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Bioethics 101: The inner voice that reminds us to do good and avoid evil
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January 18, 2024Catholics cannot ignore their religious beliefs in the hospital or the doctor’s office any more than they can anywhere else. No matter what kind of work a Catholic does, they must do it in accordance with Catholic sensibilities, faith, and moral standards. To do otherwise would be to downplay or deny our faith's importance.
To help us to live by our moral standards, God endowed each person with a conscience. “In the depths of his conscience, man detects a law which he does not impose upon himself, but holds him to obedience” (Gaudium et Spes). The conscience is the inner voice that reminds us of our obligations to do good and avoid evil. St. Paul wrote about the conscience in his letter to the Romans: “For when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature observe the prescriptions of the law, they are a law for themselves even though they do not have the law” (Romans 2:14).
In other words, the Gentiles (those who were not Jewish) had not heard the word of God yet observed standards of morality. This happened because God has written the moral law onto the human heart, and it is up to us to learn, observe, and obey it. Our consciences tell us what we should do and what we should avoid. To follow the conscience “is the very dignity of man; according to it, he will be judged” (Gaudium et Spes).
Catholics have a particular obligation to form their consciences in accord with the Church's teachings in matters of faith and morals because they are the same teachings Christ called us to believe and live by. The Church offers guidance in applying Her teachings, and our consciences guide us in making judgments in particular matters. Catholics in the working world may find themselves, at times, asked to participate in practices that go against the Church’s teachings, which is certainly true in medicine. Faced with such decisions, what is a Catholic to do?
In 296, a 21-year-old man named Maximilianus was conscripted into service in the Roman Army. Soldiers were required to receive a mark on the hand and to wear a leaden collar that bore the emperor’s name. Still, Maximilianus considered these practices superstitious and, thus, conflicted with his Christian beliefs. He refused to serve, and the proconsul ordered him to be executed. The Church honors him as St. Maximilian of Tebessa; his story is the earliest recorded instance of conscientious objection. There have been many examples of conscientious objectors regarding military service, especially in recent history. The United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes a right to conscience, which supports everyone’s right “to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” If the right to conscientious objection exists regarding military service, would it also not apply in other areas?
Healthcare professionals should never be compelled to participate in practices that go against their consciences. To use the example of abortion, most states allow individual healthcare providers and institutions to refuse to do abortions, but the fact that a few do not qualify for the practice to be rejected is a matter of concern. In these states, healthcare workers who object to abortion would either have to change their views, or they would have to engage in practices that violate their beliefs; either course is problematic. If conscientious objectors can be excused from military service, then surely, they can be excused, as well, from performing medical procedures that violate their consciences.
In the fifth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, we read that the apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin for preaching about Jesus. The high priest reminded them that they had been ordered not to talk about Jesus, and Peter answered, “We must obey God rather than men.” When there is a conflict between obeying the law of God and the law of man, then, like Peter, “We must obey God rather than men.” It will not always be easy and may call for heroic measures, but a good conscience will require that we sometimes take the more challenging path. Bioethicist Paul Ramsey once said, “The good things that men do can be made complete only by the things they refuse to do.”
Since we just celebrated Christmas last month, we remember what a beautiful gift life is and what joy there is in the birth of a child. Jesus became a child for us; we should see Him in every newborn child. This is even more reason that life must be protected, beginning in the womb and that no one should be punished for refusing, in conscience, to participate in an abortion or any other morally questionable procedure.
