Contact: Alexandra Snyder, Life Legal Defense Foundation, 212-717-7371

NAPA, Calif., Nov. 16, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Pastor Rick Warren and Bishop Robert Barron will be featured speakers in a Webcast event on Thursday to discuss why assisted suicide is wrong and how to cope with difficult end of life circumstances in a way that respects human dignity and the sanctity of life. The Life Legal Defense Foundation is hosting the Webcast, which will be moderated by lawyer, author, and radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt.

Pastor Warren is the founder and senior pastor of Saddleback Church. Bishop Barron is an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles. Both leaders have been outspoken about their opposition to assisted suicide laws.

Life Legal filed a lawsuit earlier this year to challenge California's assisted suicide law, the End of Life Option Act. The California Catholic Conference of Bishops has formally endorsed the lawsuit, stating that the End of Life Option Act "fosters the unequal and inhumane treatment of an extremely vulnerable group of our citizens solely because they suffer from a life-threatening illness."

"Pastor Warren and Bishop Barron understand the difficulties faced by those who have received a terminal diagnosis and how important it is that society not abandon the vulnerable in their time of greatest need," said Alexandra Snyder, Executive Director of the Life Legal Defense Foundation. "In the short time that assisted suicide has been legal in California, we have already seen cases where people are pressured to choose suicide over more costly life-sustaining treatment."

Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, a psychiatrist and Director of Medical Ethics at UC Irvine School of Medicine, will share his concerns about the lack of patient safeguards inherent in assisted suicide laws. Stephen Larson, a former federal judge and partner in the Los Angeles firm of Larson O'Brien LLP, and Katie Short, Vice President of Legal Affairs for Life Legal, will discuss Life Legal's lawsuit seeking to overturn California's End of Life Option Act.

The Webcast will be aired on Thursday, November 17 at 6:00 pm Pacific. Listeners can register at lifelegaldefense.org.

About Life Legal Defense Foundation
Life Legal Defense Foundation was established in 1989, and is a nonprofit organization composed of attorneys and other concerned citizens committed to giving helpless and innocent human beings of any age, and their advocates, a trained and committed voice in the courtrooms of our nation. For more information about the Life Legal Defense Foundation, visit www.lldf.org.