JRS statement on Assisted Voluntary Euthanasia

Jul 4, 2025

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Dying with dignity is not about deciding when to die, but about making sure every person is cared for, given adequate pain management, and never made to feel like a burden.

Accompanying refugees at the end of their lives, we have witnessed first-hand the excruciating end-of-life pain faced by many patients.

An authentically humane response to this suffering does not require the introduction of Assisted Voluntary Euthanasia (AVE). It does, however, require the full development of Malta’s palliative care system, which, to date, remains largely inadequate and under-resourced. Many people in Malta still die without proper support, not because they choose to, but because access to quality palliative care remains unequal and uneven.

For some migrants, it goes beyond palliative care. Over the years, we have witnessed the impossible struggle faced by many migrants to access the curative care they need to treat severe and life-threatening medical conditions like cancer. Ironically, with the introduction of AVE, we would be offering a “dignified death” to people who were denied the right to live with dignity.

We are deeply concerned that the introduction of AVE, even with the proposed safeguards, risks normalising death as a solution to suffering, whilst entrenching the idea that some lives are no longer worth living.

Rather than equating the profound distress faced by many patients at the end of their life with a burden which needs to be eliminated, let us collectively respond to this suffering with faithful accompaniment and generous compassion. Let us also work to ensure that our healthcare system is just, truly accessible to everyone, and that it does not let people down, whether at the end of their life or at any point during their lifetime.

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