Religion and Medical Ethics

All + All -

+ - Abortion
- + - Roman Catholic Views
  - Totally unacceptable
  - Life begins at conception
  - Abortion is therefore murdering a life
  - The Foetus has the same rights as the living
- + - Other Christian Views
  - Jesus' example was one of compassion and kindness
  - + - The kindest thing to do sometimes may be to terminate the pregnancy
    - The Mother was raped
    - The Mother is very young
    - The Mother could die if the pregnancy continues
    - The Baby is seriously ill, and unlikely to enjoy much of a life after birth
  - Abortion is therefore sometimes acceptable
- + - The Bible
  - + - Some quotations appear to be against Abortion
    - Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
      You shall not murder.”
      God saw my body before I was born. The days allotted to me had already been entered in God's book before any of them ever began.“
      [John] shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
  - + - Some quotations can be used to support abortion
    - Do to others as you would have them do to you
    - The story of the Good Samaritan encourages Christians to help people in need
+ - Fertility Treatment
- + - This is medical treatment to help a couple to have a baby
  - You could take egg from mother and sperm from father, and fertilise in a test-tube
  - You may need to use a donor egg or sperm
- + - Some Christians are against it
  - They believe that God plans all life
  - If a couple cannot have a baby, this is what God wanted
  - Artificial insemination is un-natural
  - If donor eggs or sperm are used, the child will not know its real mother or father
- + - Some Christians support it
  - A couple could be in real distress over their being unable to have a child
  - God has made the technology possible to help couples have babies.
+ - Euthanasia
- + - Active - you do something to end a person's life
  - Voluntary - they ask you to end their life
  - Involuntary - they cannot ask you because they are in a coma
- + - Passive - you stop treating a person to end their life
  - Voluntary - they ask you to end their life
  - Involuntary - they cannot ask you because they are in a coma
- + - Some Christians do not support Euthanasia
  - All life is sacred
  - God decides when life begins and ends
  - Active Euthanasia is therefore unacceptable
  - However, they may find Passive Euthanasia acceptable if it is ends suffering
- + - Some Christians support some forms of Euthanasia
  - Leaving a person to suffer would be unnacceptable
  - Actively ending a person's life would be murder
- Christians are against suicide
- + - Many Christians support Hospices
  - These are like hospitals
  - They try to make a person's last days as dignified as possible
  - + - They offer "Palliative Care"
    - This is where doctors and nurses try to control a person's illness
    - They don't try to cure the illness
    - The Hospice also offers support for the family
+ - Double Effect
- A treatment for one thing can have a side effect
- Pain killers given to control cancer could lead to death
- Treatment given to a pregnant woman may lead her to miscarriage
- Contraceptive Drugs prescribed to help a woman with heavy periods will prevent her from concieving