14 Christian Organizations Fight to Overturn Delawares Assisted Suicide Law in Federal Court

Federal Court Reviews Whether Assisted Suicide Laws Endanger the Vulnerable and Violate Human Dignity

A coalition of 14 national medical, legal, and faith based organizations has filed a friend of the court brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, urging the court to strike down Delaware's End of Life Options Act.

The law, formally known as the Ron Silvero/Heather Block End of Life Options Act, took effect on January 1, 2026. It allows terminally ill patients with a prognosis of six months or less to request medication to end their lives.

Life Legal Defense Foundation and CatholicVote.org's Legal Fund are leading the challenge, joined by Alliance Defending Freedom, the Catholic Medical Association, the Christian Medical and Dental Association, Delaware Family Policy Council, and Delaware Right to Life.

This law erodes the intrinsic value of human life, especially for the most vulnerable, including the elderly and disabled.

Josh Mercer, Vice President of CatholicVote.org's Legal Fund, made this statement while outlining the coalition's concerns about the legislation.

Alexandra Snyder of Life Legal Defense Foundation emphasized that "true compassion means protecting life and standing with people in their suffering."

The brief contends that physician assisted suicide undermines a foundational principle of American law: the government's duty to defend life, not facilitate its destruction. It warns that jurisdictions legalizing assisted suicide often expand the practice over time, citing the Netherlands and Canada, where such laws have broadened to include minors, individuals with mental illness, and patients who are not terminally ill.

Carol Tobias, President of National Right to Life, called the lower court's procedural dismissal of an earlier challenge "deeply troubling."

Labeling assisted suicide as voluntary ignores the very real pressures faced by patients.

Disability advocates, including Daniese McMullin Powell of Delaware ADAPT, have also challenged the law in federal court, arguing it creates a "separate and unequal system" that discriminates against people with disabilities.

Christian Organizations Unite Against Expanding Assisted Suicide in Federal Appeals Court

The coalition's filing outlines compelling state interests in banning assisted suicide, including preserving human life, preventing suicide, protecting vulnerable populations from coercion or abuse, and maintaining ethical standards within the medical profession.

Data from other states supports their concerns. In California, deaths linked to physician assisted suicide rose from 111 in the first year of legalization to nearly 900 annually. The most common reason patients request the procedure is not pain, but the inability to engage in meaningful activities.

The Crusader's Opinion

When a society begins telling the sick and suffering that death is a reasonable "option," it has stopped valuing life and started measuring it by convenience. This is not compassion. This is abandonment dressed in clinical language. Christ did not look at the suffering and offer them a quicker exit. He healed. He wept. He stayed. The Church must do the same. Canada already euthanizes people with depression. The Netherlands kills children. If this is progress, then civilization itself is on life support. Every Christian must stand against this creeping culture of death before the "option" becomes the expectation.

Take Action

• Contact your federal representatives and urge them to oppose any legislation that expands assisted suicide. Find your representatives at congress.gov.
• Support Life Legal Defense Foundation's fight to protect the vulnerable at lifelegal.org.
• Donate to The Shepherd's Shield to support Christians defending the sanctity of life at www.TheShepherdsShield.org.
• Sign the National Right to Life petition opposing assisted suicide expansion at nrlc.org.
• Have a conversation with your pastor and church community about the Christian response to end of life issues and the importance of accompanying the suffering rather than abandoning them.