Catholic Bioethics

The U.S. National Catholic Bioethics Center defines Bioethics as “the study of the ethical concerns arising from the advances in biology and medicine. Its task involves distinguishing between morally appropriate and inappropriate uses of biotechnology and medicine. Bioethics pioneer Paul Ramsey once noted that for a man of serious conscience, ‘there may be some things that men should never do. The good things that men do can be made complete only by the things they refuse to do(The National Catholic Bioethics Center, 2021).’”

DNR Orders

Do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders are the patient’s request directing the medical team to “withhold cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the event of cardiac arrest”. Under normal circumstances, only the patient can add this order to his/her medical chart. COVID-19 through various protocols allows the physician to unilaterally assign this order to critically ill patients due to “the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and exposure to fluids that could endanger the health and lives of the doctors, nurses, and others involved in the resuscitation. Concerns include not only losing healthcare personnel who could become ill but also the amount of PPE needed for each attempt.” Elivera (2020) stated that the ethics of the practice would depend upon the procurement of informed consent of the patient if incapacitated, immediate family member, relatives, or power of attorney. The advanced directive shall be obtained “as to unburden everybody of the so-called ‘guilt’ and from further distress of finger-pointing”. Unilateral DNR orders will only be problematic if there were no communication within the involved parties. Nevertheless, if there are no opportunities for communication, physicians shall place DNR orders in accordance with public health protocols “when the clinical facts offer no reasonable expectation of recovery from resuscitation (National Catholic Bioethics Center, 2021)”. 

Performing Ritual to the Dead

Elivera (2020) stated that dying with loved ones in the time of pandemic is negligent if not a crime. WHO declared that the COVID-19 corpse is generally not infectious. But health authorities still advise relatives not to touch or kiss the dead bodies to prevent transmission of the virus. Funeral rites were left with two options: “. a cremation or a mass burial in a mass grave.”

Developing Vaccines and Medicines

Elivera (2020) stated that the earliest time we can produce a vaccine is between 12-18 months. Given the urgent needs, multiple pharmacological interventions have been already in experimental use from food to drugs such as banana, ginger, and virgin coconut oil (Eliverä , 2020) to drugs available in the market used to treat specific diseases: chloroquine (Malaria), hydroxychloroquine(rheumatoid arthritis and lupus), remdesivir(Ebola), lopinavir and ritonavir(HIV), and favipiravir(flu and many RNA viruses)( National Catholic Bioethics Center, 2021). This food and medicines still need to be tested. Elivera (2020) stated that “it is the moral duty of every medical practitioner to advise against the use of the unproven drug, much less injurious or fatal”. The clinical tests must be ethical. There was some discussion to cut bureaucracy in order to expedite the production of medicines or vaccines. The purpose of protocols in clinical experimentation is to protect human subject. However, in the face of global health needs, some protocols can be bypassed as long as we do not compromise the welfare of the COVID-19 patient. Ethical practice does not end in clinical trials but also the moral responsibility of the pharmaceutical companies. Vaccines and medicine shall be affordable also. Catholics must weigh and be informed about ethical considerations in getting vaccinated through rhetoric persuasion.

Tissues of aborted on Vaccines

The Vatican declared that using COVID-19 vaccines that used aborted cells have been morally acceptable as long as there were no alternatives or  “in the absence of safe vaccines made from other sources”(National Post Online, 2021; Dyer, 2020). There were at least five of the COVID-19 vaccines that have been approved for human trials that “use one of two human fetal cell lines: HEK-293, a kidney cell line widely used in research and industry that comes from a fetus aborted in about 1972; and PER.C6, a proprietary cell line owned by Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, developed from retinal cells from an 18-week-old fetus aborted in 1985″(America Magazine, 2021). The Vatican through the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith granted the moral legitimacy based from the principle of “differing degrees of responsibility of cooperation in evil.” In the face of a grave outbreak, such vaccines “can be used in good conscience with the certain knowledge that does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion from which the cells used in the production of the vaccines derive.” ”(National Post Online, 2021, Dyer 2020).  the Vatican also noted that while various vaccines might be disseminated in a country, “health authorities do not allow citizens to choose the vaccine with which to be inoculated.” On the other hand, the Vatican and bishops worldwide have been exhorting government and scientists to develop vaccines that have no correlation to abortion.”(America Magazine, 2021). 

To ensure ethical practices, there is a need to research further about bioethics, ideology, and development of policies (Baker et al, 2020). 

References

1. .“Making Sense of Bioethics” Column — The National Catholic Bioethics Center. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://www.ncbcenter.org/making-sense-of-bioethics-column#index

2.National Catholic Bioethics Center: Ethical Concerns with COVID-19 Triage Protocols – Corona Guidance: Religious Norms for Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2021, from http://web.colby.edu/coronaguidance/2020/04/03/catholic-bioethics-ethical-triage/

3.Eliverä, E. S. (2020). Life and Churchlife During Pandemic: Bioethical Issues and Church Response in the Time of COVID-19. In MST Review (Vol. 22, Issue 1). https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/25/

4.Vatican permits use of COVID-19 vaccines made using aborted fetal tissue – ProQuest. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2, 2021, from https://www.proquest.com/docview/2471694795/E12227272384A5BPQ/4

5.Baker, J. O., Martí, G., Braunstein, R., Whitehead, A. L., & Yukich, G. (2020). Religion in the Age of Social Distancing: How COVID-19 Presents New Directions for Research. Sociology of Religion, 81(4), 357–370. https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/sraa039

6. Coconut and COVID-19: Philippines studying antiviral properties of coconut oil as potential treatment. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2021, from https://www.nutraingredients-asia.com/Article/2020/03/11/Coconut-and-COVID-19-Philippines-studying-antiviral-properties-of-coconut-oil-as-potential-treatment

7.The Bodies of People Who Died from COVID-19 May Still Be Contagious – Scientific American. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2021, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-bodies-of-people-who-died-from-covid-19-may-still-be-contagious/

8.Vatican permits use of COVID-19 vaccines made using aborted foetal tissue | Reuters. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2021, from https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/vatican-permits-use-covid-19-vaccines-made-using-aborted-foetal-tissue-2020-12-21/

9.Risks Posed by COVID-19-Infected Bodies Remain Unclear. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2021, from https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/930818