Making Sense of Bioethics – Page 6 – Madison Catholic Herald Archive (2001-2025)

CNN recently profiled the case of a woman named Marlise Munoz, who was both pregnant and brain dead.

Its report noted that Mrs. Munoz was “33 years old and 14 weeks pregnant with the couple’s second child when her husband found her unconscious on their kitchen floor November 26. Though doctors had pronounced her brain dead and her family had said she did not want to have machines keep her body alive, officials at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, argued state law required them to maintain life-sustaining treatment for a pregnant patient.”

Making Sense of Bioethics

On February 5, 2014May 20, 2021

Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Debating birth control in the public square: use of contraceptives is not just a ‘personal matter’

Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, in his December 13, 2012 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, argues that the cost of birth control could be reduced by eliminating the required doctor’s visit to get a prescription — making contraception available “over the counter.”

If it were made available this way, it would no longer be reimbursable by health insurance, and people could simply purchase it on their own.

Jindal posits that this approach would result in “the end of birth control politics.” He relies on several simplistic assumptions and inadequate moral judgments, however, as he tries to advance this argument.

Making Sense of Bioethics

On January 15, 2014May 20, 2021

Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

‘The Famous Violinist Problem’: Author sets up experiment to justify abortion in cases of rape

In her still-widely-read 1971 article, “A Defense of Abortion,” Judith Jarvis Thomson sets up a thought experiment known as “The Famous Violinist Problem” to argue that abortion ought to be morally justified when a pregnancy arises out of sexual assault:

“You wake up in the morning and find yourself back to back in bed with a . . . famous unconscious violinist. He has been found to have a fatal kidney ailment, and the Society of Music Lovers has canvassed all the available medical records and found that you alone have the right blood type to help.

“They have therefore kidnapped you, and last night the violinist’s circulatory system was plugged into yours, so that your kidneys can be used to extract poisons from his blood as well as your own . . . To unplug you would be to kill him. But never mind, it’s only for nine months. By then he will have recovered from his ailment, and can safely be unplugged from you.”

Making Sense of Bioethics

On December 25, 2013May 20, 2021

Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Care of pregnant women in Catholic hospitals

At the beginning of December, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a sweeping federal lawsuit against the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops over its Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic hospitals, alleging that the directives, with their prohibition against direct abortion, resulted in negligent care of a pregnant woman named Tamesha Means.

Ms. Means’ water broke at 18 weeks, leading to infection of the amniotic membranes, followed by spontaneous labor and delivery of her child. The child lived only a few hours.

Making Sense of Bioethics

On November 20, 2013May 20, 2021

Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Sex, truth, and the illumination of our guilt

Guilt has gotten a lot of bad press recently. We live in an age where guilt is practically always something bad, something to get past with the help of a shrink.

Particularly when discussing sex, people will declare that religion and morality do nothing more than make people feel guilty.

Andrew Aaron, a sex and marriage therapist in New Bedford, Mass., seems to subscribe to this view: “Through centuries,” he writes, “religious education has associated sex with what is wrong and sinful rather than what is sacred. Instead of an expression of the divine, sex is suspiciously regarded as weakness of the flesh. The result of this influence is that sexuality, a natural part of being human, is tainted with shame, guilt, and ambivalence.”

Making Sense of Bioethics

On October 24, 2013May 20, 2021

Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Ethics of donating to charitable foundations

Private foundations and non-profit groups are frequently involved in advocating for particular causes, ranging from cancer research to protecting the environment. Some of these foundations rely almost exclusively on charitable donations to carry out their promotional work.

Potential donors seeking to support these causes face the challenge of exercising “due diligence,” so that their funds are properly utilized and not misdirected or otherwise targeted by the organization to support immoral projects.

Making Sense of Bioethics

On August 15, 2013May 20, 2021

Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Morality and the Natural Law: The importance of being guided by a moral compass

People sometimes use the phrase “moral compass” to describe the innate sense of right and wrong that human beings have.

President Obama, for example, recently mentioned in one of his speeches how we need to, “keep our own moral compass pointed in a true direction.” Although he didn’t spell out what that true direction might be, his remark nevertheless highlighted something that all can agree upon, namely, the importance of being guided by a moral compass.

Making Sense of Bioethics

On July 4, 2013May 20, 2021

Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Human sexuality: Considering perversions and purposes

Many of us have probably heard single women talking among themselves about men, where one of them ends up saying, “That guy, he’s just a pervert — he’s only interested in sex.”

When women detect that a man’s focus has become the pursuit of pleasure, and that unbridled sex has become an end in itself, they tend instinctively to back away. Women often intuitively understand that sex can’t be reduced to mere pleasure without hurting both individuals involved, and negating other important goods, like love, family, children, and marriage.

Making Sense of Bioethics

On May 23, 2013May 20, 2021

Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Going too far with DNR?

Resuscitating a patient who undergoes a cardiac arrest or stops breathing often involves multiple procedures.

When a resuscitation “Code Blue” is called in the hospital (or on a TV show), something like a medical “flash mob” comes together to try to save the patient.

The sequence of events typically involves a combination of CPR, airway assistance, medications, and shocks to the heart when the resuscitation is performed in a clinical setting.

Making Sense of Bioethics

On April 18, 2013May 20, 2021

Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Facing the effects of same-sex parenting

In March, 2013, the British paper The Independent ran an article entitled, “Children in gay adoptions at no disadvantage: Research confirms same-sex couples are just as good at parenting as heterosexuals.”

The article, based on a study at Cambridge University, concluded there was “no evidence” to support the claim that children’s masculine or feminine tendencies were affected by having gay or lesbian parents, nor were the quality of their family relationships significantly different.