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Catholic Medical Ethics

Many parishioners at St. Thomas More work in many different fields of medicine, and experience daily ethical questions. This channel is intended to  be a source of  reliable information and advice on  Medical Ethics from a Catholic viewpoint. It will include information on local lectures, discussions and events, and links to teaching documents from the Vatican, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Diocese of Raleigh and Catholic Universities and Publishers.

Please email suggestions and comments to Jim Hynes, Director of Elementary and Adult Faith Formation.

Health Care Reform

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has created guidance for Catholics on the issue of Health Care Reform.Their full policy is available on their web site at Health Care Reform.

The Bishops support health care reform, and say that it should include:

  • a truly universal health policy with respect for human life and dignity
  • access for all with a special concern for the poor and inclusion of legal immigrants
  • pursuing the common good and preserving pluralism including freedom of conscience and variety of options
  • restraining costs and applying them equitably across the spectrum of payers

Read Letter to Congress to Help Reform Health Care, Protect Human Life and Dignity (PDF)
Bishop William Murphy, July 17, 2009

Get Involved

Join the efforts of a local group funded by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development that is working on health care reform. In Raleigh Diocese contact 

Sr. Joan Jurski, O.S.F.
Office of Peace and Justice/Respect Life
715 Nazareth Street
Raleigh, NC 27606
Phone: (919) 821-9751
Fax: (919) 821-9705
 

Call your members of Congress (use the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to contact your Representative or Senators) and tell them health care reform should:

  1. Include health care coverage for all people from conception until natural death, and continue the federal ban on funding for abortions;
  2. Include access for all with a special concern for the poor;
  3. Pursue the common good and preserve pluralism, including freedom of conscience; and
  4. Restrain costs and apply costs equitably among payers.

Further Information

"Genuine health care reform that protects the life and dignity of all is a moral imperative and a vital national obligation" - Bishop William F. Murphy

 October 30, 2009


Dear Catholic Voice North Carolina Participant:

The Catholic Bishops of the United States have issued an urgent Call to Action regarding the health care reform debate that is currently underway in the United States Congress. 

The Bishops have concluded that the three bills under consideration are seriously flawed in the following areas: 1) mandating the use of federal funds to pay for abortions (which is contrary to our current federal law), 2) forcing health care workers and Catholic medical institutions to perform medical procedures in violation of their religious conscience and 3) providing adequate access to health care for the poor and immigrants.

We invite you to visit the
Bishops' website that is dedicated to this issue and to contact your elected representatives as soon as possible. You can do so by going to the Bishops' website or by visiting your diocesan website.

Raleigh

Thank you
Catholic Voice North Carolina

 

Resources for Catholic Teaching on Medical Ethics

Dignitas Personae (The Dignity of a Person)

An Instruction from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) on ethical issues arising from biomedical research, provides guidance on how to respect human life and human procreation in our heavily scientific age, published in English on December 12, 2008.

Read an article about this document from The Good Steward newsletter

As background to this document, here are several of its precursors:

Donum Vitae - "The Gift of Life" from the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 1987
Evangelium Vitae - "The Gospel of Life" from Pope John Paul II, 1995
Humanae Vitae - "On the Transmission of Human Life" from Pope Paul VI, 1968

Issues

What's New?

Abortion
Aging
Church Documents on Life Issues
Cloning
Contraception
Disabilities
End-of-Life issues
Fetal Research
Health Care Policy
In-Vitro Fertilization
On Fertility Treatments: "Life Giving Love in an Age of Technology"
Natural Family Planning
Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services - from the US Bishops
"Women Deserve Better" Campaign

Institutions

National Catholic Bioethics Center
Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University
Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture
Center for Health Care Ethics - St. Louis University
Catholic Health Association
Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care
Guild of Catholic Doctors - England and Wales
Catholic Medical Association - of the USA and Canada
Southern Cross Bioethics Institute - Australia
Institute of Catholic Bioethics - St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia

Articles

Medical Ethics - Lectures and Events

No upcoming events

Last Updated: February 18 2010