Resources
In this section you will find our resources library. Either use the subject categories to navigate or the search and filter system.
Skip to resources searchThe resources provided by this website broadly fall in to three categories.
First there are papers on bioethical topics written or commissioned by members of the network. In some cases these will be papers that have previously been published in other contexts and are republished here with permission and/or are already in the public domain.
Secondly there are links to documents by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church (that is, by a Pope or an Ecumenical Council or by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith) that are relevant to bioethics. These links will be accompanied by a short description but the description is not to be understood as a commentary or interpretation. It is provided only as an aid to help find material on particular topics.
Finally there are resources that have been produced by other organisations, such as reports or guides. These resources will generally have been published before and may be available on other websites, but are reproduced here for convenience. Where the organisation is operational and/or owns the copyright, these resources will reproduced only with permission.
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Launch of new international bioethics network to promote the dignity and address the vulnerability of every human person
March 30, 2026
30th March 2026 – Today marks the launch of a new international bioethics network, the Augustine Bioethics Network (ABN). Endorsed and actively supported by the Catholic Medical Association UK, ABN exists to promote a vision of bioethics that encompasses both the dignity and the vulnerability of every human person. Established to meet the urgent need
NICE Guideline on Critical Care in Adults: An Ethical Analysis
ABN Papers
February 11, 2026
Introduction This paper takes as its focus a guideline produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the national advisory body for rationing health and social care in England. It should be read together with the first COVID-19 Briefing Paper of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, Resource allocation and ventilators: A statement of
Public Mental Health and the Ethics of COVID-19 Lockdowns
ABN Papers
February 11, 2026
Introduction Since the advent of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, mental health has emerged as a major talking point in the media. Pandemics are a time of heightened anxiety for the population at large, [1] and this anxiety is also fuelled partly by the relentlessness of media cycles, and exacerbated by the rapid spread of false, often alarming
Suicide Prevention: Does Legalising Assisted Suicide Make Things Better Or Worse?
ABN Papers
February 11, 2026
Summary Promoting euthanasia or assisted suicide (EAS) seems to contradict the principle that ‘every suicide is a tragedy’. It has also been argued that the normalisation of EAS might encourage non-assisted suicide. On the other hand, others argue that legalisation of EAS could help prevent suicide. This is because there are people with terminal illnesses who die by
Defining the Terms of the Debate: Euthanasia and Euphemism
ABN Papers
February 11, 2026
Summary The debate concerning whether to legalise voluntary euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide is complicated by a variety of different terms, often developed euphemisms, for the realities under discussion. This leads to confusion, and requires clarification. Euthanasia is the ending of a patient’s life by their physician, but important distinctions remain between whether this voluntary, involuntary,
Evidence of Harm: Assessing the Impact of Assisted Dying / Assisted Suicide on Palliative Care
ABN Papers
February 11, 2026
Executive Summary i. The aim of this paper is to examine critically the evidence given in support of the conclusion in the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee 2024 Report on Assisted Dying / Assisted Suicide [AD / AS] that they ‘did not see any indications of palliative and end-of-life care deteriorating in quality
Resource Allocation and Ventilators: A Statement of Catholic Principles
ABN Papers
February 11, 2026
Introduction What does the Catholic tradition say about the allocation of healthcare resources during a pandemic? More specifically, in the context of the current pandemic, what does the Catholic tradition have to say about the provision of ventilation for patients with COVID-19? The governing principle of medical ethics, as understood within the Catholic tradition, is
Wrong Side of the World: The Misplaced Reliance on Australia in the UK Debate on ‘Assisted Dying’
ABN Papers
February 11, 2026
Executive Summary Parliamentary Committees in Scotland and in England have been considering Bills that would legalise ‘assisted dying’ (meaning physician-assisted suicide). One striking feature of the conduct of these Committees is the heavily skewed evidence both have taken from pro-assisted suicide witnesses from Australia. This is problematic for a number of reasons: There is clear
Care Homes and Older Members of the Community
ABN Papers
February 11, 2026
Introduction What does the Catholic tradition say about caring for older members of the community? [1] Do we have a special responsibility to provide for the needs of older people during a pandemic? It is now increasingly clear that many of the deaths in the current COVID-19 crisis have occurred in aged care facilities. [2] Aged care homes around
Eight Reasons Why We Must Not Legalise ‘Assisted Dying’
ABN Papers
February 9, 2026
1) It overturns a fundamental principle of law and medicine ‘Assisted dying’ [1] is the intentional ending of the life of a patient by a doctor (‘euthanasia’) or a patient ending their own life with a lethal drug supplied by a doctor for this purpose (‘assisted suicide’). These practices violate the prohibition of intentional killing, which is
The Principle of Autonomy – Does it Support the Legalisation of Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide?
ABN Papers
February 5, 2026
Summary The principle of autonomy is often invoked in support of the legalisation of euthanasia and assisted suicide. How one defines ‘autonomy’, however, is a matter of dispute. A number of important considerations arise as a result of this dispute, and it is important to ensure that ‘autonomy’ is defined in a way that works
Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to Participants in the 24th Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences
Magisterial Documents
April 11, 2024
Description This was an address to a conference with the title: ‘Disability and the Human Condition. Changing the Social Determinants of Disabilities and Building a New Culture of Inclusion’. The Pope, advocates ‘listening to the voices of men and women with disabilities’ to understand how the lives of persons with disabilities are conditioned ‘not only