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