bioethical and medical sexual issues

DIRECT or INDIRECT ABORTION

A direct abortion is a deliberate action intended to expel a live embryo or a live but non-viable fetus. Direct abortion is condemned by the Church as an intrinsic evil.

An indirect abortion is the undesired but

unavoidable expulsion of a live embryo or a live but inviable fetus, as a result of a necessary treatment of a gravely pathological condition of the mother, usually in the reproductive system (such as cancer of the uterus in pregnancy). The Church considers indirect abortion as ethically acceptable.

Sanctity of Life : Life is a sacred gift from God. We don t have the right to terminate it.
When does human life begin?
For the Catholic Church, human life begins upon fertilization.

Articial Feeding and Hydration

Not a medical act BUT one that is part of normal care that must be given to everyone.

Withdrawing or Withholding of Life-Support Systems

What are the benets and harms to the individual,

family and community in terms of: - Degree of complexity and risk - Physical and moral resources - Inicted pain on patient - Foreseen results Is the cost proportionate or disproportionate?

Dignity of the Human Person :

Every person should be treated with dignity because we are all created in the image of God. When does one stop being human?
For the Catholic Church, as long as there is a living
body, even if mental and physical capacities are reduced or absent, there is still a person present who deserves to be treated with respect and care.

STERILIZATION

The irreversible termination of the capacity for

reproduction Examples: Vasectomy, ligation, hysterectomy, castration, chemically-induced sterilization.

DIRECT vs. INDIRECT STERILIZATION Direct sterilization deliberately intends the termination of the capacity for reproduction of a patient. Condemned by the Church. Indirect sterilization is an unintended side eect of the treatment of a medical condition of a patient. Allowed by the Church.

The bond between the unitive and procreative meanings of the conjugal act

God has designed marital love to be both an expression of love and the means for procreation.

Is it properly human to engage in sex without procreation?

There should be no direct intervention to suppress the possibility of procreation

TRANSMISSION OF LIFE BY ARTIFICIAL MEANS

Articial Insemination

By a donor outside of Marriage: Prohibited by the Church Allowed but only on the condition that articial insemination follows normal sexual intercourse, and consists basically in helping the sperm reach the ovum so that it can fertilize the latter (by the use of a syringe, or cervical spoon, or by methods of concentrating sperm density of the semen emitted during intercourse).

By the husband:

TRANSMISSION OF LIFE BY ARTIFICIAL MEANS

In Vitro Fertilization & Embryo Transfer

IVF refers to the fertilization by a sperm cell in a laboratory

of an ovum extracted surgically from a woman.

ALL instances of IVF considered morally unacceptable by

the Church--even with an ovum from the wife and sperm from the husband because they separate the transmission of life from the conjugal act. fertilized embryo resulting from IVF procedures: also prohibited by the Church because it violates the dignity and sanctity of life of human embryos

The disposal or freezing of excess

The bond between the unitive and procreative meanings of the conjugal act

God has designed marital love to be both an expression of love and the means for procreation.

Is it properly human to procreate without sex?

Every act of procreation should involve sexual intercourse between husband and wife.

When does human life begin? When do we stop being a human person?

abortion

artificial feeding & hydration withholding of artificial life support

Is it properly human to engage in sex without procreation?

Is it properly human to procreate without sex?

artificial contraception sterilization artificial insemination in vitro fertilization embryo transfer

SOME BIG IDEAS

Things NOT To Be Forgotten

When we engage in MORAL REASONING:

(1) Remember the BIOETHICAL PRINCIPLES. (2) Clarify your answer to some ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS about human life, human person, sexuality, and procreation. (3) Understand the reasons and values behind the CATHOLIC MORAL PRINCIPLES.

(4) Appreciate the AMBIGUITY & COMPLEXITY of moral situations. (5) Inform and follow your CONSCIENCE in making a reasoned ASSENT or DISSENT.

Every opportunity you have in engaging in moral reasoning with your patient is a DEFINING MOMENT. When we face WRONG vs. WRONG decisions or RIGHT vs. RIGHT decisions, we dene ourselves as medical practitioners and as persons.

Our moral decisions shape who we are. We ought to exercise moral responsibility.