The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly

Recent magisterial teaching suggests that Catholics should prefer COVID-19 vaccines in which immortalized cells derived from the remains of aborted fetuses did not play a role in production, even though all of them can be licitly used. Many scholars contest any distinction between the different vaccines, in part by arguing that these cell lines have become artifacts. This argument is inadequate on a number of levels. First, these scholars have not sufficiently proven the point that the cell lines become artifacts through biotechnological manipulation. Second, considering cell lines as mere artifacts commodifies them in a way that is rejected even by secular authors. Third, this mode of commodification reinforces the technocratic paradigm. Finally, embracing this commodification of cell lines will prevent moral theology from properly judging other aspects of the growing bioeconomy. These arguments suggest that distinguishing between different vaccines remains the most appropriate course.

The essay begins with an explanation of St. Alphonsus Liguori’s understanding of the distinction between formal and material cooperation, identifying also some problems inherent in that understanding. The essay goes on to expound related ideas in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, ideas that are applicable to cases not easily analyzable by means of the distinction between formal and material cooperation. The essay then applies these ideas to two contemporary issues: the use of vaccines connected in some way with abortions and the objection by the Little Sisters of the Poor to the contraceptive mandate issued by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Pregnancy causes maternal pathology by combining maternal predispositions with healthy physiology. In maternal cardiovascular collapse, previable induction of labor is justifiable despite the definition of abortion in directive 45 of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. Central to this conclusion, the placenta is a fetal organ, and pregnancy is a cardiovascular condition placing new demands on the maternal cardiovascular system. Previable delivery, a morally neutral separation, addresses the cause of pathology even if fetal death is anticipated. This is acceptable under double-effect reasoning. Directive 45 defines all previable deliveries as abortions, so this analysis proposes an alternative definition established by obstetrician/gynecologists.

Often-cited papal pronouncements regarding organ donation emphasize the importance of gift giving and the consent of the donor. However, a critical reading reveals an ill-defined separation of living organ donation and donation after death. Given that a corpse cannot engage in gift giving, nor can it give consent, the family, acting as good stewards, is the proper decision maker for organ donation after death. A historical examination of relics and human anatomical dissection reveals that the Catholic Church has primarily favored the decisional authority of the family over the first-person consent of the dead. Given this history, family-based consent (as opposed to opt-in or opt-out criteria) is the best model to ensure the dignity of the dead.

When threatened with rape, is it permissible for a virgin to commit suicide so that she might preserve her virginity? Both St. John Chrysostom and St. Ambrose allowed for suicide in these situations because they considered it a martyrdom, but St. Augustine argued that such an act is always illicit unless commanded by God, a teaching later adopted by St. Thomas Aquinas. In this paper, these arguments will be presented and then applied to cases of vital conflict, which involve many of the same principles disputed by these Doctors of the Church. This article contributes to the discussion of vital conflicts by reinforcing its patristic and Thomistic foundation.

The Catholic debate over embryo adoption is at a genuine impasse awaiting resolution from the magisterium of the Catholic Church because both sides have reached a point where there is a fundamental disagreement. Several Catholic ethicists have argued that the ethical reasoning linking the acts of having sex and of making a baby, and therefore reserving both to the causality of a husband, should be extended to the act of becoming pregnant. This would rule out embryo transfer in all its manifestations. However, this dispute cannot be resolved by further argumentation, but requires authoritative definition in response to the question, Should the principle of inseparability be extended to the act of becoming pregnant?

On July 14, 2020, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) issued Samaritanus bonus (The Good Samaritan), beckoning the human family to take the Good Samaritan as the ideal in the care of all persons in critical and terminal phases of their lives. The import of this letter is understood best as seen through three prisms: (1) Fratelli tutti, the encyclical of Pope Francis signed at Assisi on October 3, 2020; (2) the Declaration on Euthanasia issued by the CDF in 1980; and (3) “the remarkable progressive development of biomedical technologies [which] has exponentially enlarged the clinical proficiency of diagnostic medicine in patient care and treatment [which] call for growth in moral discernment to avoid an unbalanced and dehumanizing use of the technologies especially in the critical or terminal stages of human life” (CDF, Declaration on Euthanasia, intro)

This essay argues against Charles Camosy’s proposal, found in his book Beyond the Abortion Wars, for premature induction of labor in a mother whose child is diagnosed with a life-limiting disease, such as Potter syndrome. This proposal is critiqued within the context of motherhood as sacrificial self-gift, which has been raised to new heights by the Incarnation and Resurrection of Christ, as witnessed by the motherhood of Mary.

Gender ideology and medical interventions for so-called transitioning pose profound challenges for Catholic health care. Unfortunately, many institutions do not offer clear, specific policy guidance addressing these issues. This template policy is offered to Catholic health care institutions and systems to assist them in drafting such guidance. The template defines the mission of Catholic health care, summarizes Church teaching with regard to gender ideology, and identifies both licit and illicit clinical interventions for gender dysphoria. The template also offers guidance on practical issues, including name and pronoun use, sex-specific facilities, employee training programs, and health benefits. An appendix offers model language that institutions can incorporate into employment documents to maintain Catholic identity and mission.