their vocation is to care for suffering individuals, not to eliminate them.

The pontiff also asserted that decisions about life, whether for an embryo or an elderly person, should not be determined by "laboratory algorithms," adding that "medicine must never become the servant of programmed death."

Assisted suicide is legal in several Western nations, including France. The practice has drawn criticism, notably in Canada, where its application has been widespread. The family of an 83-year-old Canadian woman, Brigitte Stegemann, recently raised concerns after her death through the country's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program. Her granddaughter, Brigitte Kranendonk, reported that Stegemann had initially rejected the idea of MAID when it was offered due to her declining health and stomach cancer diagnosis. Kranendonk recounted that during a second MAID assessment, the doctor used vague language, avoiding words like "death" or "dying." When Kranendonk intervened, stating her grandmother did not understand, the doctor reportedly told Stegemann, "We’re going to make sure you won’t have any more pain." Days before the procedure, Stegemann reportedly told her granddaughter that she had "made a mistake," expressing uncertainty about her consent to the procedure.