I’m pretty sure the Catechism mentions this. My personal opinion/interpretation is that Catholics can refuse life sustaining treatment if their condition is irreversible, unbeatable, and they are in sound mind. My grandmother and late fiance refused further treatment once their cancers got bad enough that they knew they weren’t going to make it. The treatments were making their time on earth longer, but not with much quality. Quality is better than quantity anyday. They also had both had time to go to Confession, speak to those they loved, and otherwise prepare for meeting God.Can a Catholic, who has cancer, refuse life saving medical treatment in the re-placement of herb therapy(from an Indian herb doctor) knowing probably that this won’t work and he will probably die(but yet trusts God he will help him?)
You can refuse treatment if it is too burdensome and the chance of success is close to zero, but you can’t refuse routine medical procedures that will likely succeed. If you are bitten by a snake for example you can’t refuse treatment and say instead that you are just going to trust in God. In the question you posed I would say no: you can’t opt out of medical treatment in favor of witchcraft. Refusing treatment in those circumstances would be pretty much the same as committing suicide.Can a Catholic, who has cancer, refuse life saving medical treatment in the re-placement of herb therapy(from an Indian herb doctor) knowing probably that this won’t work and he will probably die(but yet trusts God he will help him?)
In my opinion when it is your time to go it is your time to go. God has a plan and he will call your name when he calls your name no matter what treatment you try.Can a Catholic, who has cancer, refuse life saving medical treatment in the re-placement of herb therapy(from an Indian herb doctor) knowing probably that this won’t work and he will probably die(but yet trusts God he will help him?)
That’s true, but none of us are privy to that knowledge…so…there can be and usually is some sort of moral component involved when making a decision to either accept or reject a potentially life-saving treatment.In my opinion when it is your time to go it is your time to go. God has a plan and he will call your name when he calls your name no matter what treatment you try.
Excellent point…it is not a decision that I would want to make thats for sure. If he knows for a fact that the alternate treatment will not work I could see a problem but if there is a chance that the non-traditional treatment will work I suppose it would be ok I mean modern medicine doesn’t always work and there have been cases where people have used a raw all vegan diet to put their cancer in remission. I would pray about it and do some research and definatly get a second and maybe third opinion, doctors dont always agree.That’s true, but none of us are privy to that knowledge…so…there can be and usually is some sort of moral component involved when making a decision to either accept or reject a potentially life-saving treatment.