The Fetus as Medical Patient Moral Dilemmas in Prenatal Diagnosis from a Catholic Perspective

by Cioffi, Alfred

• ISBN13: 9780819197801
• ISBN10: 0819197807
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1995-01-10
• Publisher: UPA

Summary

With an increased capacity to analyze fetal cells in the laboratory and the present possibility of monitoring human embryonic development using advanced diagnostic technique, prenatal diagnosis (PND) has become widely diffused in medical practice. The Fetus as Medical Patient emphasizes, however, that PND results are not unambiguous: they may either lead to a continuation of the pregnancy, or to an abortion. Cioffi engages the reader in a comprehensive examination of the state of the question regarding diagnosis and possible treatment of human illness in utero. The book deals with biomedical consideration in prenatal human life, presents a survey of the literature of ten North American Catholic theologians who have written on the topic of moral dilemmas in PND over the past twenty years, and critically analyzes the writings of these ten authors.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations
Preface
Acknowledgments
General Introduction
Bio-Medical Considerations of Prenatal Diagnosis
Prenatal Diagnosis	p. 3
Human Reproduction	p. 7
Human Embryonic Disorders	p. 23
Prenatal Interventions	p. 43
Ten North American Catholic Moral Theologians
Benedict M. Ashley, OP, and Kevin D. O'Rourke, OP	p. 55
Charles E. Curran	p. 75
William E. May	p. 85
Donald G. McCarthy and Albert S. Moraczewski, OP	p. 93
Richard A. McCormick, SJ, and Lisa Sowle Cahill	p. 109
Thomas J. O'Donnell, SJ	p. 125
Thomas A. Shannon and Lisa Sowle Cahill	p. 139
Critical Evaluation of Seven Relevant Themes
Basic Value Systems	p. 155
Philosophical and Anthropological Presuppositions	p. 163
Hominization and Personhood	p. 183
Analysis of the Moral Act	p. 197
Prenatal Diagnosis Proper	p. 209
Shift in the Self-Understanding of Medicine	p. 221
Dialogue with the Magisterium	p. 239
Conclusions	p. 253
Bibliography	p. 257
Magisterial Literature	p. 257
Ethical and Moral Theological Literature	p. 258
Bio-Medical Literature	p. 291
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