VATICAN CITY, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- A senior Vatican official Tuesday was critical of American Brittany Maynard's decision to opt for assisted suicide.
Maynard, 29, a brain cancer patient, legally terminated her life Sunday in Oregon, a state which allows terminally ill patients to end their lives.
Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, condemned the practice of assisted suicide, in an interview with the Italian news agency ANSA.
"We don't judge people, but the gesture in itself is to be condemned. Assisted suicide is an absurdity. Dignity is something different to putting an end to your own life."
Maynard's death brings scrutiny to the controversial laws in five states allowing physical-assisted suicides. She is one of 752 cases in Oregon since 1997; the median age of the patients is 71.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Oregon law in 2001, although assisted suicide is not protected by the Constitution and has recommended states rule on the matter individually.
Compassion & Choice, a non-profit advocacy group, has spent $7 million to protect patients' rights regarding suicide, and expanding those rights to other states.
