From time to time the Catholic Medical Association (CMA) is asked to intervene in cases in which a physician or health-care facility has made and is enforcing a judgment of medical futility, consistent with an internal policy and/or state law, over the objections of a patient and/or family member(s). While CMA cannot intervene in particular cases due to their complexity and due to lack of any authority, it can, however, offer guidelines to assist people in working through such issues in a timely, ethical, and charitable manner.

Click here to read CMA’s position paper on this issue.