Prenatal Diagnosis and Decision Making

This topic discusses the ethical issues that arise in making decisions concerning prenatal diagnosis and treatment options.

At the end of this course you will be able to:

• Explain the ethical justification and cautions related to prenatal testing.
• Identify the ethical conditions required when providing prenatal genetic testing in a Catholic health care facility.
• Distinguish between positive and negative rights as they apply to patient autonomy.
• Identify the elements of informed consent related to prenatal genetic testing.

Intrapartum Management of Pregnancy

a. Maternal-Fetal Treatment

This topic discusses the importance of recognizing two key facts: that human life begins at conception and that fetal and maternal life are morally equal in worth. It addresses ethical tensions that arise when medical treatment options include significant risk of serious harm to the wellbeing of a pregnant woman, her fetus or newborn infant. At the end of the course you will be able to:

• Assess the appropriate range of ethical treatment options that can be offered to a pregnant patient.
• Explain the ethical obligations of health professionals to a mother and her fetus in making treatment decisions.
• Explain the rights and responsibilities of health care professionals when patient decisions conflict with the cultural values, ethics and/or religious beliefs of the caregiver.

b. Threshold of Viability: Extreme Prematurity

This topic discusses the ethical importance of supporting fetal life to the point of viability whenever possible. At the end of this course you will be able to:

• Explain the range of ethical treatment options for the medical management of extremely premature newborns.
• Discuss the ethical importance of supporting fetal life to the point of viability.

c. Threshold of Viability: Anencephaly

This topic discusses acting from our values that include a commitment to human dignity, compassion and an abiding concern for the sanctity of human life from its very beginning. At the end of this course you will be able to:

• Explain the medical condition of fetal anencephaly and the obligations of Catholic health care organizations.

Ambiguous Prognosis in Neonatology

Treatment Options and Decision Making. This topic discusses the difficulty of ethical decision-making when treatment outcomes cannot be reliably predicted. At the end of this course you will be able to:

• Explain the morally relevant features of the distinction between proportionate and disproportionate means of treatment.
• Describe how health professionals can assist parents who have difficulty making treatment decisions about seriously ill infants, while respecting the informed consent process.
• Discuss significant elements of the Principle of Double Effect and their implications for ethical decision making.

Therapeutic Genetic Interventions

This topic addresses the ethics of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions that seek and utilize genetic information. At the end of this course you will be able to:

• Explain the important features of informed consent in treatment decisions.
• Discuss how the organization’s values and ethical principles can help explain the ethical basis for justifying certain types of therapeutic interventions and not others.