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1. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
Edward J. Furton, MA, PhD In This Issue
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2. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
William L. Saunders Washington Insider
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essays
3. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
Andrew S. Kubick Immune to Life: The Unethical Nature of Antifertility Vaccines
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Antifertility vaccination is a proposed method of contraception that induces infertility through an immunological response to specific reproductive targets. The following essay analyzes several peer-reviewed articles to identify these potential targets and then determines the bioethical implications of vac­cine use through the lens of Thomistic personalism. Vaccines that intentionally utilize a contraceptive action violate the principles of totality, integrity, and inseparability; while vaccines that intentionally utilize a contragestive action additionally violate the principles of inviolability of human life and non-maleficence. An exception may exist in cases where application is directed at the treatment of specific pathologies. These cases may be tolerated using the principle of double effect when certain conditions are met. Furthermore, the safeguarding of informed consent may prove problematic if contraception is integrated with established vaccine programs.
4. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
Denis A. Scrandis Maritain’s Theory of Natural Law
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As moral standards, natural law and the notion of properly functioning human nature have persisted in Western cultures from the dawn of civilization. Medieval Christians developed it in their theologies. However, Enlightenment criticism of medieval thought undermined the credibility of natural law and its authority for modern man. Jacques Maritain (1882–1973) developed a rational foundation for natural law and sought to provide objectivity to natural law precepts. His theory also reestablishes the divine authority of natural law for a world without faith. Maritain locates the primary disclosure of natural law in the conscience’s moral reflection in a controversial act of pre-conceptual or non-conceptual knowledge called connatural knowledge.
5. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
Rev. Nicanor Pier Giorgio Austriaco Bioethics in Laudato si’: The Ecological Law as a Moral Principle
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In his encyclical on the environment, Laudato si’, Pope Francis proposes that the natural moral law can be reimagined as an ecological moral law that challenges us to evaluate the morality of our actions not only within our personal and nonpersonal relationships in society but also within the greater reality that is creation. In this essay, the author offers several reflections on the ramifications of this innovative proposal on a contemporary Catholic bioethics that seeks to be faithful to the classical moral tradition.
6. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
Cory Andrew Labrecque Catholic Bioethics in the Anthropocene: Integrating Ecology, Religion, and Human Health
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Pope Francis’s encyclical on ecology addresses the deep and abiding problems of atomism, exploitation, and prodigality that distort the God–human-nature relationship. The invitation to think and act in more integrated and integrating ways—already put forward in Evangelii gaudium—thwarts our becoming “nomads without roots” and binds ostensibly disparate voices in a solidarity that is truly global in its reach. The resolve for such a change in worldview and agency is reminiscent of Van Rensselaer Potter’s original conceptualization of bioethics as a field of study and application that would bridge the disciplines.
articles
7. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
Austin J. Holgard Contra Craniotomy: A Defense of William E. May’s Original Position
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When William May first wrote Catholic Bioethics and the Gift of Human Life, his position was that to perform a craniotomy on a child to save the mother’s life constitutes a direct abortion and is not justifiable. In later editions, May rejected his earlier position in favor of one he originally argued against, most notably by Germain Grisez. The author maintains that the argu­ments surrounding craniotomies on the unborn are still of major relevance today, because they relate directly to certain controversial techniques used to manage ectopic pregnancies. He also argues that May’s original conclusion ought to be upheld, and that May’s later conclusion places too much weight on the interior intention of the actor and not enough on the act itself.
8. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
Mark S. Latkovic Thinking about Technology from a Catholic Moral Perspective: A Critical Consideration of Ten Models
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This article explores ten models for thinking critically about tech­nology’s place in our lives, which have been proposed in some form by vari­ous modern philosophers and theologians, including Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. The author first provides a definition of technology and then analyzes the models. He concludes with a consideration of what he calls a moral “partnering” of man with technology and some thoughts on the role that technology plays in the mission of the Church and in her efforts to evangelize.
9. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
Elizabeth Bothamley Rex The Magisterial Liceity of Embryo Transfer: A Response to Charles Robertson
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This article offers a detailed response to a recent article in this Journal (Winter 2014) by Charles Robertson titled “A Thomistic Analysis of Embryo Adoption.” A careful review of important terminology that is used in both Donum vitae and Dignitas personae was undertaken, and a summary is included to help define frequently misleading and even mistaken concepts and terms that can often lead to erroneous conclusions. This article focuses on Donum vitae I.3 and n. 2275 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which provide strong magiste­rial support for the liceity of embryo transfer and, ultimately, for the morality of embryo adoption as the only moral solution for “orphaned” embryos. The conclusion offers a faithful interpretation and resolution of the difficult passages in Donum vitae I.5 and Dignitas personae n. 19 regarding the magisterial liceity of both embryo transfer and embryo adoption.
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10. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
Pope Pius XII Address to the Italian Medical Biological Union “San Luca”: November 12, 1944
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notes & abstracts
11. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
David A. Prentice Science
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12. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
Science Abstracts
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13. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
David J. Ramsey, M.D. Medicine
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14. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
Medicine Abstracts
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15. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
Christopher Kaczor Philosophy and Theology
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16. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
Philosophy Abstracts
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book reviews
17. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
Jason T. Eberl Truly Human Enhancement: A Philosophical Defense of Limits, by Nicholas Agar
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18. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
Rev. Ezra Sullivan, OP Manual of Catholic Medical Ethics: Responsible Healthcare from a Catholic Perspective, edited by W. J. Eijk, L. M. Hendriks, J. A. Raymakers, and John I. Fleming
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19. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
Brian Welter Medicine and Religion: A Historical Introduction, by Gary B. Ferngren
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20. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly: Volume > 15 > Issue: 4
Brian Welter Living the Good Life: A Beginner’s Thomistic Ethics, by Steven J. Jensen
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