What Guides Catholic End-of-Life Decisions? A Foundation for Every Family (Ep. 1)

Many faithful Catholics will eventually face end-of-life decisions, whether for a parent, a spouse, or themselves. Before we get into specific questions like feeding tubes, ventilators, and advance directives in future episodes, this conversation lays the foundation: what principles actually guide Catholic end-of-life care?

Human Life International President Fr. Shenan Boquet walks through the Church’s foundational principles for making ethical medical decisions — drawing from Catholic bioethics, the Catechism, and the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services.

Fr. Boquet explains:

• The Church’s approach to caring for the sick
• Why every human life possesses inherent dignity
• Why the Church rejects euthanasia and assisted suicide
• Ordinary (proportionate) vs. extraordinary (disproportionate) medical treatment
• Hospice vs. palliative care
• How Catholic families should think about difficult medical decisions

This episode is the first in a special series inspired by more than 200 questions submitted by listeners about Catholic end-of-life care. Future episodes will go deeper on feeding tubes, ventilators, advance directives, anointing of the sick, hospice selection, and other real-life situations facing Catholic families.

Download HLI’s free e-book on Catholic end-of-life care here: End of Life Decisions | Human Life International

USCCB’s Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services 7th Ed: ERDs-7th-ed-Approved_2025-11-12.pdf

Listen to the Full Mini-Series on Ethical End-of-Life Care:

Episode 1: Watch our discussion of ordinary vs. extraordinary care and nutrition/hydration at the end of life here: What Guides Catholic End-of-Life Decisions? A Foundation for Every Family (Ep. 1)

Episode 2 covered ethical pain management at the end of life. You can watch this discussion here: Can Catholics Use Morphine for Pain Management? | End of Life Ethics (Ep. 2)

Episode 3 covered practical application of ordinary vs. extraordinary care: When Can Catholics Stop Life Support? Ventilators, Pacemakers & Feeding Tubes (Ep. 3)

Episode 4 discussed living wills, DNR orders, and questions to vet hospice providers: What You Need to Know About DNRs, Hospice & Advance Directives (Ep. 4)

Episode 5 discussed spiritual care at the end of life: Last Rites vs Anointing of the Sick: What Catholics Should Know When a Loved One is Dying (Ep. 5)

Episode 6 discussed cremation, funerals, and other post-death questions: Can Catholics be Cremated? And Other Post-Death Questions (Ep. 6)