Latest Updates & Catholic Bioethics

This date marks the third anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization which overturned Roe v. Wade.

Bishop Thomas, Chair of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities has issued a statement urging Catholics to continue working toward building a Culture of Life in their communities. 
Although Texas has favorable abortion restrictions, recent data suggests that this fact is doing little to discourage TX women from seeking abortion as the abortion industry appears to have found a variety of work-arounds to the existing laws. (For example, recent data from the Charlotte Lozier Institute suggested that more Texas women sought abortions in 2024 than in 2020). 

We encourage you to contact your legislators (State and Federal) on Tuesday the 24^th to encourage them to enact pro-life policies (including increasing support for moms and families) and to withdraw support from pro-abortion organizations like Planned Parenthood. You can locate contact information for your federal representatives at house.gov and senate.gov. State representatives can be located at TLO. 

This is a three-module series that focuses on common medical and ethical issues arising at the beginning of life, at the end of life, and in health care & experimentation. Each topic is evaluated in light of the nature of the human person and consistency of the medical practice with human dignity.

These modules will be offered through our Learning Management System, Capernaum. If you do not have an account in Capernaum, you can create an account at https://capernaum.leadlms.com/login. Visit https://archgh.org/capernaum for more information and support on Capernaum. 
In addition to the three modules, a brief introduction to Catholic moral theology is required for completion of a course. If you have not previously taken a bioethics course with the archdiocese, we strongly recommend viewing a 30-minute introduction video, as concepts from this video will be discussed in the modules. This pre-work video, Catholic Bioethics: A Moral Framework, is available now on Capernaum. 

In response to the renewed focus on topics of IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies, the USCCB's Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities has created a variety of documents to assist parishes in responding to parishioner questions and to minister to those struggling with infertility. Please share these resources in your parish and contact the Office of Pro-Life Activities with any questions at 713.741.8728 or [email protected]. 

Check out the USCCB Action Center to learn about upcoming legislation and how you can take action.