Perhaps even more shocking than the brazen killing of UnitedHealthcare C.E.O. Brian Thompson was the response in some places to this crime: celebration, lionization and valorization of the killer.
Health Care
Posted inPolitics & Society, Your Take
‘Brain death’ and organ donation as culture war issues
In response to an article in our June issue, several physicians and ethicists say there are serious questions about the accuracy of determining brain death under the current criteria.
Posted inFaith, Short Take
How parishes can help Catholics prepare for death
The parish can be a nexus for sharing hopes and fears about the last stage of life. Clarifying Catholic teaching about medical technologies and care at the end of life would be another helpful step.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Pope Francis: Euthanasia is never a source of ‘genuine concern for the sick and dying’
“Authentic palliative care is radically different from euthanasia, which is never a source of hope or genuine concern for the sick and dying,” the pope said in a message to the first International Interfaith Symposium on Palliative Care in Toronto.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Frontline caretakers understand the holiness of vulnerable strangers better than anyone
Many professionals who care for strangers are not religious workers, but they play a pivotal role in reinforcing the imago Dei, the notion that all people are made in the image of God.
Posted inPodcasts, Politics & Society
A mother’s mission to change how we talk about pregnancy and disease
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley are joined by Megan Nix, the author of Remedies for Sorrow: An Extraordinary Child, a Secret Kept from Pregnant Women, and a Mother’s Pursuit of the Truth.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
The danger of turning ‘brain death’ and organ donation into culture war issues
A new statement on end-of-life care threatens established Catholic tradition.
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
Will Canada allow autism to become a justification for assisted suicide?
A court decision in Canada crossed a regrettable, if predictable, redline. For the first time, a young woman successfully applied to proceed with medical assistance in dying based on her autism diagnosis.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
The ethics of Catholic hospitals—beyond abortion and contraception
We need Catholic health care to serve the most vulnerable among us. A myopic focus on a few reproductive health procedures ignores broader questions about health care delivery for populations at risk.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Physician-assisted suicide is gaining popularity. But there are better options.
Physician-assisted suicide can seem like an easy fix to a health care system reluctant to deal with end-of-life issues. But there are other options, including hospice care, that patients deserve to know about.