Written by Taimur Mirza, MD, CMD, Chief Medical Officer, ArchCare
As the possibility of a physician-assisted suicide bill advancing in New York grows more real, the debate around end-of-life care has intensified. Supporters argue that individuals facing terminal illness should have the right to end their suffering on their own terms. But this legislation raises urgent questions about what true compassion and dignity look like at the end of life — and whether our healthcare system is doing enough to accompany people through their final days with meaning, support, and hope.
In the heart of this debate stands ArchCare, the healthcare ministry of the Archdiocese of New York. Its mission? To provide life-affirming, faith-based care to those most vulnerable — especially in their final moments.
ArchCare isn’t just a medical model — it has a profound philosophy of presence, accompaniment, and love.
A Mission Rooted in Human Dignity
At the core of ArchCare’s work is a simple yet powerful belief: that every human life has intrinsic worth, from conception to natural death. This belief informs every element of our approach to end-of-life care.
Rather than seeing suffering as something to be escaped through death, ArchCare walks with patients and families through it — with comprehensive palliative care, spiritual support, and an emphasis on the relational aspects of dying that can be among the most transformative of human experiences.
People don’t want to die; they want the suffering to stop. Our job is to address that suffering — not by ending life, but by showing that even in dying, they are not alone and not abandoned.
A Holistic Alternative
ArchCare’s model includes palliative medicine, hospice services, pastoral care, mental health support, and deep coordination with families. The goal is not only to manage physical symptoms but to attend to the emotional and spiritual needs of each individual.
We often find that patients who at first express interest in hastening death change their minds when they feel seen, heard, and respected. When pain is managed and isolation is met with real human connection, hope re-emerges.
A Countercultural Witness
In a society that prizes autonomy and control, ArchCare offers a countercultural witness: that vulnerability is not something to be eliminated, but embraced. That dying is not a medical failure, but a sacred transition.
The Catholic Church’s moral teaching on the sanctity of life affirms that every person — no matter their condition — deserves love, care, and accompaniment until natural death. Physician-assisted suicide, by contrast, risks creating a system where the most vulnerable feel pressure to end their lives to avoid being a burden.
There is deep wisdom in the Church’s insistence that true dignity is not self-defined through choice alone, but revealed through relationship, compassion, and presence.
A Story of Hope
One of the most moving testimonies I heard was from a family whose mother had entered ArchCare’s hospice program after a long illness.
“We were terrified,” the daughter said. “We didn’t know what to expect. But what we found was peace. My mother was not just cared for — she was cherished. We were never rushed, never alone. In the end, she died surrounded by love, prayer, and music. It was painful, yes, but also beautiful. We’ll never forget it.”
Stories like this remind us what’s at stake in this debate.
Choosing Compassion, Not Abandonment
As New York legislators consider whether to legalize physician-assisted suicide, it’s critical that we ask not only what people are asking for, but why. Are they truly choosing death — or are they crying out for relief from pain, loneliness, and fear?
ArchCare offers a model of what real end-of-life care can look like when we refuse to see death as the only solution to suffering. It is a model built on faith, yes — but also on something universal: the human longing to be held, not hurried; to be accompanied, not abandoned.
In the words of one caregiver: “We can’t always cure. But we can always care.”