Public comment of The National Catholic Bioethics Center et al. on Proposal to clarify requirements for pronouncement of death by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network
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![NCBC Joined with Colleague Agencies in Advocating for Life Affirming Language in National Institutes of Health [NIH] Mission Statement](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e3ada1a6a2e8d6a131d1dcd/1585236818017-BZ29NXKMH0N5P0UX0PFN/Marie+Hilliard-square.jpg)
NCBC Joined with Colleague Agencies in Advocating for Life Affirming Language in National Institutes of Health [NIH] Mission Statement
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On December 23, 2022, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) changed its Drug Facts Label for Plan B One-Step (PBOS), removing language that, since 2006, had stated that PBOS “may inhibit implantation (by altering the endometrium).” The FDA’s action has created the impression that PBOS and similar, generic levonorgestrel-based drugs used for “emergency contraception” (LNG-EC) have no effect on the survival of a human being conceived following sexual assault.
Unfortunately, the FDA did not address all factors relevant to how LNG-EC can impact human life after fertilization. Specifically, the FDA did not fully address a well-known concern that LNG-EC can prevent pregnancy even after it fails to prevent ovulation. Since this important issue was not resolved and concerns about LNG-EC’s post-fertilization effects remain, the National Catholic Bioethics Center will maintain its longstanding position that Catholic health care institutions and professionals should ensure with moral certitude (that is, by excluding any reasonable doubts), at a minimum, that LNG-EC is not dispensed when it could not prevent ovulation but may well cause the death of an embryo. Catholics should resist legislation that requires dispensing of LNG-EC on the basis of a negative pregnancy test alone.
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The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) welcomes the momentous Dobbs decision, which reverses decades of injustice that began with Roe v. Wade. This tragic injustice took the lives of millions of innocent children and, in addition, deeply harmed many women, who too often were not supported when facing an unplanned pregnancy. The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs not only has rectified the Roe regime’s national denial of 14thAmendment protections to unborn human beings, it also restores to the states their right to legislate on matters of due process, life, and liberty as these pertain to unborn children. Respect for the will of the people in individual states is the foundation of our Republic.
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“While working night shift and completing rounds as a Catholic nurse, I am frequently overcome by faith in the silent shadows. Nighttime nursing offers a special time for quiet realization of the value, dignity, and gift of each and every human life.” The NCBC’s DiAnn Ecret shares this special medication for Nurses’ Week 2020.
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Is it ethically justifiable for an experienced, licensed, and competent health care worker to withdraw from his or her duties of care during a pandemic such as the current COVID-19 global health crisis? Self-isolation will help protect health care workers and their families from exposure to a highly infectious, communicable contagion such as SARS-CoV-2; however, a health care worker’s absence may result in patients’ not receiving needed care. Ultimately, this decision is a prudential one, which requires an understanding of moral principles, valid ethical reasoning, and accurate medical knowledge.
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Triage protocols can be ethically appropriate when a genuine crisis situation arises, the demand for resources (e.g., space, staff, and equipment) surpasses availability, and other reasonable efforts to increase supply fail to meet the need. This resource is a summary of our full “Triage Protocol Guidelines.”
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Triage protocols can be ethically appropriate when a genuine crisis situation arises, the demand for resources (e.g., space, staff, and equipment) surpasses availability, and other reasonable efforts to increase supply fail to meet the need. They must be built on a proper, principled moral framework, such as this set of guidelines offered by the NCBC.
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The National Catholic Bioethics Center supports and encourages the rapid development of an effective, safe, and widely available vaccine to combat COVID-19. However, even a pandemic does not justify forgetting or violating the fundamental moral principles that guide ethical action: human life is sacred, and should never be exploited.
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