The world needs education about bioethics because most people still do not know what a bioethicist does. Even some health care professionals have only vague ideas about it.
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It is my fervent prayer that no successful COVID-19 vaccine will emerge that was developed with the use of ethically tainted cell lines.
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I thank the Lord of Life for the workings of Divine Providence! In July 2019, I uprooted my family, happily living just outside Paris, and succeeded John Haas as president of The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC). So what does Divine Providence have in store for the future? The NCBC is embarking on an ambitious strategic planning cycle to position ourselves for the next 3–5 years and launching new initiatives.
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I wish to express with proper force my rejection of the recent United States Supreme Court’s Bostock ruling concerning human sexuality. As president of The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), I am the head of an important institution dedicated to defending the dignity of the human person by drawing on the riches of the Catholic Church’s teachings and intellectual tradition. I have a responsibility to speak out.
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Modern medicine seems to theoretically understand the importance of sleep for our health. But frequently hospital settings do not prioritize this vital need of patients. Catholic health care and Catholic bioethics can take a lead in changing this.
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The Church must demand that fundamental rights be respected. A crisis is not an excuse for human rights violations. Rather it calls for greater accommodation and compassion for believers in danger of death, who may need a priest even more than a doctor as they prepare to meet their Maker.
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The global response to COVID-19 is a unique moment of unity and solidarity when humanity has mobilized to save lives. However, as scientists race to develop a cure, we cannot silently assent to the development of vaccines and treatments using cell lines derived from aborted fetuses.The problem of tolerating or even promoting evil in science and medicine will only be resolved through strong engagement to demand moral options both by individuals and institutions.
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The pandemic is not a good excuse to put aside our ethical and moral principles. We must rather uphold them more strongly, as they will help us to come through these trying times well. If we allow scientific research to be done in an unethical way, or permit patients to be unjustly discriminated against in triage protocols and so on, we shall emerge from this crisis ashamed of what we allowed the response to the pandemic to do to our values.
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When individuals take strong emotions like fear and mistake them for or convert them into sexual arousal, it can have very detrimental effects because a person in the grip of strong emotions is not thinking clearly. We should be aware of this phenomenon in order to stand firm against it. What are some ways we can resist?
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Isolating at home and social distancing as sensible public health measures have been explained and re-explained by experts. The forced confinement of so many has led to some hilarious posts online. It is good to joke and find comic relief in the midst of difficulties and tragedy. But sadly, for many people, these past few weeks have been a descent into isolated darkness. What should we do?
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How does ethics play an important role in the naming of diseases?
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We are experiencing the kind of massive cultural and social shock that makes people ask themselves the deeper questions that are easily put off or ignored in day-to-day living. Many people will give pro-life and procreative answers to those questions. Seeking out positive tidings is important when so much news is negative and fear-inducing.
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An interview with Joseph Meaney published in Crux on March 25, 2020.
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Many Christians have never heard of the practice fraternal correction, even though it is a clear directive of Our Lord in Scripture. It consists of the responsibility to warn others that their behavior may be placing their salvation at risk, either because of the action itself or because their action might lead others to sin (scandal). How might this moral obligation attain in a time of pandemic when a person’s irresponsible actions may constitute a grave peril to one’s health, the health of one’s loved ones, and the health of one’s neighbor?
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We are living through a moment that will be remembered as a unique health and economic crisis. The question on everyone’s mind is an ethical one: What should I do? In the midst of all this, our Catholic moral tradition and history point the way.
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The variable ethical line between prudent preparation for future needs and overreacting is there for all of us to discern in our moral consciences. Ask yourself calmly, do I really need this or this much? It is a good exercise even in ordinary life.
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