| Dramatic advances in neonatal information and technology increase daily and these advances are being implemented almost immediately. One thing that is clear to serious observers in the field is that the implementation of medical advances and technology for some neonates is a mixed blessing at best. Parents and health care professionals are having to decide whether defective neonates, such as those with congenital anomalies, low-birth-weights, and genetic defects, should be treated aggressively or not at all. The problem is that there is no consensus among responsible decision-makers on substantive and procedural issues surrounding defective neonates. The diversity of opinions has brought to the forefront the urgent need for an acceptable set of guidelines on both substantive and procedural issues. Richard A. McCormick, S.J. has proposed an ethical methodology, in which a patient-centered, quality-of-life criterion is an integral part, as a public policy option that can be used by the appropriate decision-makers in determining treatment decisions for defective neonates.;The scope of this dissertation is twofold: First, to articulate, examine, and critically analyze McCormick's ethical methodology, which consists of three sets of claims: anthropological, epistemological, and criteriological. Second, to apply it systematically to four diagnostic treatment categories of defective neonates established by this author to determine if McCormick's ethical methodology is a viable public policy option for parents and health care professionals in determining treatment decisions for defective neonates.;After critically assessing McCormick's ethical methodology and its clinical applications, this author has shown that it can be a viable public policy option for both Christian and non-Christian decision-makers, because the formal and material components of his ethical methodology and the moral content of the conclusions and judgments that are derived from it are reasonable and objective. McCormick's ethical methodology is rooted in the Christian tradition. However, it is clear that the Christian tradition does not originate moral rules or norms for decision-making. Rather, it informs the Christian person's reason and leads the Christian person to moral conclusions that can, in principle, be known by all reasonable people. In conclusion, this author recommends McCormick's ethical methodology to all as a public policy option for the treatment of defective neonates. |
