New end-of-life healthcare form creates problems for Catholic hospitals

Catholic hospitals may soon have to take a stand on a new form designed to give patients a say in end-of-life healthcare decisions but that conflicts with Catholic teachings, according to NJ Spotlight. The form gives patients a chance to list their goals for care and preferences for medical interventions, artificially administered fluids, nutrition and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The form is similar to an advance directive but has the force of a doctor's order and other healthcare providers must follow it, the article states. New Jersey church leaders support the form, but Catholic bishops and ethicists in many states oppose it, stating it conflicts with Catholic teachings. Article