Inherently Evil Actions

[LouisvilleFan]

I work in a health insurance call center and fortunately (since it's Medicare) there aren't many calls that pertain to abortion, birth control, sterilization, etc. However, there are some Medicaid members and people under 65 with disabilities are also eligible for Medicare. If someone calls requesting benefits/providers for an abortion, there's no question that I cannot violate my conscience by providing this information (or even transfer the call). However, when it comes to forms of contraception, it is possible that the intention is to treat a diagnosed medical condition which causes pregnancy to be a life-threatening medical risk. What I don't know is exactly which forms are inherently evil -- that is, evil in and of themselves like abortion, as opposed to being evil if used for the purpose of contraception.

A call yesterday prompts this question... it was a disabled Medicare member of child-bearing age calling with a letter of medical necessity from her doctor in order to be sterilized. I wasn't sure if I should provide any information or not and, since her letter went into some medical terminology about serious health risks related to pregnancy, I chose to provide the information since she wasn't requesting the procedure simply to avoid conception. But that doesn't mean I was right... are there circumstances in which a contraceptive procedure would [i]not[/i] be evil or sinful?

If anyone knows of a good overview of this topic by a respected moral theologian or apologist, that'd be amesome too.

Edited March 3, 2011 by LouisvilleFan

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='LouisvilleFan' timestamp='1299161804' post='2217426']
... are there circumstances in which a contraceptive procedure would [i]not[/i] be evil or sinful?

[/quote]

Short answer, yes, in some circumstances. To be more exact, it wouldn't be considered a contraceptive procedure in this case.
Someone smarter than me in the issues can probably comment further.

Edited March 3, 2011 by Nihil Obstat

[kafka]

direct and deliberate sterilization is intrinsically evil since the knowingly chosen act is morally directed at the evil proximate end (moral object) of contraception.

an indirect sterilization is not intrinsically evil since it is an evil consequence in the circumstance of a knowingly chosen act which is morally directed at the good proximate end (moral object) of treating a disease. Example:

A woman has cancer of the uterus; her uterus is removed in order to remove the cancer. This results indirectly in sterilization. This is morally indirect, though physically direct, because the medical procedure is, directly, the removal of a cancerous organ; that is the meaning inherent in the act. The sterilization is not the inherent meaning of the act. It is an unintended consequence.

The evil consequence of the sterilization cannot be intended as an end. The overall intention must be good. The intended end must be good, the intended means must be good. And all the forseeable good consequences must outweigh the bad consequences. So a medical procedure which will bring about an indirect sterilization cannot be morally done for a small ailment, because the procreative faculty is greater on the scale of values. The bad consequence would outweigh the good.

This is the basic breakdown. I'm not sure if there is a good article on it. Will try to find one and add more thoughts this weekend.

[Nihil Obstat]

Check Priests for Life. They have a ton of good bioethics resources.

[kafka]

Louisville these two articles are basically good, though personally I would analyse it a little differently (in light of the three fonts of morality):

Sterilization as Contraception
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=6364

Fertility, sterilization and Church teaching
http://www.the-tidings.com/2010/043010/benson.htm

Edited March 3, 2011 by kafka

[LouisvilleFan]

Thanks guys... I'm familiar with the direct/indirect logic since it also applies in cases of direct/indirect abortion. Catholic Culture seems to have a lot of good reading. I just happened across is the other day and started "[url="http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otc.cfm?id=768"]How the Pill Explodes the Mythology of Vatican II[/url]," but needed more time to finish.