bio ethical sexual handouts

8/3/2019 Bio Ethical Sexual Handouts

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bioethical and

medical sexual issues



DIRECT or INDIRECT ABORTION

• A direct abortion is a deliberate action intended toexpel a live embryo or a live but non-viable fetus.Direct abortion is condemned by the Church as anintrinsic evil.

• An indirect abortion is the undesired butunavoidable expulsion of a live embryo or a live butinviable fetus, as a result of a necessary treatment of a

gravely pathological condition of the mother, usuallyin the reproductive system (such as cancer of theuterus in pregnancy). The Church considers indirectabortion as ethically acceptable.



For the Catholic Church, humanlife begins upon fertilization.

Sanctity of Life :Life is a sacred gift from God.

We dont have the right to

terminate it. When does human life begin?



• Not a medical act BUT one that is part of normal carethat must be given to everyone.

Artificial Feeding and Hydration

Withdrawing or Withholdingof Life-Support Systems

• What are the benefits and harms to the individual,family and community in terms of:

- Degree of complexity and risk

- Physical and moral resources- Inflicted pain on patient- Foreseen results

Is the cost proportionate or disproportionate?



For the Catholic Church, as long as there is a livingbody, even if mental and physical capacities arereduced or absent, there is still a person presentwho deserves to be treated with respect and care.

Dignity of the

Human Person :Every person should be treatedwith dignity because we are all

created in the image of God.

When does one stop being human?



STERILIZATION

• The irreversible termination of the capacity forreproduction

• Examples: Vasectomy, ligation, hysterectomy,castration, chemically-induced sterilization.

DIRECT vs. INDIRECT STERILIZATION• Direct sterilization deliberately intends the

termination of the capacity for reproduction of a

patient. Condemned by the Church.• Indirect sterilization is an unintended side effect

of the treatment of a medical condition of apatient. Allowed by the Church.



Is it properly human to engage in

sex without procreation? There should be no direct intervention to

suppress the possibility of procreation

The bond between the unitive and

procreative meanings of the conjugal actGod has designed marital love to beboth an expression of love and themeans for procreation.



TRANSMISSION OF LIFE BY ARTIFICIAL MEANS

• By a donor outside of Marriage: Prohibited by the Church

• By the husband: Allowed but only on the condition that artificial insemination follows normal sexualintercourse, and consists basically in helping the

sperm reach the ovum so that it can fertilize the latter(by the use of a syringe, or cervical spoon, or bymethods of concentrating sperm density of the semenemitted during intercourse).

Artificial Insemination



• IVF refers to the fertilization by a sperm cell in a laboratoryof an ovum extracted surgically from a woman.

• ALL instances of IVF considered morally unacceptable bythe Church--even with an ovum from the wife and spermfrom the husband because they separate the transmissionof life from the conjugal act.

• The disposal or freezing of excess fertilized embryo resulting from IVF procedures: also prohibited by theChurch because it violates the dignity and sanctity of life of human embryos

In Vitro Fertilization & Embryo Transfer

TRANSMISSION OF LIFE BY ARTIFICIAL MEANS



Is it properly human to procreatewithout sex?

Every act of procreation should involvesexual intercourse between husband andwife.

The bond between the unitive and

procreative meanings of the conjugal actGod has designed marital love to beboth an expression of love and themeans for procreation.



“When does human life begin?”abortion

“When do we stop

being a human person?”artificial feeding & hydration

withholding of artificial life support

“Is it properly human toengage in sex

without procreation?”artificial contraception

sterilization“Is it properly human

to procreate without sex?” artificial inseminationin vitro fertilization

embryo transfer



SOMEBIG

IDEAS Things NOT To Be Forgotten



(1) Remember theBIOETHICAL PRINCIPLES.

(2) Clarify your answer tosome ESSENTIALQUESTIONS about humanlife, human person,sexuality, and procreation.

(3) Understand the reasonsand values behind the

CATHOLIC MORAL

PRINCIPLES.

When we engage in MORALREASONING:

(4) Appreciate theAMBIGUITY &COMPLEXITY

of moral situations.

(5) Inform and followyour CONSCIENCE inmaking a reasonedASSENT or DISSENT.



Every opportunity you havein engaging in moralreasoning with your patientis a DEFINING MOMENT.

When we face WRONG vs.WRONG decisions orRIGHT vs. RIGHT decisions,

we define ourselves asmedical practitioners and as persons.



Our moraldecisions shapewho we are.

We ought toexercise moral

responsibility.

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