Euthanizing Elderly Debated at U.N.

Diana L. Banister

(ZENIT News – Center for Family and Human Rights / NY, 13.11.2026).- The Holy See challenged the U.N. Human Rights Council’s working group on the elderly to reject attempts to validate euthanasia and assisted suicide in a new legally binding treaty that is being drafted over the next two years.

The second session of the U.N.’s newly created Intergovernmental Working Group on Human Rights of Older Persons was held in Geneva, Switzerland, the last week of October 2026 and pitted the Vatican against numerous member states and non-governmental organizations that advocate for euthanasia and other radical social policies.

“The instrument should reaffirm the equal right to life of older persons until natural death and protection against violence, abuse, exploitation, neglect, and abandonment,” said Msgr. Riyyan Chaves Mendoza, First Secretary at the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations. “No provision concerning autonomy should be construed as recognizing a so-called right to euthanasia or assisted suicide.”

“Autonomy” and “death with dignity” have been the euphemistic terms used in campaigns to pass assisted suicide measures targeting the elderly and championing the taking of one’s life as a dignified option and a way not to burden families with difficult caregiving decisions and costs. These campaigns have been pushed heavily by progressive European countries as well as the World Health Organization and non-governmental organizations (NGO) at the U.N.

“There is a right to die in peace and to face death in an autonomous manner. There is a right to die in dignity,” stated the representative of the Center for Global Non-Killing at the October 29 meeting.

Eleven countries, primarily in Europe, have passed assisted suicide laws in attempts to save money and resources required to care for the elderly. France just legalized euthanasia this year but failed to adopt sufficient safeguards for the disabled, elderly, or the mentally impaired. The United Kingdom’s bill failed in September.

Canada originally passed its “Medical Aid in Dying” (MAID) law in 2016, and in 2024 it accounted for 5.1% of all deaths in Canada, with half of those cases “whose natural deaths were not reasonably foreseeable.”

While the Vatican pressed for palliative care, respect for the elderly and support for the families who care for them, others advocated for radical interventions for aging individuals such as sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI).

“Older persons must have access to ‘sexual and reproductive health services… with full respect for their autonomy,” said the representative for the U.N. Population Fund.  The Development Justice for Older Persons NGO insisted the treaty include the “definition for transgender rights” and “sexual health rights.”

Mexico suggested the treaty include “reproductive health” among the rights of the elderly. Spain advocated for “equal treatment and respect for sexual orientation and gender identity.” Pakistan pushed for older women’s “protection from violence based on sexual orientation or gender identity.”

“The foundation of our deliberations must be the inherent and equal dignity of every human person,” stated the Holy See representative. “Principles drawn from other documents should, in our view, be recalled only when they reflect genuine and sustained consensus among States.”

The dichotomy of views expressed during the four days of deliberations suggests building consensus on key topics will be part of the next session to be held in July 2027.

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