Health progress (Saint Louis, Mo.)
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According to the Roman Catholic perspective, we are not obliged to ward off death at all costs, but we should not deliberately intervene to bring death about. The "sanctity of life" principle, which rests on the human person's unique relationship with God, is the basis of the Church's honoring of human life as a basic value. Under this principle, direct intervention to end the life of a patient in a terminal condition would not be condoned. ⋯ Thus death may not be directly sought, but it may be tolerated as an inevitable side effect of one's goal (such as the relief of suffering). These moral principles need to be rooted in the specific ways a moral community cares for its sick and dying. The religious convictions of grace and covenant and corresponding virtues of gratitude and fidelity enable the community to uphold its convictions about euthanasia.