RELIGIOUS CONSIDERATIONS AS AN INTEGRAL PART IN MEDICAL DECISION-MAKING

Abstract

As a Muslim, I have a certain belief system that encompasses all of life, including my approach to medical ethics. My belief system is distinctive, as are others. Thus, the approaches of Judaism and Roman Catholicism offer a new perspective on medical ethics. The thesis of this paper is that religious considerations play a large and integral part in medical decision-making. The topics to be discussed include shared values; methodology, along with the related concepts of metaethics and the principle of double effect; and applications of these perspectives in medical ethics, particularly with regard to healthcare decisions involving the end of life. Each area will be explored in this paper in order to give insight into how these religious approaches came to be what they are today and how they present positions in medical ethics which may be at odds with other perspectives not based on any theological doctrines. Specifically, this paper discusses shared values, by referring to human dignity and its concepts, as well as theological principles in health care ethics, and definitions of these principles. In addition, the paper discusses the methodology in Roman Catholicism, in addition to explaining the meaning of natural law. Furthermore, the discussion focuses on metaethics and its theories, as well as a consideration of the principles of double effect (PDE) and its four conditions. Lastly, the discussion considers applications of theologically based medical ethics to the question of forgoing treatment and what are the pillars of ethics with regard to this issue.