Christian Medical Witness to a Secular Culture

In today's war against Satan, one of the major fronts is medical ethics surrounding such issues as abortion, "euthanasia" and "gender reassignment".

From Crisis

By James O. Breen, MD

Within the medical profession, the shameful ideological capture of our professional institutions has invaded the exam rooms of our clinics and hospitals as well as the halls of our institutions of medical education.

For Catholic medical professionals, the annual conference of the Catholic Medical Association provides much needed educational and spiritual sustenance. This year’s event, which was recently held in Orlando, was no exception. On my drive home, I reflected on the blessing of this much-anticipated autumnal event, which offers Catholic medical professionals an energizing blend of medical education and spiritual retreat, fraternity and fellowship. 

The ability to take a break from the hostility of the secular medical culture, and to speak with candor and truth among colleagues, is sorely needed among Catholics in health care during these troubling times in medicine. At what other professional conference can one hear captivating talks focusing on scientific and theological truth about the pressing medical issues of our day while also attending daily Mass and participating in Confession, 24-hour Eucharistic Adoration, and the veneration of relics of Sts. Padre Pio and Catherine of Siena? 

The theme of this year’s conference was “Imago Dei: Made in His Image,” emphasizing the cornerstone Catholic doctrine of the dignity of the human person that is indispensable to Catholic health care. Whether speaking about prenatal care, the care of those facing infertility, or of people with disabilities, the presentations’ repeated emphasis on the shared humanity that is present at all stages was a welcome respite from the hostile posturing of mainstream medical culture’s devaluation of the earliest stages of human life. Rather than engaging in vitriolic attacks that are expected within the political culture, the CMA conference’s presenters offered ways for attendees to serve as witnesses in their own circumstances within a secular profession that has lost its way and abandoned the most vulnerable members of the human family. 

A common aphorism declares that politics is downstream from culture. If this is so, then the political overthrow of medicine is indicative of a pervasive coarsening of the broader culture. Within the medical profession, the shameful ideological capture of our professional institutions has occurred with lightning speed; it has invaded the exam rooms of our clinics and hospitals as well as the halls of our institutions of medical education. A tragic result of the ideology on offer is a pervasive “othering” of categories of persons, starting with those at the earliest stages of development. 

This dehumanization by leaders in the expert class is perpetrated despite the existence of conclusive scientific evidence affirming the indisputable humanity of the unborn. Knowledge of the unique genetic constitution of the fertilized egg which represents humans’ first stage of life, the visualization of the earliest fetal cardiac activity at six weeks’ gestation using ultrasound, and the ability to observe the steady growth and development of the unborn baby through the course of pregnancy all ought to serve as the basis for medical scientists’ unanimous recognition and defense of the humanity of the unborn. 

Contrary to the life-affirming position supported by science, mainstream medical associations such as the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) have defended an unqualified “right to choose” throughout the entirety of pregnancy, despite the fact that this “choice” results in the intentional killing of one of their patients (as the adage goes, the physician who cares for a pregnant woman cares for two patients). 

Because it ignores the facts of human procreation and embryological development, the rabid activism of these specialty societies—far from defending women’s “choices” on the basis of science—is actually based on an entirely anti-scientific assertion. In a society such as ours, which glorifies scientism as the only valid way of arriving at the truth, this outright disregard for scientific evidence should be the gravest, most unforgiveable stain imaginable. And yet, the most prominent medical societies and journals in the country are given a pass so long as they use their professional credibility in the service of the convenient lies of our political class. 

For medical professionals of goodwill in our current age—including Catholic physicians—the pronouncements of mainstream medical societies against human life are anathema to our professional vocation. Compelled by the calling to see the face of Christ in each person whom we serve, Christian medical professionals have become increasingly on guard when encountering the pronouncements of mainstream medicine that exclude classes of persons from the human family. 

In this most intense of all election years, it is particularly exhausting to counter the falsehoods promulgated around issues such as abortion and in vitro fertilization, practices which deny the humanity of the youngest humans and yet have gained increased acceptance in our society. At a time when the public should be able to rely on its medical establishment to educate on the truth of these barbaric practices, medicine’s leadership class tragically has abdicated its responsibility and chosen mendacity instead. What is to be done? 
Faithful Catholic physicians are tired of seeing our life’s work co-opted by malign forces that ostensibly speak for us on matters that go far beyond factual medical science. Among the most inspiring encounters at the CMA conference were the casual conversations over a meal with other attendees who spoke of their own ways of witnessing to the truth in their spheres of influence. Some people sought to speak to the truth as advocates from within their specialty societies on issues of life and the purpose of the profession. A group of family physicians I encountered has launched a pro-life family medicine specialty society, the American College of Family Medicine (ACFM), as an alternative to the AAFP’s abortion advocacy. Several physicians I met have left employed practice with plans to launch their own independent Catholic practices.

On a personal level, the message and testimonies presented at the CMA conference could not have been more providential. After several years practicing in medical education, I recently decided to leave my academic practice to start an independent family practice as an expression of Catholic social teaching. I humbly pray that in this way I may more fully honor my professional vocation as a follower of Christ: to practice medicine in the service of the imago Dei.

This month, the Church celebrates the Feast of Sts. Cosmas and Damian (September 26th), twin physician-saints from the fourth century who exercised their prophetic healing ministry without fear of what might befall them. Renowned for providing their care to all without charging a fee, Cosmas and Damian practiced medicine with the love of Christ, which eventually led to their martyrdom during the Diocletian persecution. May the faithful Christians engaged on the spiritual battlefield of our contemporary medical culture receive inspiration from their witness and protection through their intercession on our behalf.