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Catholic Conversations – Death with True Dignity

January 15, 2022 from 8:30am to 1pm

We are excited to announce that, in cooperation with Mt. Carmel House, St. Bernard’s and the Diocese of Rochester, the Symposium has been resuscitated!

COVID-permitting we will offer an in-person option, though either way, the Symposium will be available via Zoom.

We welcome you would like to join in-person (COVID permitting) or virtually! Please register here!

We will address important topics and questions around common and challenging end of life issues, including…

  • Why does the Church teach that? (Foundations of Catholic Teaching)
  • Does Hospice mean I’m giving up?
  • I don’t need a Health Care Proxy because my wife will make decisions if I can’t.
  • I don’t want Hospice because they’re going to kill me with morphine!
  • But if I start the feeding tube, then the Church says I can never stop it…right?

…and many more…

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Abortion is Not Healthcare: A Message from the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine

   
The below message is sent by CMA, in partnership with The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine.  

Not only is abortion not health care, it is a medical atrocity and a grave legal injustice. Just as slavery and the Dred Scott decision unjustly denied the constitutional right to liberty for individuals based on race; abortion deprives innocent children their right to life based on age alone and the Roe decision has no rational basis in law.  

The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine represents more than 30,000 healthcare professionals, including CMA members, committed to promoting and upholding Hippocratic medicine’s fundamental principles.   

Sincerely in Christ,  
Steven White, M.D.
Chair, Health Care Policy Committee  
  Abortion is not healthcare. As physicians and other healthcare professionals, we know that when we care for pregnant women, we are caring for two distinct patients. Our duty is to protect and preserve the lives of the patients whom we care for. Our patients place their trust in us to recommend what is best for them, regardless of current political or cultural trends.

From the time the original Hippocratic Oath was introduced, there has been a clear separation of medical care from the intentional killing of human beings. The science is clear – at the moment of fertilization, a new distinct, living and whole human being comes into existence. Abortion, which is an action whose sole intent is to end this life, clearly violates the basic tenets of medical ethics.  

Additionally, abortion treats no disease process and carries significant potential harm for women. The evidence is clear that abortions increase the risk of preterm delivery in future pregnancies, increase a woman’s risk of mental health disorders and suicide and increase her risk of breast cancer if she has not yet had a full-term pregnancy. These risks, and the risks of her dying from abortion related complications, are even higher if the abortion is done in the second trimester and beyond. Our patients deserve better.  

Despite the politically-motivated lie that abortion is essential healthcare, the fact is that more than 90% of OB/GYN’s do not perform abortions. This is because we all recognize abortion for what it really is – the intentional destruction of human life through barbaric methods. Over the last two years, we have seen the medical community pull together to protect the most vulnerable amongst us. No one is more vulnerable than preborn children, capable of feeling pain and completely dependent on our protection in order to survive.  

It is time for those of us in the medical profession to boldly defend the lives of all of our patients and demand that our preborn patients be protected and our pregnant patients be empowered instead of lied to. Women and their children deserve our support, not the destruction of abortion.  

In the nearly 50 years since the Court wrongly decided Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, medical science has progressed significantly and has increasingly supported the pro-life position. It is time that the law of our land caught up with advances in medical science and supported the human rights of all of our patients.  

We would be wise to heed the words of the late Martin Luther King, Jr: “On some positions, cowardice asks the question: Is it safe? Expediency asks the question: Is it politic? Vanity asks the question: is it popular? But conscience asks the question: Is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic nor popular, but he must take it, because conscience tells him it is right.”     The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM) upholds and promotes the fundamental principles of Hippocratic medicine. These principles include protecting the vulnerable at the beginning and end of life, seeking the ultimate good for the patient with compassion and moral integrity, and providing healthcare with the highest standards of excellence based on medical science. Our organizations represent nearly 30,000 healthcare professionals.   www.cathmed.org   Please Follow Us on Social Media Links Below. Feel Free to Share with Friends!   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
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Catholic Wellness Answers

FLG President Tom Carroll will be the featured guest on Catholic Wellness Answers, a webcast of MyCatholicDoctor, on November 9th from 8-9pm. He will be discussing, and taking audience questions on, all things Palliative Care including symptom management, advance care planning, end of life decisions/care, and how to talk to your doctor to make sure your wishes and values are known.

