Abstract

As one of the primary resources for Catholics concerned about moral issues in health care, the ethicists of The National Catholic Bioethics Center have received many questions regarding triage protocols in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many protocols emphasize utilitarian principles that are incompatible with a principled approach to Catholic health care. Others expressly discourage appeals to ethical principles that are religious in nature or connected to systems of religious belief. This exclusion is arbitrary given the long history of Catholic health care. The ethicists also have concerns about patient priority scores that include disqualifying criteria based on age, disability, or medical condition. These criteria constitute unjust forms of discrimination. Finally, the withdrawal of care should occur only after consultation with the family, and in no case should physicians unilaterally assign do-not-resuscitate status to critically ill patients with COVID-19.