When Religious Leaders Play Doctor

Full page ad in the Reno Gazette Journal from faith leaders.

In a display of concern for suffering patients they'll never meet, local religious leaders have taken out a full-page RGJ ad celebrating their victory over terminal patients' bodily autonomy. How generous of them to volunteer others for excruciating pain.

These moral authorities—who presumably won't be at the bedside holding the hands of cancer patients in agony—have decided their theological interpretations should override personal choice in life's most intimate moments. It's remarkable how their compassion extends to unborn fetuses but seems to expire once those humans develop terminal illnesses and unbearable suffering.

While Governor Lombardo aligns with their position on AB 346, perhaps the real question is: Why do religious leaders believe their spiritual convictions should dictate how complete strangers experience their final days? Their full-page proclamation asserts that dignity requires suffering.

One has to wonder: If these religious authorities found themselves facing terminal agony, would they maintain their rigid stance, or might they suddenly discover nuance in their sacred texts? Until then, they'll continue prescribing heroic suffering—for others.

Assembly Bill No. 346.