Institute of Clinical Bioethics Blog

January

• Artificial Hydration and Nutrition
• Hippocratic Oath & Autonomy

February

• Competence and Informed Consent

March

• Undue Burden?

May

• What is the Catholic Church’s position on Reiki as an alternative therapy?

June

• What is an Advance Directive? Are there particular laws regarding advance directives in Pennsylvania?

July

• What is a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Order?

August

• Truth-Telling in Medicine

September

• Question: When a loved one is dying is there any type of ritual that can be performed to help the patient realize that he/she is not alone?

October

• Prenatal Diagnosis & Testing: There’s been a lot of talk about genetic testing. What is it? Are there any ethical and religious issues associated with it?

November

• Question: Can a new procedure called the NovaSure Ablation System be utilized in a Catholic health care setting?

January

• Has the Catholic Church changed its position on artificial hydration and nutrition? 

February 

• Truth-Telling in Medicine: Cultural Dimension

March

• How does one interpret the revision of #58 of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services?

February

• Is Physician-Assisted Suicide Legal? Is it Ethical?

March

• Religious Perspectives On Euthanasia

September

• Health Care Reform: Duties and Responsibilities of the Stakeholders

October

• Health Care Reform and an Old Fashioned Virtue

April

• Question: Is Concierge Medicine Ethical?

April

• Is Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) ethical according to the teachings of the Catholic Church?

May

• Is the “Ashley Treatment” ethical?

June

• The Doctor Patient Relationship Part I

July

• Doctor Patient Relationship, Part II: Theoretical Models and Clinical Reality

August

• Global Health Unequal Distribution: The Need For Active Moral Imagination (Part 1)

September

• Global Health Unequal Distribution:The Need For Active Moral Imagination (Part 2)

October

• What is the Catholic Church’s position on Advance Directives and Durable Powers of Attorney for Health Care?

November

• Example of Living Will

December

• Nostalgia for “Old Fashioned” Medicine

January

• Is pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) acceptable for Catholics?

February

• My wife was told that her fetus in the 16th week of pregnancy has Trisomy 18. The Ob/Gyn is recommending an elective abortion because the condition of Trisomy 18 is not compatible with life. What is your opinion?

March

• The Catholic Church’s position on GIFT seems unclear. Can a Catholic couple having problems getting pregnant start the GIFT procedure?

October

• Hospital Ethics Committees – Preliminary Comments

November

• Hospital Ethics Committees – Consultation Is Primary Function

January

• Physician Participation in Executions

July

• Does Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis violate the Catholic Church’s teaching on the dignity of the human person?

September

• What is the Catholic Church’s position on the use of medical remedies at the end of life?

October

• What does the Catholic Church teach about contraception?

November

• Is it ethical to perform therapeutic procedures on human embryos?

December

• Is Surrogate Motherhood Ethical for the Roman Catholic Church?

January

• What is the position of the Catholic Church on Natural Family Planning?

February

• Is the Catholic Church against all forms of stem cell research?

March

• What is the Catholic Church’s position on suicide and Physician-Assisted Suicide?

April

• What is the Catholic Church’s position on extraordinary/ordinary means of treatment and care?

May

• “Can a pregnant woman infected with the Zika virus abort the fetus?”

June

• Is Condom Use Morally Justified for Serodiscordant HIV Couples?

July

• Is prenatal testing allowable by the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church?

August

• How does the Magisterium of the Catholic Church view research on embryos obtained through In Vitro Fertilization?

September

• What is the Position of the Catholic Church on Organ Donation?