Catholic physicians and others who prescribe contraceptives or recommend their use are cooperators with those who use them. Such cooperation is gravely sinful. The same is true for physicians who advise contraceptive sterilization, or perform this procedure or refer a person to another physician for this purpose. In doing so they, too, commit grave sin. _Glennon P. Flavin is bishop of the diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska.

the excerpt above is a pastoral letter of a catholic bishop. according to him its not only a sin but a grave one. quite easy to say but how can a doctor, in the process of living up this faith, escape being indicted for poor management of a patient?

a catholic doctor was baptised to practrice catholic doctrine, and also under obligations of physician's oath. its even much more difficult for resident doctors in a teaching hospital under a consultant. what will such a person do when directed by a consultant to carry out bilateral tubal ligation (tieing the fallopian tubes) on a patient or when a patient's condition requires such procedure?

how can a catholic doctor cope