Author Archive for Denise J. Hunnell, M.D

Eliminating the Impoverished Does Not Eliminate Poverty
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Eliminating the Impoverished Does Not Eliminate Poverty

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by on Jan 06, 2015 in Contraception & Abortion, Featured, International Issues
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On Nov. 8, 2014, Dr. R.K. Gupta set about performing tubal ligations on 80 women at a mass sterilization camp in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. He completed all the surgeries in less than six hours. Subsequently, dozens of these women fell ill and at least 13 died.[i] An investigation is ongoing but it appears that gross […]

Down Syndrome Does Not Make Life Disposable
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Down Syndrome Does Not Make Life Disposable

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by on Oct 23, 2014 in Contraception & Abortion, Disability, Sickness & Suffering, Featured
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The Holy Father’s universal prayer intention for September was, “That the mentally disabled may receive the love and help they need for a dignified life.” This is such a timely prayer. In recent weeks there has been a steady drumbeat to dehumanize and marginalize those with mental challenges, especially those with Down syndrome. For example, […]

Authentic Compassion Does Not Include Assisted Suicide
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Authentic Compassion Does Not Include Assisted Suicide

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by on Sep 11, 2014 in Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide, Featured
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The British Parliament is currently considering the legalization of assisted suicide. The act under consideration was introduced by Lord Falconer and eschews the term “suicide,” preferring instead the euphemism “assisted dying.” Under current British law outlined in the 1961 Suicide Act, it is a crime to encourage or assist another in the act of suicide. […]

Be Not Afraid! St. John Paul II’s Key to Building a Culture of Life
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Be Not Afraid! St. John Paul II’s Key to Building a Culture of Life

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by on Jun 06, 2014 in Contraception & Abortion, Disability, Sickness & Suffering, Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
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The recent canonization of Saint John Paul II offers an impetus to reflect on both his life and his papacy. The Pope’s leadership of the Catholic Church was exemplified by his signature phrase “Be not afraid!” Yet, what exactly was he exhorting the faithful to face without fear? Pope John Paul II first uttered this […]

Artificial Reproductive Technology: Constructing a Dystopia
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Artificial Reproductive Technology: Constructing a Dystopia

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by on May 08, 2014 in Featured, Reproductive Technology
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Both the 1932 novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and the 1997 science fiction movie “Gattaca” are classified as dystopias because they depict societies riddled with misery, tragedy, and a dehumanizing culture. Both attribute this decline in civilization to manipulations of human genetics and perversions of human reproduction. In Brave New World the traditional […]

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Cloaking Infanticide With Medical Respectability

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by on Aug 07, 2013 in Contraception & Abortion, Featured
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During a testy exchange with a Weekly Standard reporter, United States Representative Nancy Pelosi, a self-professed “devout Catholic,” called the discussion of late-term abortions “sacred ground.” In the same conversation, she used the word “reprehensible” to describe the activities of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortionist convicted of murder after snipping the spines of infants who […]

Do No Harm?: Medical Journals Show Increasing Support for Euthanasia
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Do No Harm?: Medical Journals Show Increasing Support for Euthanasia

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by on Aug 27, 2012 in Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide, Featured
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Primum non nocere. First do no harm. This edict has been part of medical ethics since the time of the ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates, in the fifth century B.C. It is found in the Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of medical writing attributed to Hippocrates. The original Hippocratic oath includes: I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit […]

Natural Family Planning Builds a Culture of Life
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Natural Family Planning Builds a Culture of Life

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by on Jul 27, 2012 in Contraception & Abortion, Featured, Marriage
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Pope Benedict XVI offered an encouraging message to the recent meeting of the Equipes Notre Dame (translation: Teams of Our Lady), a pro-marriage apostolate. The Holy Father invited all Christian married couples to be “the gentle and smiling face of the Church.” There is no greater way for couples to achieve this than to joyfully […]

Young Women Exploited by Fertility Industry
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Young Women Exploited by Fertility Industry

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by on Feb 16, 2012 in Featured, Life Issues & Bioethics
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Why Is Selling Eggs an Exception to Law? Catholic teaching is consistent and clear. The sale of human organs and tissues is immoral because it demeans human dignity and regards the human person as a commodity. John Paul II addressed the subject in a speech to the 18th International Congress of the Transplantation Society in […]

Medical Journal Says Nuns Should Use <em>Oral Contraceptives</em> for Cancer Prevention
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Medical Journal Says Nuns Should Use Oral Contraceptives for Cancer Prevention

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by on Dec 19, 2011 in Featured, Life Issues & Bioethics
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On December 8, the Solemn Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the British medical journal, The Lancet, published a most puzzling commentary, in which a clarion call is issued for the Catholic Church to provide all nuns with oral contraceptives in order to prevent cancer. Australian researchers Kara Britt and Roger Short make their recommendation based on the […]