A CATHOLIC priest who helped write the ethical guidelines on assisted reproductive technology said the actions of a sperm donor being investigated for fathering 23 children were illegal and unethical. Fr Kevin McGovern, who is based in Victoria, was a member of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Working Committee that wrote the national ethical guidelines on the use of assisted reproductive ... Read More »
IN the days after Professor Margaret Somerville received a papal award she recalled a time when, as a young child, she shocked the nun who asked her and her classmates, “Hands up who wants to go to heaven?” It’s a story that was shining a little light on the woman that young Margaret was to become – a bioethicist of ... Read More »
A LEADING bioethicist said having read Samaritanus Bonus (The Good Samaritan), the latest letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, one idea stood out above the others – “remaining”. The letter, which was published on September 22, taught and clarified Church teaching on end-of-life care and euthanasia. It drew on the story of Christ’s own end-of-life care. ... Read More »
Right to life: A patient is pictured in a file photo chatting with a nun at Rosary Hill Home, a Dominican-run facility in Hawthorne, New York, that provides palliative care to people with incurable cancer and have financial need. Photo: CNS/Gregory A. Shemitz [/captions] WITH the legalisation of assisted suicide and euthanasia in many countries, and questions concerning what is ... Read More »
GIFTED microbiologist and bioethicist Sr Regis Mary Dunne has died at Mater Hill in South Brisbane where she lived for much of her 72 years as a Sister of Mercy. Sr Regis Mary, a pioneer in a specialist field of medical science and in bioethics, died at Mater Private Hospital on April 20, aged 93. She had lived for more ... Read More »
HOW does an aged-care worker navigate the rights of a dementia patient who refuses to shower? How does a doctor decide when a patient can really consent to a procedure? Health workers are constantly called on to make critical decisions, yet they cannot always look to the law for answers. “Good law is very important, but being able to make ... Read More »
LIFE, love and learning have moved Dr David Kirchhoffer from one side of the world to the other. Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, David is now settled in Brisbane with his wife, raising their two young sons. He’s followed the path of academia out of Africa to Belgium and then to Australia. On the way, he’s completed a ... Read More »
LEADING Catholic bioethicist Margaret Somerville is familiar with the jibes and attacks that accompany a national debate about same-sex marriage. About 15 years ago, the now Sydney-based Notre Dame University professor of bioethics lived through heated ideological battles as Canada edged towards same-sex marriage laws. Canada progressively introduced legislation in several provinces by court decisions beginning in 2003 before legally ... Read More »
IT happened in our midst – an apparent planned and researched triple suicide on the Gold Coast. With the push to legalise euthanasia gaining momentum in states across Australia, it’s a chilling end-of-life strategy, with grave implications according to Catholic ethicists. “To choose to limit one’s life – to choose to miss out on life with its blend of joys ... Read More »
The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You
