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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An Equal Opportunity to Live: Analysis of ‘The Impact of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill II’
ABN Papers
June 15, 2026
Executive Summary The Department of Health and Social Care, together with the Ministry of Justice, has produced an assessment of the impact of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on people with protected characteristics as set out in the Equality Act 2010. The equality IA claims to take ‘a neutral stance on the
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Briefing
Other Resources
June 1, 2026
Description: This is a briefing from the Complex Life and Death Decisions Group (CLADD) at Kings College, London. The authors have provided detailed analysis of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill from a clinical, legal and ethical perspective. Their analysis relates to the Bill as it was considered by the House of Lords
Gender dysphoria: Some Catholic bioethical reflections
ABN Papers
June 1, 2026
David Albert Jones Gender dysphoria is commonly defined as “a condition where a person experiences discomfort or distress because there’s a mismatch [or incongruence] between their biological sex and gender identity”.[1] Gender identity here refers to a person’s sense that he or she is male or female.[2] Gender incongruence is no longer classified as a
𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘴 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘢’s Vital Contribution to Current Debates
ABN Papers
May 30, 2026
The Declaration on Human Dignity (Dignitas infinita) was released to seize an opportunity to reaffirm the true meaning of human dignity at a time when many appeal to it, but few can agree on what ‘dignity’ means. The issue is urgent because, as mentioned in Cardinal Fernández’ prologue, human dignity is something ‘we are all
Normalising Surrogacy: A Threat To Human Dignity (Dr Pia Matthews)
ABN Papers
May 30, 2026
Summary Surrogacy fractures parenthood, rupturing the intimate relationship between mother and child, and inherently involves exploitation. It reduces the child to an object whose human rights are put at risk, and the mother whose body is commodified into an instrument, both for the sake of a commercial exchange to fulfil the desire of others. As
Counterfeit Consensus: The Ambivalence of Public Opinion on Assisted Suicide
ABN Papers
May 30, 2026
Summary Evidence from bi-monthly tracker surveys and from the British Social Attitudes survey shows that public opinion on ‘assisted suicide’ has remained largely stable over recent years. There has been no groundswell of opinion in favour. If anything, there has been a decline in those who ‘strongly support’ a change in the law, down from
Dignity in Living: Addressing Euthanasia by Affirming Patient Personhood in Dementia
ABN Papers
May 29, 2026
Organisations like the Alzheimer’s Society have made it their mission to transform the landscape of dementia forever so that those affected by that condition are supported, accepted and able to live in their community without fear or prejudice. There has been a concerted effort to change perceptions about dementia and a significant part of this
Difficult Learning: COVID-19 and Adults with Learning Disabilities or Autism
ABN Papers
May 27, 2026
Fear of Dementia For most people, learning to live in lockdown has been a challenge and the lockdown will have long-term repercussions for our health – mental and physical – and for the economy. People also face challenges spiritually. Churches remain shut to public worship and to private prayer. [1] People cannot be with their loved ones
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