Catholic Dictionary

Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Random Term from the Dictionary:

THERAPEUTIC STERILIZATION

The action of depriving persons of their generative powers in order to relieve some pathological condition. Its moral evaluation is based on the norms for mutilation and also the application of "double effect." The reason is that sterilization involves both the loss of bodily integrity (as mutilation) and of the procreative powers.