Article by Phoenix writer Grace Andino ’25:
On January 29, senior students and faculty heard an annual presentation regarding Catholic Moral Tradition and modern medicine from alumna Meagan Ledetsch.
Meaghan Ledetsch graduated from Kellenberg in 2005. Since then, she attended the University of Scranton where she received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, and subsequently attended Binghamton University, where she became a registered nurse. Meaghan furthered her studies at Stony Brook University, receiving a Master of Science as a mental health nurse practitioner, and now works as a critical care registered nurse.
Meaghan opened with the question, “Do medical techniques take away life?” She then explained the struggles in having to choose between making medically moral decisions — such as Euthanasia and assisted killing — versus ethical justice decisions. She also highlighted the enhanced difficulty of making end-of-life decisions when a patient has an anoxic brain injury, or a state of being partially brain dead.
Using a blend of scientific and faith-based facts, Meaghan explained the Catholic standpoint of this dichotomy: life is special, and we should not prolong death. Balancing ethical and moral practices results in making holistic decisions on health issues. Meaghan also urged those in attendance to do their research regarding their health choices and emphasized the importance of turning to God for guidance on health decisions.
Following her presentation, students had the opportunity to participate in two case studies where they were put into a difficult scenario and were asked to make a health decision. Senior Brooke Boccio commented on the activity, “It put Meaghan’s presentation into perspective and really made me think about what I would do if I ever had to make decisions like that.”
Mr. Castelli, a senior religion teacher, shares “Meaghan’s presentation gave us the foundations needed to understand medical treatments – especially those relevant to end of life decisions – so that in class we would be able to discuss how to approach difficult medical situations from a Christian perspective grounded in hope, that values life in all stages while understanding death in light of Christ.”
Since senior religion classes are currently learning about death and end of life decisions through the memoir Tuesdays with Morrie, the lecture was an amazing addition to their classroom lessons. Overall, the presentation gave the senior class insights about important medical choices that may impact their lives soon.
