Transcript Catholic teachings on Pharmacology Topics

Catholic teachings on Select
Pharmacology Topics
In prayerful response to the Apostolic
Constitution ExCorde Ecclesiae of
Pope John Paul II
S. Carpenter, MSN, RN
Catholic Teachings
• Oral contraception
• One Great web site to link your students to if you cover
this content: www.ccli.org (This is the couple to couple
league that discusses and compares natural family
planning (the only form of birth regulation which adheres
to Catholic teachings) to other forms of contraception
that are considered immoral by the Church, such as
direct sterilization, oral contraceptives, IUD’s, and
condoms. “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew
you.” (Jeremiah:1-5).
• Another wonderful reference is the book “Love and
Responsibility” by Karol Wojtyla (written before he
became Pope John Paul II. )
• “Let all be convinced that human life and the duty of
transmitting it are not limited by the horizons of this
life only: their true evaluation and full significance
can be understood only in reference to man’s eternal
destiny.” (Cathechism of the Catholic Church #2371)
• Married couples may limit the number of their children by
natural means. The Church cannot approve
contraceptive interventions that “either in anticipation of
the marital act, or in its accomplishment or in the
development of its natural consequences, have the
purpose, whether as an end or a means, to render
procreation impossible.” Such interventions violate “the
inseparable connection, willed by God… between the
two meanings of the conjugal act; the unitive and
procreative meaning.” (Ethical and religious directives for
Catholic health care services, p.18)
Abortificiants
• Human life must be respected and protected absolutely
from the moment of conception. From the first moment
of his existence, a human being must be recognized as
having the rights of a person - among which is the
inviolable right of every innocent being to life.
(Cathechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2270)
• “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before
you were born I consecrated you.” (Jeremiah:1-5) also
found in (Job 10:8-12) and (Ps 22:10-11)
• “My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being
made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the
earth.” (Ps 139:15)
• “You shall not kill.” (Exodus 20:13) and (Deuteronomy
5:17
• Abortion (that is, the directly intended termination of
pregnancy before viability, or the directly intended
destruction of a viable fetus) is never permitted.
(Ethical and Religious directives for Catholic Health Care
Services)
• Catholic health care providers should be ready to offer
compassionate physical, psychological, moral, and
spiritual care to those persons who have suffered from
the trauma of abortion.
• One such ministry is the “Project Rachel.” Students
can learn more about it on the link
hopeafterabortion.com
Fertility Drugs
• Couples who discover that they are sterile suffer
greatly. “What will you give me, “ asks Abraham
of God, “for I continue childless?” (Genesis 15:2)
and Rachel cries to her husband Jacob, “Give
me children, or I shall die!” (Genesis 30:1).
• Research aimed at reducing human sterility is to
be encouraged, on condition that it is placed “at
the service of the human person, or his
inalienable rights, and his true and integral good
according to the design and will of God.”
(Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraph
2375).
• “When the marital act of sexual intercourse is
not able to attain its procreative purpose,
assistance that does not separate the unitive
and procreative ends of the act, and does not
substitute for the marital act itself, may be used
to help married couples conceive.”(Ethical and
Religious Directives Page 18) (for example:
fertility drugs are ok, but invitro and invivo artificial
insemination techniques are not morally acceptable,
according to the Catholic Church, because these
techniques separate procreation from the marital
act)
• Those techniques of assisted conception that
respect the unitive and procreative meanings of
sexual intercourse and do not involve the
destruction of human embryos, or their
deliberate generation in such numbers that it
is clearly envisaged that all cannot implant
and some are simply being used to maximize
the chances of others implanting, may be
used as therapies for infertility. (Ethical and
Religious Directive number 39 page 18). (I.e.)
fertility drugs
Surrogates?
• Because of the dignity of the child and of
marriage, and because of the uniqueness
of the mother-child relationship,
participation in contracts or arrangements
for surrogate motherhood is not permitted.
Embryonic Stem Cell Research
• “Nontherapeutic experiments on a living embryo
or fetus are not permitted, even with the consent
of the parents. Therapeutic experiments are
permitted for a proportionate reason with the
free and informed consent of the parents or, if
the father cannot be contacted, at least of the
mother. Medical research that will not harm
the life or physical integrity of an unborn
child is permitted with parental
consent.”(Ethical and Religious directives p.
20.)
What is the purpose of having Ethical
and Religious Directives for Catholic
Health Care Services?
• 1. To affirm the ethical standards of
behavior in health care that flow from the
Church’s teaching about the dignity of the
human person.
