Linacre Quarterly

Applying the moral principles of Catholic social teaching's (CST) on capitalism, distributive justice, private ownership, the common good, and the role of the state in the economy as the overall theoretical framework and utilizing secondary data, media reports, and scientific literature, this article explores the corporate moral responsibility of the top drug makers in the ownership and pricing of their essential medicines and COVID-19 vaccines. Specifically, it presents the case of the Gilead Sciences' business strategies and overpricing of Remdesivir drug to illustrate how predatory capitalism undermines the moral responsibility of drug makers and CST's moral principle on the common good in today's pandemic...

The safety and efficacy of mifepristone antagonization with progesterone to avert medication abortion, also known as abortion pill rescue, is a subject of vigorous debate. Two prominent medical associations have taken positions that either entirely reject or fully support its use. This scoping review aimed to gain insight into the safety and efficacy of its use. Analysis of 16 studies showed that the continuing pregnancy rate after ingesting mifepristone alone is ≦25 percent for gestational ages ≦49 days...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

UNLABELLED: The care for creation is an important call for all. Our human bodies form part of this created reality and should be treated with dignity and respect. Pope Benedict XVI underlined the ecology of man. Pope Francis took up this teaching in his pontificate, encouraging us to welcome the gift of our body, and critiquing ideologies which undermine the respect due our bodies. Proponents of the so-called "gender ideology" affirm surgery on the body, which generally involves the removal of healthy functioning tissues and organs, is largely mutilating, and can involve exorbitant costs...

While the number of Catholic healthcare facilities has held stable over the last several decades, Catholic healthcare has followed the trend of merging facilities and systems into "mega-systems." These consolidations can be beneficial for creating continuums of care, lowering operating costs, ensuring long-term viability, and sharing physical, digital, and human resources. However, with larger systems comes a practical need to be integrated to some degree, and the pressure to standardize policies and practices across regions is present...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

UNLABELLED: Medication abortion represents more than 50 percent of abortions in the United States (US). Since its approval in the US in 2000, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has progressively relaxed the prescribing requirements such that currently, no office visit, in-person dispensing, or ultrasound is required. Obtaining medication for abortion online without medical supervision or evaluation is also possible. This article reviews the complications of medication abortion by examining major studies and delineates the risks specific to self-managed abortion to inform clinicians in caring for women...

In a responsum from 2018, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) judged hysterectomy as permissible when a uterus is unable to bring any pregnancy to term, raising the question of why such hysterectomy does not constitute direct sterilization forbidden by previous responsa from 1975 and 1993. This paper outlines these theological views, both supportive and against, concerning the consistency of the CDF's 2018 decision with both its 1993 responsa and the Principle of Double Effect (PDE). It argues that the Principle of Double Effect (PDE) can be applied to explain the CDF's judgement, provided that the hysterectomy is regarded as concerning infecundity, the inability to have a live birth...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

In a 1959 article, John C. Ford, SJ (1902-1989), proposed the existence of a new virtue to regulate recreational drug use which he names "pharmacosophrosyne." This article analyzes the soundness of Ford's proposal and extends it by providing a mereological analysis of how pharmacosophrosyne relates to the virtues of temperance and sobriety. It then shows how understanding both pharmacosophrosyne and sobriety can inform a moral evaluation of recreational drug use.

Older patients have an increased risk of depression, neglect, and abuse. Studies demonstrate that spiritual and religious coping is important at times of personal crisis, but few studies explore the impact of religion on older persons' experiences of aging, illness, and impending death. This study set out to identify recurring spiritual and clinical themes shared by retirement home residents in the context of a Christian faith-based processing group. A qualitative cohort study of residents over the age of 65 was conducted at a retirement home in Chicago, Illinois...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

This paper presents the biological, philosophical, and theological arguments against "brain death" or death determined strictly through neurological criteria. It is rooted in a realistic, Thomistic metaphysical and anthropological view of the human person and the objective reality of death. Part I of the paper reviews the medical evidence that the bodies of those declared brain death are alive and makes clear that the bodies of "brain dead" patients are not biologically analogous to severed body parts. Part II presents the philosophical and theological argument that it is impossible to be a live human being and not a person...

A neurologist reflects upon the function of the hamstring, including kneeling, and being hamstrung, both physically and spiritually.

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

A physician struggling to grow in her career finds an apt analogy in being a fledgling gardener and learns to trust that God's hand has been planting the seeds all along.