Pope Slams 'Right to Die' Movement

Pope Francis may be more welcoming to gay members and invite rocker Patti Smith to perform at the Vatican, but he's not breaking away from all of the old standards quite yet. In response to Brittany Maynard's very public decision to die after she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, the Pope denounced euthanasia. Calling it a “sin against God,” he specifically referenced Maynard. “This woman (took her own life) thinking she would die with dignity, but this is the error,” he said, calling her death “reprehensible.” He also called assisted suicide “an absurdity” and that claiming euthanasia lets people die with dignity creates a “false sense of compassion.”