Pro-Life Groups Fight to Overturn Delaware Assisted Suicide Law

A coalition of pro-life groups has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, urging the court to reject Delaware’s assisted suicide law and reaffirm the government’s duty to protect human life.

The brief was joined by a coalition of 14 national medical, legal and faith-based organizations, including physicians, bioethicists, disability advocates and religious leaders.

The CatholicVote.org Legal Fund partnered with Life Legal Defense Foundation to file the brief alongside Alliance Defending Freedom, the Catholic Medical Association, Christian Medical & Dental Association, Delaware Family Policy Council, and Delaware Right to Life, according to a March 11 press release from the organization.

“Life is a fundamental, God-given right that must be protected by our laws and society,” Josh Mercer, vice president of CatholicVote.org Legal Fund, stated in the release. “The End of Life Options Act is a dangerous step that erodes the intrinsic value of human life, especially for the most vulnerable among us — the elderly, disabled, and terminally ill. We are proud to stand with our partners in urging the court to reverse this harmful legislation.”

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“Human life is a fundamental constitutional right that states have a solemn duty to protect,” the brief explains.

“Compassion never means abandoning someone to death,” said Alexandra Snyde of the Life Legal Defense Foundation. “True compassion means protecting life and standing with people in their suffering—especially when they are most vulnerable.”

Delaware’s law took effect Jan. 1 after a federal court dismissed an earlier challenge brought by disability and patient advocacy groups on procedural grounds, without addressing the law’s impact on medical ethics, disability rights or equal protection. The plaintiffs had argued the measure creates a two-tiered system of care that offers suicide instead of life-affirming treatment to some patients.

National Right to Life President Carol Tobias called the December dismissal “deeply troubling for anyone concerned about the protection of vulnerable patients.”

“The fact that a court dismissed this case on procedural grounds does not erase the serious moral, ethical, and public policy dangers posed by assisted suicide laws—especially for people with disabilities, the elderly, and those facing serious illness,” Tobias said.

She added: “Labeling assisted suicide as ‘voluntary’ ignores the very real pressures faced by patients who may feel like a burden, lack adequate access to palliative care, or fear prolonged suffering without sufficient support. True compassion does not involve helping someone end their life. It means standing with them, treating their pain, and affirming their inherent dignity until natural death.”

The Life Legal Defense Foundation’s brief warns that assisted suicide laws often expand beyond initial limits for the terminally ill, citing data from other jurisdictions showing sharp increases in deaths after legalization. It argues that the most common reason patients request the procedure is the inability to engage in meaningful activities, not pain, and that true compassion requires protecting life rather than facilitating its end.

The coalition’s filing comes as the appeal of the earlier court ruling continues. The pro-life groups say they will continue litigation and advocacy to defend the sanctity of human life nationwide.

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