Abstract

In May 2019, the Vatican held a conference in Rome that focused on perinatal palliative care. In these troubled times, that would seem to be an arcane topic for the church to address. The speeches at the conference made it clear why the topic was timely and relevant. Speakers included scientists, clinicians, theologians, and advocates for a humane approach to clinical decisions in situations of prenatal diagnosis of fetal anomalies. The Roman Catholic Church, like the rest of us who work in pediatrics or maternal-fetal medicine, is trying to figure out the ethical implications of the technological advances that have taken place in prenatal diagnosis and fetal therapy.Prenatal care changed dramatically in the...