Will a Catholic hospital refer me for medical aid in dying?

No. Catholic facilities do not provide medical aid in dying, including in states where it is legal, and the seventh edition of the Ethical and Religious Directives added a provision on referral in 2025.

Directive 27 states that "if a patient or a patient's surrogate requests a medical intervention that is not in accord with Catholic teaching, health care professionals may not refer the patient to another professional for the purpose of obtaining that intervention." It continues: "If a patient or a patient's surrogate requests a transfer of care to another health care professional or facility that he or she has independently chosen, health care professionals should facilitate a safe transfer of care in compliance with legal and professional requirements."

In practice that means you may need to identify an outside provider yourself, and then ask for records and a safe handover. If you are working to a timeline, start that early rather than late.

It is also worth knowing your hospital's affiliation before a crisis rather than during one. Many Catholic systems operate under secular-sounding names, and patients often find out partway through treatment. The admissions office can tell you directly.