TMCE8124 · Theology and Ministry

End of Life Ethics

Clough School of Theology and Ministry

The course endeavors to educate the student about the issues, perspectives, and methodologies in contemporary end of life ethics. Throughout the course the tradition of Catholic end of life ethics will be placed in dialogue with Protestant and secular positions and approaches in the field. The course begins with an exploration of the development of the Catholic end of life ethics tradition from Thomas Aquinas to the present day. Students then consider contemporary issues in end of life ethics, such as physician assisted suicide, the provision of artificial nutrition and hydration for permanently unconscious patients, the ethics of palliative care, and the provision of treatment for neonates suffering from terminal illness. This section of the course analyzes cases in clinical end of life ethics. The course also introduces students to how end of life ethics functions in hospital ethics committees.