LUXEMBOURG — The Alliance Defense Fund is mobilizing efforts to judicially challenge a Luxembourg assisted suicide law if passed by the country’s parliament. ADF-allied attorneys are willing to offer pro bono legal assistance to physicians willing to bring suit regarding the constitutionality of the law in the wake of efforts to strip the grand duke of his ability to enact or veto legislation in that country.
“Everyone deserves a chance to recover. The proposed legislation does not allow for that, and we believe it is unconstitutional,” said ADF Legal Counsel Roger Kiska, who is based in Europe. “We are prepared to go to court to challenge the law if Luxembourg’s parliament passes it.”
“Americans need to realize that the culture of death does not stay contained within foreign borders,” Kiska added. “American courts are increasingly pointing to the laws of foreign countries in their own decisions.”
The proposed law will allow doctors to kill patients diagnosed as “terminally ill” if the patient requests it and two doctors and a panel of “experts” agree. The Luxembourg Parliament is set to vote on the measure Dec. 18.
After Grand Duke Henri recently stated that he would refuse to sign the law for “reasons of conscience,” members of parliament threatened to amend Luxembourg’s constitution to remove his veto power. Henri said that he would support the amendment and then sign the measure if passed since it would no longer indicate his moral approval of the law.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
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