Health and Human Flourishing: Religion, Medicine, and Moral Anthropology

12 Health Care and a Theological Anthropology

c h a p t e r c h a p t e r 12 Health Care and a Theological Anthropology Carol Taylor, C.S.F.N. Each fall I pose the same question to the new group of chaplains and pastoral caregivers in our clinical pastoral education program. “What is it that your religious tradition invites you to ‘reach into’ to inform your ethical judgments about medical interventions?” Some Catholic chaplains quickly point to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services , promulgated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, indicating that it applies centuries of Catholic moral teaching to contemporary health care issues. When asked what grounds these teachings, they often reference scripture but are frequently at a loss when pressed to explain a judgment about something not explicitly addressed by scripture, such as embryonic stem cell research. Some who are better acquainted with the directives reference “the true dignity and vocation of the human person”: 226 carol taylor, c.s.f.n. “In a time of new medical discoveries, rapid technological developments, and social change, what is new can either be an opportunity for genuine advancement in human culture, or it can lead to policies and actions that are contrary to the true dignity and vocation of the human person.1 But many find the criterion of the “true dignity and vocation of the human person” unhelpful because it is open to wide and conflicting interpretations . Is withdrawing medical nutrition and hydration from the patient now diagnosed to be in persistent vegetative state (postcoma unresponsiveness ) respectful or disrespectful of the dignity of the patient? Chaplains from other Christian traditions are often quick to indicate that persons must reach their own decisions about the licitness of particular medical interventions based on their personal understanding of how scripture and their relationship with God apply. Catholic teaching privileges conscience and urges Catholics to form a correct conscience based on the moral norms for proper health care. And yet when I meet with many Christians who take their faith seriously and want to make ethically good decisions about health, they are at a loss to describe how they calibrate their moral compass , without an explicit church teaching. It is these experiences that made me eager to invite the reflection, writing , and dialogue that culminated in this book. Would reflection and dialogue that results in a rich theological anthropology provide practical guidance for those involved in the definition, design, implementation, financing, and evaluation of health care? Thus I will briefly address what a theological anthropology might contribute to health care—the focus of many chapters of this book. In the chapters that follow, Catholic ethicists involved in health policy (Ron Hamel) and science, specifically molecular genetics (Kevin FitzGerald), will more fully elaborate on its contributions in their respective disciplines. Why Health Care Needs a Theological Anthropology A rich theological anthropology provides guidance on how to (1) find meaning in the vulnerabilities that accompany birth, aging and its developmental challenges, acute and chronic illness, and dying; (2) organize and deliver health care; (3) approach all parties receiving and providing health care, especially the most vulnerable; (4) make individual health care decisions as both patients/surrogates and health care professionals; and (5) prioritize health decisions as institutions. Health Care and a Theological Anthropology 227 How to Find Meaning in the Vulnerabilities That Accompany Birth, Aging, and Its Developmental Challenges—Acute and Chronic Illness, and Dying While many of the chapters in this book explore this theme, Toombs, Lysaught, and Zaner are eloquent in their descriptions of vulnerability, and in the interests of brevity I will simply reference their work. How We Organize and Deliver Health Care Bill Frist, U.S. Senate majority leader and physician, was asked immediately after the reelection of President George W. Bush how he thought health care needs would be addressed in the next four years. His response, “We will provide coverage for prescription drugs for some seniors, increase options for medical savings accounts, and so on,” reflected the popular belief that health care is a commodity best regulated in the marketplace that privileges the wealthy and an appalling indifference to the needs of the growing numbers of the uninsured and the underinsured who lack access to basic health care services.2 A theological anthropology that boldly privileges our social nature and obligation to care for one another would not allow Christian citizens to rest...