Life Issues, Medical Choices: Questions and Answers for Catholics

Dr. Janet Smith supports her writing with valid research. Plus she is a current spokes-person, seminar presenter, for Catholic Concerns related to "Theology of the Body" perspective. Quotable material.

In this easy-to-read book, two philosophers have combined their forces to provide a simple look at some complex matters. Bioethical concerns have taken on highly interdisciplinary characteristics and, therefore, it is next to impossible to write about them without entering into legal, medical, and theological considerations. To expect a book of this size to deal with all of these various features of the topics would be asking far too much. Rather, fifty-seven questions are posed in six chapters and answers are provided which speak to the crux of the matter at hand. A seventh chapter seeks to extrapolate for medical personnel and patients guidelines from the Ten Commandments. Again, the popular style of the writing does not make any pretense of delving into the most profound analysis of the various problems but does bring forth clear solutions which are readily understandable by a reader with even a simple background in matters related to Bioethics (not exclusively in the medical setting). Likewise, this review does not presume to scrutinize fully all of the various responses given. In the first chapter, the groundwork is laid for what will follow in the subsequent sections of the book by examining fundamental concepts. The value of life, the double effect principle, and the notion of intrinsically evil actions are set forth in view of their utility in arriving at ethical judgments. A welcome question on suffering also is included. As seen in the title, the authors directed their work to a primarily Catholic audience and this explains the reason for development of the binding nature of Magisterial teaching along with Revelation and natural law reasoning. Apart from this specific concern, the book just as well could have been presented without reference to any particular religion. Catholic teaching about Bioethics is directed to all persons, not only Catholics. Moreover, in the attempt to distinguish various levels of Catholic Bioethical thought, not always was it completely evident where the line was to be drawn between authoritative pronouncements and theological reflection. However, new issues were confronted in an effort by the authors to contribute to the maturation which theological progress often must undergo. The second, third and fourth chapters are closely related to each other inasmuch as they cover the topics of the beginning of life, reproductive technologies and the regulation of births. The authors do not hesitate to conclude that "the child in the womb is a person" and this is the substantial basis upon which the respect for embryonic human life is founded. Without specifically making mention of it, it is obvious that a personalistic approach is present in the consideration of the exclusion of reproductive techniques which would circumvent natural generation of human life. Those familiar with the work of Dr. Smith will welcome and appreciate the lucid treatment of the difference between contraception and natural fa

Professor Janet Smith and Christopher Kaczor, Ph.D., are well known for their bioethics books, articles, and presentations. Their collaboration here offers guidelines for health care providers and individuals faced with an array of medical-ethical choices. Content is based on fundamental principles of Church teaching, where available, and on the thinking of moral theologians in areas of developing medical technology and treatment. The book comprises such topics as reproductive technologies and beginning- and end-of-life issues. Each section consists of 7 to 14 questions and in-depth answers. A final chapter relates the Ten Commandments to ethics for medical professionals and suggests ways they can be applied to challenging situations. Extensive chapter resource lists and notes round out the book. Throughout their work, the authors draw attention to connections between the topics and the relationship of all to the larger question of life issues and medical choices. In the section on fundamentals, for example, they provide a four-page explanation of the concept of "double effect," a method for analyzing actions that have two or more morally significant effects. Double effect comes up again under beginning-of-life issues (treatment of ectopic pregnancies) and cooperation with evil (separating conjoined twins). With its clear and thorough treatment of more than 50 specific questions, this work is a valuable resource for medical professionals, ministers, and families.