Is palliative sedation allowed in Catholic teaching?

Yes. The clearest statement is in the 2020 Vatican letter Samaritanus bonus, which says that "the Church nonetheless affirms the moral liceity of sedation as part of patient care in order to ensure that the end of life arrives with the greatest possible peace and in the best internal conditions," and adds that "this holds also for treatments that hasten the moment of death (deep palliative sedation in the terminal stage), always, to the extent possible, with the patient's informed consent."

It keeps one boundary in place: sedation must not have the direct purpose of causing death, "even though it may accelerate the inevitable onset of death."

Directive 63 of the 2025 Ethical and Religious Directives sets out conditions rather than a prohibition. If a patient is in the terminal phase and typical pain management is ineffective, measures that induce temporary or intermittent loss of consciousness are permitted, provided there is proper consent, a plan of care addressing the degree and length of sedation, and an opportunity for the person's personal and religious preparation for death.

That last condition is worth raising with the team in advance if the sacraments matter to the patient or the family. It is a normal request and palliative teams accommodate it.