I hate it when people write articles about friends and relatives to prove a point. I swore I would never do that. However, I am breaking my rule with this post. I think physician-assisted suicide is a timely subject in that Vermont just became the fourth state to legalize it and California could well be next on the list of states to fall.

The overwhelming need for legalized assisted suicide for the terminally---or almost-terminally ill is a myth. I am convinced that our survival instinct is so strong that the only thing that trumps it is love. Even those in the final stages of a terminal disease do not want to die or to leave their loved ones. But love is so powerful an emotion that they will consent to end their lives if they believe it to be best for those they love. That is why acceptance of assisted suicide laws is so insidious. It pits our God-given survival instinct against love, or in this case, a misguided duty to die for our loved ones.  

My brother-in-law is in the final stages of ALS. The disease is moving so quickly that he has barely had time to assimilate the fact that he has it. Hospice was called in today to evaluate how to help my sister with her husband's basic needs. He knows his wife needs help, but his heart-breaking question when hospice departed: Does this mean I'm going to die?

Last year at this time, Congress was preparing to write a new Farm Bill. You may have heard that Congress is still preparing to do so! When the House of Representatives failed to move the Farm Bill along by the end of last year, House and Senate leaders chose to extend the Farm Bill until this September.

I’m happy to report that the Agriculture committees of both the Senate and the House have now marked-up their respective bills. The full Senate is expected to take up the bill immediately, and the House will reportedly do so by this summer. As people of faith, we need to weigh in and voice our concerns.

The U.S. Farm Bill – despite its very abbreviated title – is much more than farm programs. This comprehensive legislation establishes how our nation cares for hungry families (both domestically and internationally), supports growth in our rural communities, promotes renewable energy, encourages land, water and wildlife conservation, and yes, does assist farmers and ranchers.

That astounding question came from Assemblyman Wagner (R-Irvine) well into a hearing of proposed legislation, AB 154, in the California Assembly Health on April 23, 2013.

Abortion-on-demand is legal in California, but no law or change in the law can make it moral or good. We at the California Catholic Conference, the public policy office for the Catholic bishops of California, believe in the dignity of all human life—born or unborn—and strive to ameliorate the effects of the current law when at all possible. In the case of AB 154, we oppose the proposed legislation because we believe that women’s health will be put at risk with a lowered standard of care.

Presenting her bill, long-time “reproductive rights” activist and Assemblywoman Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), announced she was addressing a critical public health need by increasing “abortion access” for the women of California. Because there are fewer and fewer physicians who do abortions, Assemblywoman Atkins’ proposed solution would be to expand the pool of abortionists by training nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and physician assistants to perform first trimester abortions. This change in medical scope of practice was safe, she assured her fellow legislators, because of an American Journal of Public Health report by the UC San Francisco research scientist who designed and ran a five-year pilot project training these non-physicians. The study showed a less than two percent “complication” rate, so the researcher deemed the lowered standard of care safe enough. But the study actually showed that the mid-level clinicians reported complications at twice the number as the control group of physicians performing the same procedure.

Edward "Ned" Dolejsi, is the executive director of the California Catholic Conferne and is in Washington, DC for the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) hearing on Prop 8.  Here are his reports:

Tuesday, March 26, 10:30 PDT - There was quite a March for Marriage this morning and early afternoon in DC. I am not sure what the press will report, but the estimates from organizers are that about 15,000 people showed up on Capitol Mall from as far away as New York and other states like North Carolina. A prayerful program emerged with good speakers and then a spirited march to the US Supreme Court building. Along the way the chants were in Spanish and English reflecting the diversity of the crowd. The opponents were already there and did not behave very appropriately, but the reports were that supporters of traditional marriage were peaceful, and again,prayerful.

We’re well into the Year of Faith now, just passing the four month mark, so this is a good time to evaluate how we’re doing in fulfilling Pope Benedict’s call for us to “rediscover a taste for feeding ourselves on the Word of God, faithfully handed down by the Church, and on the bread of life.” (Porta Fidei) The faithful are supposed to be engaged in “sincerely searching for the ultimate meaning and definitive truth of their lives and of the world.” We’re called to a joyful and enthusiastic encounter with Christ.

Specifically, we’re supposed to study the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the texts of the Second Vatican Council. The idea is to transform what we believe—our Catholic faith—into what we live in a deeper way. That’s what the Holy Father means by “feeding ourselves.”

So—how are you doing?

I’d like to share a few ideas that may be helpful if you’ve gotten off to a slow start in personally observing the Year of Faith, or to ramp up your observance if you already have some activities under way.

As we move beyond the joy of Christmas season we can still take heart during this winter season in retelling the story of how God became incarnate. The “good news” of that birth wipes away the disheartening news of politics and other depressing reports of our world today. Knowing that Jesus came to this world to offer His life to achieve our redemption, this time of year reminds us to follow His way.

On behalf of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference (www.ncrlc.com), I can say that our members ground themselves in the “good news” that life can be lived according to Christ’s ways that are both liberating for farmers and essential for families and communities.

Many of our farming members believe that God has called them to participate in the awesome task of growing food in accordance with the workings of Creation. They also recognize, I believe, that they depend to some extent on the support of public policies that help them as producers and stewards of the land.

I know they worry about the vagaries of the weather, but I often wonder if they worry more about the uncertainties of markets -- and whether they will have any kind of “safety net” through government programs.