Conjoined twins and Catholic moral analysis: extraordinary means and casuistical consistency.
eThis article draws upon the Roman Catholic distinction between "ordinary" and "extraordinary" means of medical treatment to analyze the case of "Jodie" and "Mary," the Maltese conjoined twins whose surgical separation was ordered by the English courts over the objection of their Roman Catholic parents and Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Westminister. It attempts to shed light on the use of that distinction by surrogate decision makers with respect to incompetent patients. In addition, it critically analyzes various components of the distinction by comparing the reasoning used by Catholic moralists in this case with the reasoning used in other cases that raise similar issues, including women facing crisis pregnancies who prefer abortion to adoption and the Indiana "Baby Doe" case.
Kaveny
M Cathleen
MC
University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA.
D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000941:ethics; D000300:Adoption; D032764:Casuistry; D002410:Catholicism; D002651:Child Advocacy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003643:Death; D003657:Decision Making; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology; D034723:Double Effect Principle; D005066:Euthanasia, Passive / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D033182:Intention; D008319:Malta; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D028681:Moral Obligations; D009042:Motivation; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011287:Prejudice; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D018570:Risk Assessment; D028725:Theology; D020458:Third-Party Consent / Q000941:ethics; D016312:Treatment Refusal / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014428:Twins, Conjoined / Q000601:surgery*; D006113:United Kingdom; D026712:Value of Life