Vital Conflicts in Medical Ethics : A Virtue Approach to Craniotomy and Tubal Pregnancies

Vital Conflicts in Medical Ethics by renowned Swiss philosopher Martin Rhonheimer considers some of the most difficult and disputed questions in Catholic moral theology. With great rigor, he addresses classic dilemmas including the morality of the procedure known as craniotomy, and of various treatments for tubal pregnancy. Rhonheimer's approach, grounded in his retrieval of Thomistic virtue ethics, supports the encyclical Veritatis Splendor in showing how these cases can be resolved without recourse to the revisionist method of "weighing goods." The debate that Vital Conflicts in Medical Ethics addresses traces back to late-nineteenth century declarations of the Holy Office, which directed that Catholic institutions were prohibited from teaching that the craniotomy was a licit procedure; this teaching had restrictive implications for related cases. In this book, his newest work to be translated into English, Rhonheimer analyzes the morality of different procedures that might be employed in cases "vital conflict," where the life of the embryo or fetus can not be saved, while that of the mother can be saved, but only through a procedure that traditional moral theory would judge to be a "direct," and thus illicit, killing. These traditional conclusions, however, are not easily accepted because they contradict the basic principle of medical practice that requires physicians to save lives when possible. To resolve this aporia regarding cases of vital conflict, Rhonheimer clarifies fundamental aspects of moral theory, such as the meaning of the prohibition against killing, makes a case that prior analyses are unsatisfactory, and proposes his own solution. ABOUT THE Martin Rhonheimer is professor of ethics and political philosophy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. His publications include a dozen books, several of which have been translated into multiple languages. His Perspectives of the Acting Essays in the Renewal of Thomistic Moral Philosophy was the first of his books to be made available in English by the Catholic University of America Press. Vital Conflicts in Medical Ethics was brought into English by William F. Murphy Jr., associate professor of moral theology at the Pontifical College Josephinum and editor of the Josephinum Journal of Theology. PRAISE FOR THE " Vital Conflicts in Medical Ethics is a valuable addition to bioethical works addressing the beginning of life, chiefly because it provides Catholic physicians with a semiauthoritative moral interpretation that allows for the mother's life to be saved."Ruth Townsend, Journal of the American Medical Association Contents Acknowledgments Editor’s Preface Author’s Preface I. The Problem 1. Two Methodologies for the Moral Evaluation of Action: The Principle of Double Effect (PDE) and the Weighing of Goods 2. Overview of This Study and Brief Summary of the Argument 3. “Vital Indication” and a Recent Example: The Moral Justification of the Act of Saving a Life 4. The Structure of the Argumentation: Weighing Goods in the Case of Vital Indication II. Church Doctrine and Past Discussions in Moral Theology 1. “Direct Abortion” According to Church Doctrine: Specification of the Concept from the Viewpoint of Action Theory 2. The Physical and Intentional Structure of Actions: The Object of the Moral Act 3. The Controversy Regarding Craniotomy through the End of the Nineteenth Century: The Interpretation of Summa theologiae II-II, q.64, a.7 a. The Argument of Pietro Avanzini and the Category of the “Unjust Aggressor” b. Summa theologiae II-II, q.64, a.7: Killing in Self-Defense According to Thomas Aquinas c. Critique and the Development of the Discussion d. Waffelaert’s Incorrect Interpretation of ST II-II, q.64, a.7 e. The Consequences of the Confusion III. Life-Saving Medical Interventions 1. Retrospective Summary: Acts of Killing and the Ethical Context of “Justice” 2. Reevaluation of Contemporary Therapies: Vital Indication and Extrauterine Gravidity a. Salpingectomy or Segment Resection b. Linear Salpingotomy (or Salpingostomy) c. Drug Treatment with Methotrexate d. Expectant Management 3. The Moral Justification of Life-Saving Measures in the Case of Vital Conflict a. Recapitulation and Conclusive Explanation of the Ethical Argument b. The Exclusion of the Weighing of Goods c. Objections and Response 4. Epilogue: Virtue Ethics, “Direct” and “Indirect,” and Prohibition of Killing Bibliography Index

A penetrating analysis of some of the most contested cases in Catholic medical ethics

Vital Conflicts in Medical Ethics by renowned Swiss philosopher Martin Rhonheimer considers some of the most difficult and disputed questions in Catholic moral theology. With great rigor, he addresses classic dilemmas including the morality of the procedure known as craniotomy, and of various treatments for tubal pregnancy. Rhonheimer's approach, grounded in his retrieval of Thomistic virtue ethics, supports the encyclical Veritatis Splendor in showing how these cases can be resolved without recourse to the revisionist method of "weighing goods."
The debate that Vital Conflicts in Medical Ethics addresses traces back to late-nineteenth century declarations of the Holy Office, which directed that Catholic institutions were prohibited from teaching that the craniotomy was a licit procedure; this teaching had restrictive implications for related cases. In this book, his newest work to be translated into English, Rhonheimer analyzes the morality of different procedures that might be employed in cases "vital conflict," where the life of the embryo or fetus can not be saved, while that of the mother can be saved, but only through a procedure that traditional moral theory would judge to be a "direct," and thus illicit, killing.
These traditional conclusions, however, are not easily accepted because they contradict the basic principle of medical practice that requires physicians to save lives when possible. To resolve this aporia regarding cases of vital conflict, Rhonheimer clarifies fundamental aspects of moral theory, such as the meaning of the prohibition against killing, makes a casethat prior analyses are unsatisfactory, and proposes his own solution.

Considers some of the difficult and disputed questions in Catholic moral theology. This work addresses classic dilemmas including the morality of the procedure known as craniotomy, and of various treatments for tubal pregnancy. The problem Church doctrine and past discussions in moral theology Life-saving medical interventions : the prohibition of killing and the virtue of justice.