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This is a three-module series that focuses on common medical and ethical issues arising at the beginning of life, at the end of life, and in health care. Each topic is evaluated in light of the nature of the human person and consistency of the medical practice with human dignity.

These modules will be offered through our Learning Management System, Capernaum. To register for an available module, click here. If you do not have an account in Capernaum, you can create an account at mycapernaum.org. For help on how to create an account, watch the instructional video Creating a New Capernaum Account. For more information on Capernaum visit www.archgh.org/Capernaum. 

In addition to the three modules, a brief introduction to Catholic Moral Theology is also required for completion of a course. If you have not previously taken a bioethics course with the archdiocese, we strongly recommend viewing the 30-minute introduction video, as concepts from this video will be discussed in the modules. This pre-work, Current Moral Issues, is available on Capernaum. 

Beginning of Life Issues

This course examines common questions on the ethics of medical procedures/interventions related to fertility, pregnancy, and infancy. 

Topics covered include: 

• Distinguishing between contraception, NFP (natural family planning), and sterilization
• Ethical use of reproductive technologies in cases of infertility
• Is abortion medically necessary to treat pregnancy complications?
• Ethical interventions to protect maternal health during pregnancy
• Permissibility of emergency contraception following sexual assault
• Ethics of egg donation, surrogacy arrangements, and embryo adoption

End of Life Issues 

This course examines frequently asked questions concerning medical procedures and interventions at the end of life.

Topics include:

• Defining Physician-Assisted Suicide
• Euthanasia and Palliative Care/Hospice
• Legislative trends in Assisted Suicide
• Ethics of Foregoing Medical Intervention at the end of life
• Distinctions between Proportionate and Disproportionate medical interventions
• Ethics of Foregoing Nutrition and Hydration
• The Texas Advance Directives Act
• Ethical questions regarding Advance Directives and other end-of-life documents

Health Care Ethics & Experimentation 

This course examines frequently asked questions on trending topics of medical treatment/interventions.

Topics include:

• A Catholic understanding of the health care provider-patient relationship
• Ethical questions of cooperation with evil
• Vaccine use and issues of ethical vaccine sourcing
• Ethics of Medical Research/Experimentation
• Bodily Integrity and Gender Dysphoria Treatment Modalities
• Organ Donation, Informed Consent and Vulnerable Populations

Helpful articles on some of these topics: 

• Aging Ministry- End-of-Life Care
• Family Life Ministry- Natural Family Planing (NFP)
• USCCB- Life Matters: Marriage, The Sanctuary of Life
• USCCB- Another Look at Contraception
• USCCB- Love, Sex, and Sterilization
• USCCB- Caring for Loved ones At Life's End
• National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC)- Videos by Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. 
  • Why is IVF Wrong
  • Ethics, Embryos & Stem Cells
  • Ethics over Emotion - The "Hard Cases" of Abortion
  • The Gift of Dying Well

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