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Two Catholic organizations are calling on physicians to urge the American Medical Association to maintain its current stance against physician-assisted suicide. The call from the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Catholic Bioethics Center comes as the A.M.A.’s Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs gathers information to “outline the current landscape” on physician-assisted suicide. Representatives of the Catholic organizations are concerned that this effort by the association is a first step toward taking a neutral stance on assisted suicide, which could open the door to wider acceptance of such a practice. Greg Schleppenbach, associate director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, also urged nonphysicians to contact the A.M.A. and share their concerns. “We all have a stake in the medical professions not adopting assisted suicide,” he said.

This article appears in October 31 2016.