Chapter 10 Cherishing Each Person Monday March 24, 2014 All Human Life is Sacred

1. Chapter 10 Cherishing Each Person Monday March 24, 2014 All Human Life is Sacred Human life is sacred for two reasons: • God created us; therefore we have a special relationship with God. • Humans are holy because they are creations of God, made in God’s image and likeness.

2. Our Challenge • How can we foster a culture of life so that human beings view one another with the spirit of reverence that Jesus asks of us?

3. We can begin by accepting the Consistent Ethic of Life • A moral vision that holds together many different issues and offers not only direction for action but also energy and hope is the consistent ethic of life. The late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin articulated this perspective in the early 1980's, and it has become a centerpiece of the U.S. Catholic bishops' moral teaching. Pope John Paul II has affirmed similar themes in his 1995 encyclical The Gospel of Life.

4. A Consistent Ethic of Life • The consistent ethic of life is a comprehensive ethical system that links together many different issues by focusing attention on the basic value of life. In his attempts to defend life, Cardinal Bernardin first joined the topics of abortion and nuclear war. He quickly expanded his understanding of a consistent ethic of life to include many issues from all of life. In the first of a series of talks, Cardinal Bernardin stated: "The spectrum of life cuts across the issues of genetics, abortion, capital punishment, modern warfare and the care of the terminally ill."

5. Quotes on the Consistent Ethic of Life • Cardinal Bernardin : "When human life is considered 'cheap' or easily expendable in one area, eventually nothing is held as sacred and all lives are in jeopardy."

6. Quotes on The Gospel of Life • John Paul II's words, "The gospel of life is not simply a reflection, however new and profound, on human life. Nor is it merely a commandment aimed at raising awareness and bringing about significant changes in society. Still less is it an illusory promise of a better future. The gospel of life is something concrete and personal, for it consists in the proclamation of the very person of Jesus" (#29).

7. Quotes on the Consistent Ethic of Life • If we are consistent, we must speak and act concerning abortion and euthanasia but also concerning welfare and immigration, sexism and racism, cloning and health-care reform, trade agreements and sweatshops, the buying and selling of women for prostitution, genocide and many other issues. Based on our ancient Scriptures and attentive to contemporary experiences, the consistent ethic of life provides an ethical framework for confronting the moral dilemmas of a new millennium. It helps us to promote the full flourishing of all life.

8. ISSUES TO BE DISCUSSED IN CHAPTER 10 HOMEWORK – Write a definition for each term. • Abortion • In vitro fertilization • Artificial insemination • Surrogate motherhood • Genetic Engineering • Cloning • Hospice care • Physician assisted suicide • Ordinary means of life support • Extraordinary means of life support • Voluntary Euthanasia • Involuntary Euthanasia

9. Abortion - the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus: • In vitro fertilization - fertilization of an egg in a laboratory dish or test tube • Artificial insemination - a medical process in which semen is used to make a woman or female animal pregnant without sexual intercourse • Surrogate motherhood - a woman who becomes pregnant usually by artificial insemination or surgical implantation of a fertilized egg for the purpose of carrying the fetus to term for another woman

10. Genetic Engineering - the group of applied techniques of genetics and biotechnology used to cut up and join together genetic material and especially DNA from one or more species of organism and to introduce the result into an organism in order to change one or more of its characteristics • Cloning - a plant or animal that is grown from one cell of its parent and that has exactly the same genes as its parent • Hospice care - a facility or program designed to provide a caring environment for meeting the physical and emotional needs of the terminally ill • Physician assisted suicide - suicide by a patient facilitated by means (as a drug prescription) or by information (as an indication of a lethal dosage) provided by a physician aware of the patient's intent

11. ISSUES TO BE DISCUSSED IN CHAPTER 10HOMEWORK – Write a definition for each term. • Ordinary means of life support - the equipment, material, and treatment needed to keep a very sick or hurt patient alive • Extraordinary means of life support • Voluntary Euthanasia - the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy • Involuntary Euthanasia

12. Chapter 10 Homework Read Chapter 10 Pages 180 – 199 • Answer “for Review” questions 1-3 on page 186. • ANSWER “FOR REVIEW” QUESTIONS 1 – 8 ON PAGE 197 • In your notebooks questions and answers in complete sentences.

