NATURAL LAWPRINCIPLES GUIDING R.C. MORALITY

M. JennyHRE 4M

The key principles

Do good & avoid evilLife is sacred: preserve it

Propagation & education of children

Pursuit of truth peaceful society

Principles that follow

Respect for human life & dignity Human life begins at

conception Not just a potential human

beingEmbryo: known & loved by

GodKilling an embryo for

scientific research is unacceptable

A child is a giftNot a possession, object / thing

All human life is sacred from conception to natural death.

The integrity of procreation is to be respected

R.C. tradition honours the act of human procreation

In vitro fertilization is unacceptable Separates procreation from

physically intimate expression between spouses

Can lead to destruction of embryos not used in treatment

Concern for the most vulnerable

“preferential option for the poor” The weak need special protection

Church seeks to be the voice of all vulnerable human life

Common Good

Social conditions allowing people (groups or individuals) to reach fulfillment more fully & easily We’re created as individuals within familiesPart of societySocial beings

Human life is relational

We are stewards Even of our own lives

Life is a gift received from others We’re called to preserve it

We are part of a web of human relationships

We are mutually responsible for life

INTERdependent Life is dependent on the support of others

“We are in this together!”

Suicide is painful for survivors

Care for others: compassion NOT pity

Suffering & pain Challenge us at our core

weakness & vulnerability Suffering is not sought as a

good, we seek ways to reduce it

Compassion: we enter into the other’s suffering

Pity: sufferer is left alone

What about the terminally ill?

RC teaching supports palliative care, medicating to ease pain Even if medication may hasten

death CCC 2276

Those whose lives are diminished deserve special respect

CCC 2277 Direct euthanasia is unacceptable

Regardless of motives & means

Stewardship of own life: it’s sacred & deserves respect!

CCC 2280 Everyone is responsible for

one’s life God is Master of life We’re stewards, not

owners of the life we’ve received

CCC 2282 Voluntary co-operation in

suicide contrary to moral law

Recall: the ends & means?

We cannot do something evil to obtain a good end.

The end DOES NOT justify the means!

Principle of Double Effect

Sometimes neutral actions have both good and bad effects

Can we do something knowing that good and bad effects will result?

Yes, if: Action is good or neutral Good not obtained by means of evil Evil effects not intended (allowed) Good effect must be proportionally

greater than the evil effect

The Principle of Totality

Parts exists for the good of the whole

We can amputate a limb in order to save a life

Ordinary vs. Extraordinary Means

Ordinary Meds, treatments… with

REASONABLE benefit, WITHOUT excessive pain, cost or inconvenience

Extraordinary No reasonable benefit, not

curative, costly, painful, out of proportion

Science must be used to benefit people

Science must operate with a conscience

What is technically possible is not for that reason morally admissible.

Not every medical advancement necessarily serves us for the better.

What constitutes a human person is not just a scientific question, but philosophical & moral

The human being

A unity of body and spirit

Interventions on the body affects not only tissues & organs, but the person

Looking at Case Studies

Case 1: Assisted Human reproduction Page 156

Case 2: Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide Page 157

The Prudent Person

Prudence: the foremost virtue for Christianity

Prudence part of the search for goodness Ability to make good choices

(almost instinctively) Harness: instincts, impulses,

inclinations Seeks out right reason Evaluates motives