Lebel, Robert Roger

English

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The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 41 | Number 4 Article 1311-1-1974[Book Review of ] The Pastor and the Patient: AnInformal Guide to New Directions in Medical Ethics, byWilliam JacobsRobert Roger LebelFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqPart of the Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, and the Medicine and Health SciencesCommonsRecommended CitationLebel, Robert Roger (1974) "[Book Review of] The Pastor and the Patient: An Informal Guide to New Directions in Medical Ethics, byWilliam Jacobs," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 41: No. 4, Article 13.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol41/iss4/13great deal to enlarge one an-others' outlook. The book is well worth reading and can be recom-mended both to the person who has little knowledge on the sub-ject of Natural Family Planning and to the one who knows a con-siderable amount but would like to explore further. Reviewed by: Hanna Klaus, M.D. St. Louis University Medical School St. Louis, Missouri Book Review We welcome Dr. Klaus to the pages of the Linacre Quarterly. An Assistant Professor in the de-partment of OB-GYN at St. Louis University Medical School, she is the author of numerous scholarly papers. Dr. Klaus is a Diplomate of the American Board of Obstet-rics and Gynecology and a Fellow of the American College of Ob-stetricians and Gynecologists. The Pastor and the Patient: An Informal Guide to New Directions in Medical Ethics by William Jacobs Paulist Press, 7973, 786 pp. First-hand experience, active faith, and prayerful reflection are evident ingredients in this book, clearly written out of love for the Church - to criticize where that is called for, and to share the fruits of carefully interpreted observations. It is required reading for any priest who claims to minister to those in need of medical attention. Dr. Jacobs discusses every major medical field involving moral decisions. Thirteen chapters treat contraception, sterilization and abortion , life and death, experimentation and organ transplantation, genetic engineering and surgery, artificial insemination, psychiatric care and drug addictions, physician-patient relationships, health care policies and expenses, confidentiality, and the intricacies of decision making. The primary theme of the book is the priest's role in all of this. Jacobs repeatedly points out that the Church does not, cannot exercise the kind of arbitrary authority for which we may have once looked. "Our absolutes are fading fast and will probably never be heard from again. " He rejects the domino theory which fears that a broad definition of 'extraordinary means' leads to wholesale euthanasia, or that a more open attitude toward contraception and abortion ends in abuses 304 Linacre Quarterly and immorality. With Andre I:Ieliegers, he reminds us that there is more to morality than sex ... 'We have to get our ethics above the umbilicus.' The priest needs to be radically open, flexible, non-judgemental, alert, in touch with medical progress, sharing peoples' ambiguities, resisting the temptation to be peremptory or dogmatic, caring, visit-ing, listening. Yes, he must be willing to teach what the Church teaches, but also to show with his own life that those who reject what is taught are still (all the more) deeply, fully loved by the Lord. The priest wants to love those the Lord loves. If he is to be a sign of the Lord's presence, he must convey to the patient a sense that love is lasting, that acceptance is uncompromised by disagreement on any issue of decision. Richard McConnick: "One does not obey teachers." One learns from them. Jacobs: "A good human solution is quite often the best Christian solution." Another major theme that cuts across the lines of the various chapters is the patient's right to know. Jacob is (happily) strong on this point. A dying patient should know that he is dying as soon as the fact is reliably ascertained - and the one to tell him is his physician, who knows both patient and disease. The doctor also has a responsibility to keep his patient well informed about tests and operative procedures he is undergoing. Above all, consent for experi-mental work must be based on thorough understanding. And con-fidentiality of records is repeatedly emphasized as a prime value. The ethical obligations of the physician and other medical personnel constitute an area to which the priest must be alert if he is to be a prophet and teacher in the total medical context. Another realm in which information needs to be thorough is that of genetic counseling. It is an old axiom of moral theology that a decision is not authentically moral unless it is made on the basis of the fullest possible information. Any kind of withholding is inadmis-sible, since it effectively arrogates decision to the selective informer. There is an important bow toward Alcoholics Anonymous, at last a public admission that AA has probably done more for alcohol ad-dicts than all the physicians, psychiatrists and priests. This is of great importance to the pastor, who needs to appreciate that the vast majority of drug addicts are hooked on alcohol, that the clergy-man is usually the first helper sought out by the alcoholic, and that the kind of total-person therapy employed by AA is the only ulti-mately reliable one. Jacobs' style is not always clear and clean. More importantly, there is one significant factual blunder: "In a case of the XXY chromosome, associated with criminal behavior . .. abortion (may November, 1974 305 be acceptable)." It is obvious that the reference is to' XYY ("double Y") rather than XXY (Klinefelter's Syndrome). But the relation-ship O'f the supernumerary Y chrO'mosome to' antisocial behavior is nO't by any means clearly established; there is a good chance that we have all met such men without having noticed anything special about them. XXY, for its part, is characterized by mental retarda-tion and sterility, not "notably sexual criminal behavior." Jacobs points out that about 20% "of the existing population carries some deleterious mutation." This may be an underestimate. But he seems to overstate the biological problems of artificial insemination by donor, which are played down by the experts. These few objections notwithstanding, this book is valuable as a refresher-stimulant to those already experienced in the field of min-istry to medical personnel and patients, and a fine starting place for those entering the work. Reviewed by: Robert Roger Lebel, S.J. Jesuit School of Theology Berkeley, California Book Review Law and Ethics of A.I.D. and Embryo Transfer (iba Foundation Symposium J7, Associated Scientific Publishers, New York, Amsterdam, London, J973, J JO pp. Twenty-two experts took part in the 1973 Ciba symposium -17 of them British, two French, one Polish, one Canadian and one American. Their expertise ranged through genetics, physiology, phi-losophy, law, moral theology, psychology and obstetrics-gyne-cology. Forty percent of the book is devoted to the discussions. The editors seem to have departed from custom in keeping these in-tact rather than tidying them up for publication. There is a sense 306 of liveliness: one can almost hear the chiming in from opposite ends of the room . . . the particular interests and biases. On the other hand, there is a problem of non sequitur remarks that suggests a lack of listening among the par-ticipants. Flair and awkwardness are both preserved. This disjoint-edness is perhaps to be expected, reflecting the state of the ques-tions in the minds of the 'experts' as well as the public. We can hope for clarification to emerge, some-where, soon. Linacre Quarterly 

[Book Review of] \u3cem\u3eThe Pastor and the Patient: An Informal Guide to New Directions in Medical Ethics\u3c/em\u3e, by William Jacobs

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[Book Review of] \u3cem\u3eThe Pastor and the Patient: An Informal Guide to New Directions in Medical Ethics\u3c/em\u3e, by William Jacobs

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