ne of the most sophisticated and well-articulated ethical frameworks, particularly with respect to bioethics, is that of Roman Catholicism. The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services is a comprehensive statement of ethics pertaining to a variety of ethical issues in health care. This example of an ethical position, well grounded in the framework of a particular faith tradition, has been very influential in the general realm of bioethical thought.

The Catholic moral tradition has rich and varied roots; however, all intellectual viewpoints emphasize an abiding commitment to the promotion and defense of human dignity from conception to death. Each human life is considered sacred and deserving of a right to life. Such a right includes proper origination and development of a life with access to an adequate level of care. Also emphasized are the need to accept social responsibility in caring for the poor and the promotion of the common good. In this perspective, the common good is defined in terms of protecting fundamental rights in order that all individuals are enabled to realize their common purposes and goals (National Conference of Catholic Bishops 1995).

One of the founding voices of the Catholic moral tradition is that of Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican saint who lived in the thirteenth century. He is associated with a particular interpretation of natural law, a philosophical tradition dating back to early pre-Socratic philosophers. In general, natural law proposes fundamental laws that have been laid down by nature itself and are discoverable through experience, observation, induction and insight into commonly shared aspects of human nature and behavior. Aquinas viewed human beings as intelligent, rational creatures, created in the image of God, whose human reason is answerable to the basic principle of doing good and avoiding evil (Catholic Encyclopedia). Good is simply that which is proper to human nature and consistent with the objective goal of human happiness.