July 17, 2008

LIVE BLOGCAST: Health Care & the Common Good: Dr. Edmund Pellegrino (continued)

Question: Has there been any official reaction to the article by Steven Pinker on the uselessness of human dignity?

Response: (Qualified as own opinions) Not a very intellectual engagement of ideas.

Question: Systems are not the answer...?

Response: First order questions are ethical/theological. IOW, what does it take for a society to pursue the common good? It's never been defined in the public arena. So which systems are helpful with regard to their ethical content. It's about getting clarification on the ethical implications of systems.

Question: The obligations to provide health care for people in need and suffering....how far does this extend?

Response: One of the conditions would have to be that any medical treatment that we're going to use or include...is going to have to be proven as effective. But are we committed to health care as a common good as an ethical concern or economic concern? Health care cannot be a commodity and the marketplace has no heart. We give it a heart by thinking about our obligations.

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