Stay tuned for more details, including the video conference link!

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Religious Exemptions

Today Governor Hochul said this: ‘There are not legitimate religious exemptions because the leaders of all the organized religions I have said There’s no legitimate reason and we are going to win that in court in a matter of days.

https://www.whec.com/rochester-new-york-news/300-400-religious-exemptions-at-urmc/6251875/

While it is true that the Pope has endorsed the currently available vaccines, the Governor’s statement is misleading, at least as far as the Catholic Church Teaching is concerned.

While we certainly respect the Pope’s stance and encourage vaccination, it is not true that Church Teaching is unequivocally in support of those currently available.

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Update – Vaccine Religious Exemptions

Now that that Judge Hurd has temporarily stayed the NY ban on religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care professionals, we understand there has been a flurry of such requests locally. We also understand that many have been granted (though we do not know how many total or what percentage).

Our recommendations regarding how to go about requesting a religious exemption are here. If you have any questions you can contact us. We also recommend that you speak with a trusted priest who can help guide you in thinking through this difficult issue.

We recognize that this is a challenging time in many ways. Please know that we are praying for everyone who is struggling, whether with the pandemic generally, the vaccine mandate, or anything else! Always remember that we have recourse to our Lord though the Saints and most especially the Blessed Virgin Mary!

St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, Pray for Us!

Mary, Comforter of the Afflicted, Pray for Us!

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40 Days for Life Events

Additional Upcoming Events

  1. Stand Together for Life, Saturday September 25 from 9:45 to 11:00 AM (Rosary at 9:15) at Planned Parenthood, 114 University Ave.  Featured speaker will be Deacon Mike Kristan talking about how Planned Parenthood enables human trafficking.
  2. Diocesan Pro-Life Mass, Sunday October 3, 11:15 AM @ Sacred Heart Cathedral, 296 Flower City Park, Rochester, NY,  14615. 

bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/kenoshanew...

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Response to BMJ Editorial on Physician Assisted Suicide

In response to…

I agree that doctors certainly should “engage” with this issue…and…of course I strongly disagree with the BMJ’s position in favor of physician assisted suicide (PAS).

There is much more to say, though for today I am going to focus on three points: 1) languaging, 2) the idea of organization “neutrality” on this issue, and 3) physician engagement on this issue.

First, languaging around the issue of PAS is important and should not be overlooked.  Names matter and, specifically, the specificity of naming matters.  Diseases, treatments, etc. in medicine tend to become more exact and accurate over time.  This is to help distinguish between one and the next in meaningful ways.  The push to move from terms like “assisted suicide” to “assisted death/dying” suggests, charitability, that those in favor of the latter see no difference between someone dying of their disease vs someone dying because of a purposeful lethal ingestion prescribed by a doctor. 

Please read that again…people on the pro-PAS side of the argument, at best, see no difference between you dying of cancer and a doctor prescribing you a lethal overdose. 

If you believe there is an important moral difference between these then please, please speak up next time you see this in writing or hear it in conversation.  Kind, charitable questions can generally help clarify whether the other person understands this essential difference.  At the very least we should be clear about what we’re discussing.  If you’d like to let the BMJ know what you think, you can contact them here.

Second, Dr. Godlee states both, “The BMJ’s position is that terminally ill people should be able to choose an assisted death…” AND “…the journal has called on professional organisations to adopt a neutral stance on the grounds that a decision to legalise assisted dying is for society and parliament to make.”  Just so we’re clear, it’s ok for the BMJ to be in favor of PAS AND it is improper for other organizations to take the opposite position.  Gotcha. (Hopefully) No further comment needed on this point.

Third, “Engagement of doctors in recent polls has been limited, with only 20% of physicians, 19% of BMA members, and 13% of GPs responding.”  I hope this makes it clear that any polls that might be out there woefully under-, and likely mis-represent, the true opinion of physicians. 

This debate is far from over and we are continuing to work with our colleagues and friends across New York State to keep our patients, friends, family, ourselves, and indeed our very profession safe from the scourge of physician assisted suicide!

-Tom Carroll, President – FLG

The BMJ also published a short response by Dr. Carroll to their article here.