From 1974–2016 the US had a series of official commissions or councils of scholars to study bioethical topics and advise Congress and presidential administrations on policy.
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Transplanting the Womb: A Catholic Bioethical Analysis, by Andrew S. Kubick, PhD, provides a thorough analysis of the ethical ramifications of uterine transplantation from the Catholic tradition’s perspective as well as secular viewpoints.
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There are 26 US states that allow citizen-initiated ballot measures, and they often center on ethically charged issues like abortion, assisted suicide, or even legalizing recreational marijuana. 2024 saw a record 10 state ballot initiatives concerning abortion and one on assisted suicide.
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The Biden-Harris administration has proposed a new Federal Rule that would mandate insurance coverage of over-the-counter contraceptives and thus trample on the religious freedom rights and medical ethics of those who object to being forced to subsidize contraception.
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Contemporary Bioethics: Catholic Wisdom for a Confused Culture, the latest book from The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), provides some key answers and updates in the fascinating and troubling world of bioethics.
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On his flight back from his recent pastoral visit to Asia, Pope Francis had an informal in-flight press conference. An American journalist, Anna Matranga, from CBS News, tried to draw a moral equivalence between supporting abortion and deporting immigrants with the following question: “With the US elections coming up, what advice would you give a Catholic voter who must decide between one candidate who is in favor of the interruption of pregnancy and another who wants to deport 11 million migrants?”
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Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) is the official term in Canada for euthanasia that was legalized in 2016. The number of people dying at the hands of a doctor or even nurse practitioner there has grown every year and in 2022 reached the milestone of being the 5th leading cause of death in Canada.
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The Federal Government’s General Services Administration (GSA) has issued a new final rule, “Federal Management Regulation; Updating the FMR with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Language,” that will become effective October 21, 2024. It is one more example of the Biden-Harris Administration’s strong push to promote transgenderism.
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The Federal Government’s General Services Administration (GSA) has issued a new final rule, “Federal Management Regulation; Updating the FMR with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Language,” that will become effective October 21, 2024. It is one more example of the Biden-Harris Administration’s strong push to promote transgenderism.
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One of the greatest bioethical challenges in the modern world is the lack of a clear consensus about the need for scientific research to be oriented by robust ethical guidelines and safeguards. It is astonishing to me that there is so little outcry over biomedical research using and killing human beings at their earliest stage of development For example, the International Society for Stem Cell Research in 2021 notably dropped its rule that no human embryos could be experimented upon and allowed to grow in labs past 14 days. In fact, new human genetic manipulation research, “clone and kill” research, and other experimentation on human embryos are set to explode in the coming decades, if good bioethicists and legislators do not intervene quickly and successfully.
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The Catholic vision of health care is one of respecting the dignity of the person and addressing all the needs of patients; physical, psychological, and spiritual. The health care ministries of the Church strive to heal the sick but also to lovingly care both medically and spiritually for those terminally or chronically ill who cannot be cured. When the very sad circumstances arise of a mother experiencing a high-risk pregnancy, the priority must be to find ways to effectively help both mom and baby.
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The term Persistent Vegetative State (PVS) is commonly used to describe patients who are brain-injured and in a wakeful but unconscious state. Ethically, it is highly problematic and even pejorative to refer to living human beings in a way that makes them seem like “vegetables.” Quite a few scientific experts recommend using different terminology,
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A mistaken impression among many is that the morality of an act is somehow affected by prevailing opinions or the findings of polls. The views of majorities can lead to changes in laws in democratic governments, but it is equally true that merely because something is legal does not mean it is necessarily ethical.
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A remarkable document authored by the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds), Doctors Protecting Children Declaration, affirms what should be an evident truth, that transgender interventions on children are harmful. The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) and many other groups and individuals are co-signers.
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The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) exists to provide education, guidance, and resources to the Church and society to uphold the dignity of the human person in health care and biomedical research, thereby sharing in the ministry of Jesus Christ and his Church. Bioethics is an area where the lay faithful have great need of support in the formation of their consciences and discernment in making moral decisions.
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It was a pleasure and a privilege for The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) to partner with the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation in their second international bioethics conference in Rome aimed at analyzing the main contemporary bioethical challenges in light of Venerable Jérôme Lejeune’s thought and legacy.
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Disturbing trends in rhetoric surrounding abortion and maternal-fetal conflicts point to the terribly mistaken idea that it can be ethical to use direct abortion as a means to save the life of a pregnant mother.
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The Declaration Dignitas Infinita from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith focuses on the unlimited dignity of the human person.
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Toleration is not a Christian virtue, but it is a positive good that merits the support of civil society. Strong advocacy for toleration began during the Protestant Reformation when the doctrinal disputes among Christian denominations led to vicious persecutions and religious warfare. Figures like John Locke recommended that Christians live in peace with each other despite differences over doctrine. The toleration of error was preferable to dissension and hatred. The defenders of toleration also believed that each person should be free to affirm only what he truly believes. No one should be compelled to assent to what he thinks is false. But toleration is not relativism. To tolerate is not to agree with what one believes to be in error. Neither does it require a blanket denial of objective truth. A tolerant person judges that others hold erroneous views but chooses to live with them peaceably. The tolerant hope for agreement in the future.
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Respect is a term employed frequently in society and in bioethics. Unfortunately, the word respect is used equivocally today. It should mean treating others with consideration and the recognition that some realities and values must always be upheld. That is what respecting human rights means. Many today think that respect requires accepting the vision of reality adopted by others and treating them as they want even if others are forced to contradict what they believe to be true.
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