Birth, Suffering, and Death

For centuries the Roman Catholic Church has been concerned with the moral implications of medical practice. Indeed, until two decades ago, Catholic moral theologians were the major source of moral guidance, scholarly reflection and teaching on a variety of medical-moral topics, particularly those bearing on human life. Many, not only those within the Catholic communion, turned to the Church for guidance as each new possibility for altering the conditions of human life posed new challenges to long held moral values. Two decades ago, the center of gravity of ethical reflection shifted sharply from theologians and Christian philosophers to more secular thinkers. A confluence of forces was responsible for this metamorphosi- an exponential rate of increase in medical technologies, expanded education of the public, the growth of participatory democracy, the entry of courts and legislation into what had previously been private matters, the trend of morality towards pluralism and individual freedom and the depreciation of church and religious doctrines generally. Most significant was the entry of professional philosophers into the debate, for the first time. It is a curious paradox that, until the mid-sixties, professional philosophers largely ignored medical ethics. Today they are the most influential shapers of public and professional opinion.

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Finitude, Religion, and Medicine: The Search for Meaning in the Post-Modem World.- Edges of Life: The Consequences of Prenatal Assessment, Diagnosis and Treatment.- The Frail Elderly Person and Those Suffering From Dementia.- The HIV Infection.- Artificial Feeding and Hydration in Advanced Illness.- Dignity, Solidarity, and the Sanctity of Human Life.- Dominion or Stewardship?: Theological Reflections.- Sharing Responsibility at the Edges of Life.- When the Dying Person Looks Me in the Face: An Ethics of Responsibility for Dealing With the Problem of the Patient in a Persistently Vegetative State.- Life as a Good and Our Obligations to Persistently Vegetative Patients.- Pain Relief: Ethical Issues and Catholic Teaching.- Why Almost Any Cost To Others To Preserve The Life Of The Irreversibly Comatose Constitutes An Extraordinary Burden.- The Catholic Tradition on the Use of Nutrition and Fluids.- Appendix A: Pope Pius XII / The Prolongation Of Life.- Appendix B: Sacred Congregation For The Doctrine Of The Faith / Declaration On Euthanasia.- Notes On Contributors.