• 2. To provide authoritative guidance on
certain moral issues that face Catholic
health care today.
• “Employees of a Catholic health care
institution must respect and uphold the
religious mission of the institution and
adhere to these directives. They should
maintain professional standards and
promote the institution’s commitment to
human dignity and the common good.”
(Ethical and Religious directives p. 8. )
Advance Directives
• In compliance with federal law, a Catholic health
care institution will make available to patients
information about their rights, under the laws of
their state, to make an advance directive for their
medical treatment. The institution, however,
will not honor an advance directive that is
contrary to Catholic teaching. If the advance
directive conflicts with Catholic teaching, an
explanation should be provided as to why the
directive cannot be honored.
Euthanasia or assisted suicide
• The truth that life is a precious gift from God has
profound implications for the question of
stewardship over human life. We are not the
owners of our lives and, hence, do not have
absolute power over life. We have a duty to
preserve our life and to use it for the glory of
God, but the duty to preserve life is not absolute,
for we may reject life-prolonging procedures that
are insufficiently beneficial or excessively
burdensome. Suicide and euthanasia are
never morally acceptable options.”(Ethical
and Religious Directives Page 21).
• Some state Catholic conferences, individual bishops,
and the NCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities have
addressed the moral issues concerning medically
assisted hydration and nutrition. The bishops are guided
by the Church’s teaching forbidding euthanasia, with is “
an action or an omission which of itself or by intention
causes death, in order that all suffering may in this way
be eliminated.” These statements agree that hydration
and nutrition are not morally obiligatory either when they
bring no comfort to a person who is imminently dying or
when they cannot be assimilated by a person’s body.
• Directive 58 states that there should be a presumption
in favor of providing nutrition and hydration to all
patients, including patients who require medically
assisted nutrition and hydration, as long as this is of
sufficient benefit to outweigh the burdens involved to the
patient. (Ethical and Religious Directives p. 31).
Aborted fetal tissue research
• Catholic health care institutions should not
make use of human tissue obtained by
direct abortions even for research and
therapeutic purposes. (Ethical and
Religious directives, page 24).
Genetic counseling
• “Genetic counseling may be provided in
order to promote responsible parenthood
and to prepare for the proper treatment
and care of children with genetic defects,
in accordance with Catholic moral
teaching and the intrinsic rights and
obligations of married couples regarding
the transmission of life.” (Ethical and
religious directives p. 20).
Prenatal Diagnosis
• Prenatal diagnosis is permitted when the
procedure does not threaten the life or physical
integrity of the unborn child or the mother and
does not subject them to disproportionate risks;
when the diagnosis can provide information to
guide preventative care for the mother or pre- or
postnatal care for the child; and when the
parents, or at least the mother, give free and
informed consent. Prenatal diagnosis is not
permitted when undertaken with the intention of
aborting an unborn child with a serious defect.
(Ethical and religious directives Page 20.)
Who can baptize in an emergency?
• To confer baptism in an emergency, one
must have the proper intention (to do what
the Church intends by baptism) and pour
water on the head of the person to be
baptized, meanwhile pronouncing the
words: “I baptize you in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit.” (Ethical and religious directives
page 31).
We cannot assume that what is
technically possible is always
morally right.
• “Catholic health care is a response to the
challenge of Jesus to go and do likewise.
Catholic health care services rejoice in the
challenge to be Christ’s healing compassion in
the world and see their ministry not only as an
effort to restore and preserve health but also as
a spiritual service and a sign of that final healing
which will one day bring about the new creation
that is the ultimate fruit of Jesus’ ministry and
God’s love for us.” (Ethical and Religious
Directives for Catholic Health care services p.
28)
Prayer
• One thing that I have found that has really
made a difference in the climate of my
classroom is to say a prayer before each
class.
• I was surprised to hear so many students
tell me what a difference this had made to
them. Students shared their faith journeys
and struggles, and sent me emails asking
for prayer.
Blessings
• This reinforced for me the statement in
ExCorde Ecclesiae “By its very nature ,
each Catholic University, makes an
important contribution to the Church’s
work of evangelization. It is a living
institutional witness to Christ and his
message, so vitally important in cultures
marked by secularism, or where Christ
and his message are still virtually
unkown.” (ExCorde paragraph 49)
Catholic Web sites for students to in case you
would like more information about any Catholic
Teachings
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www.catholic.net
www.vatican.va
www.catholicanswers.org
www.catholicity.com
www.catholic.org