The Catholic Approach to Bioethical Issues
By Joseph Meaney
The Catholic approach to bioethical issues is distinctive. It is a combination of deep respect for the dignity and rights of the human person and a positive appreciation for science.
Bioethics is a young academic discipline. The term was only coined in the early 1970s. Medical and general ethics preceded it, but a consensus emerged in the latter-half of the twentieth century that we were in the midst of a scientific and medical revolution that had profound ethical consequences. The atomic bomb and the proliferation of Nuclear weapons marked the first time in history when human beings possessed the power to destroy our planet, the common home of humanity.
Biological and genetic discoveries in recent decades have tremendous potential to serve or attack human beings. Genetic manipulation in particular could be used to produce changes to our very species by modifying inherited traits and abilities. The COVID-19 pandemic has made us all aware of the global vulnerability to a super virus that could arise accidentally or through scientific design.
The Church urges a compassionate and objective search for what is true and good when bioethical dilemmas arise in medicine or scientific research. Utilitarian or consequentialist ethics cannot be accepted by Catholics when it pursues the greatest good for the greatest number at the cost of committing injustice in order to achieve a good end. Both the end sought and the means used have to be good in Catholic moral reasoning.
It is sadly true that certain situations arise in which no completely satisfactory solution is possible. A classic example of this would be the case of a pregnant mother who is diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. Something that immediately distinguishes the Catholic approach from many others is the basic principle that all human lives are precious and must be respected. Just because the preborn child is small and helpless does not mean that his/her life is expendable. Everything possible must be done to care for both the lives of the mother and her child. It should also be kept in mind that if a thing is impossible, it cannot be morally obligatory. There are terrible cases where it is simply not possible to save the life of the mother, the child, or both. If there is a true maternal/fetal vital conflict, then there must be careful ethical discernment.
The Principle of Double Effect was formulated by St. Thomas Aquinas as a Catholic approach to such difficult situations. This involves a good or indifferent action that one foresees will have both good and bad effects. The principle does not allow for an evil action, such as a direct abortion, in order to achieve a good like safeguarding the life of the mother. It is also quite important that the intention of the agent must be the good effect and the evil effect is only tolerated. This would be the case of a cancer treatment with the intention of saving the mother and done in such a way as to minimize harm to the preborn baby. The good effect, saving the mother, may never be achieved by the bad effect, harming the child. It is also clear that there has to be a positive proportionality between the good and bad effects.
So how is Catholicism contributing to bioethics? We demand justice for all. When science or medicine is tempted to discriminate against certain classes of human beings, the Church is a strong voice of conscience for basic human rights from conception to natural death. When some ask only the question of what can be done scientifically, the Catholic bioethicist brings the question to whether it is truly respectful of the dignity of the human person. This approach rejects manipulation or exploitation and reflects awe and wonder toward every human being as a marvel of God’s creation.
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Joseph Meaney became president of the National Catholic Bioethics Center in 2019. He is a leading expert on the international pro-life and family movement, having traveled to eighty-one countries on pro-life missions as director of international outreach and expansion for Human Life International.
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