What type of medical treatment is acceptable for individuals who are seriously ill?
The terms “ordinary” and “extraordinary” are used to distinguish between those decisions that are morally obligatory and those that are morally optional, respectively. Generally, a medical procedure that has little hope of benefit and is burdensome is considered “extraordinary” and is not obligatory. For example, a person may prudentially determine that the pain and difficulty of an aggressive treatment for terminal cancer is too great to endure, and thus decide to forgo that treatment. Whether a particular treatment is excessively burdensome to an individual patient is a moral question that often requires the advice of a clergyman or someone well versed in moral theology. Individual patients and their families should seek the guidance of the Church whenever there is any doubt about the morality of a particular course of action. Most medical treatment received during the course of one’s lifetime is routine and does not raise serious moral questions. Occasionally, however, medical circu
