Understanding of Healing Healing by prayer and faith as well as by medical treatment is still present in the Church and available by sacrament and laying on of hands. A strong movement in the Episcopal Church in recent years has included charismatic healing by faith. Reproductive Issues Genetic counseling, birth control, and sterility testing are supported. Artificial insemination must use the husband as the donor. Abortion Abortion on demand is opposed.
Therapeutic abortion is approved.
The patient is seen as having a right not to have life prolonged. The Church does not support suicide or euthanasia, but would support a decision of a person to die when life is an excessive burden. The refusal of continued treatment in such a situation would be supported. The concept of brain death is supported. There is significant support in at least some Episcopal Dioceses for assisted suicide in some extreme cases.