13. 10.2 Chapter Overview • The fifth commandment mandates us to respect the life of the unborn. • Respect for life is a principle that guides us in caring for those who are sick or who are near death. • The fifth commandment forbids intentional euthanasia. • Church teaching addresses the issues of life support and physician-assisted suicide.

14. Vocabulary • Euthanasia (p. 191): “An action or an omission which, of itself or by intention, causes the death of handicapped, sick, or dying persons—sometimes with an attempt to justify the act as a means of eliminating suffering.” (Catechism, Glossary) • Ordinary means of life support (p. 194): Medical procedures that offer sufficient or reasonable benefits without excessive or undue burdens to the patient or his or her family. • Extraordinary means of life support (p. 194): Medical procedures that offer little hope of benefit and which cause undue or excessive burdens to the patient or his or her family. • Physician-assisted suicide (p. 196): A person who is incurably ill killing himself or herself with the help of a physician.

15. Review Questions Page 186 1. According to the text, what is the central question in the abortion debate? What are the two dominant positions people have on this question? At what point in the course of the continuing development from fertilized egg to new born infant does a human person exist? One position is that a person does not exist until later stages of prenatal development. The other position is that a human person exists at the earliest stage of development.

16. Review Questions Page 186 • 2. List the four key points made about the beginning of life in the Declaration on Procured Abortion. The Vatican’s Declaration on Procured Abortion (1974) makes four essential observations concerning the beginning of life. 1. A new and distinct human life begins at the moment of conception. 2. Information from modern science affirms this statement “Right from the fertilization the adventure of human life begins” 3. Questions about the beginning of life are not simply scientific but are more properly philosophical and moral. 4. If we are not sure when, in the course of human development, a person exists, then we should presume that a human person is present at the earliest age.

17. Review Questions Page 186 3. What stand does this document take regarding the many difficulties that pregnancy can cause for some people? The value of human life itself outweighs concern for all other difficulties that may accompany pregnancy.

18. Review Questions Page 197 1. What experience of Jesus’ gives us hope in facing death? The death of Jesus is followed by his resurrection. 2. Which two views about death are balanced in Catholic teaching? Catholic teaching balances doing all that we can to heal and help those who are dying with sharing faith in life with Christ after death. 3. What is the difference between active and passive euthanasia? Active euthanasia means taking an action that intentionally brings about a person’s death. Passive euthanasia means not doing a procedure without which a person would die.

19. Review Questions page 197 4. What is the difference between voluntary and involuntary euthanasia? Voluntary euthanasia is euthanasia performed at the request of the person. Involuntary euthanasia is euthanasia performed without the conscious request of the person. 5. Which two questions determine whether a life-support measure is an ordinary or an extraordinary means? The distinction between ordinary and extraordinary means of life support depends upon these two issues: the potential benefits of a procedure and the costs of a procedure for the patient, family and community.

20. Review Questions page 197 • 6. What is the Catholic teaching regarding extraordinary means to preserve life? Catholic teaching asserts that extraordinary means to preserve life need not be taken. • 7. Define physician-assisted suicide. Physician-assisted suicide refers to the killing of one self with the assistance of a physician. The person contemplating suicide is often incurably ill or suffering from an extreme disability. • 8. Why does Pope John Paul II call physician-assisted suicide “false mercy”? Advocating physician-assisted suicide can arise from positive motivations – concerns for human suffering. However, this is a misguided response to a suffering person’s plea for companionship, sympathy, support and appropriate pain-relief measures.