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Solving ethical dilemmas in nursing
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Thank you for your post, I appreciated your point of view giving me much to think about as it pertained to graded absolutism. In your post, you mentioned that since we are not divine beings we may not be able to ascertain or interpret conflicting laws as you presented two examples of cases that you have face in your profession as a nurse. Admittingly, your examples of choosing between the higher law as you care for the wellbeing of the child was an honest portrayal of the many and precarious issues that we as believers find ourselves in when making the best decisions regarding the circumstances, and upholding God’s instructions to us through scriptures. Hence, your decision to comfort the child as the higher law, even though expressing that
There are many factors that are taken into consideration when determining if abortion is morally permissible, or wrong including; sentience of the fetus, the fetuses right to life, the difference between adult human beings and fetuses, the autonomy of the pregnant woman, and the legality of abortion. Don Marquis argues that abortion is always morally wrong, excluding cases in which the woman is threatened by pregnancy, or abortion after rape, because fetuses have a valuable future. Mary Anne Warren contends that late term abortions are morally permissible because birth is the most significant event for a fetus, and a woman’s autonomy should never be suspended.
In Section 1, Ethical Responsibilities to Children, Ideal 1-1.10 states that we are “to ensure that each child’s c...
Tooley views abortion as morally permissible. From the beginning he is fully aware that he may be taking the less sympathetic or unpopular viewpoint. He insists that to make an ethical verdict on abortion, “one should be prepared to point to a morally relevant difference between a newborn baby and the earlier stage in the development of a human being” (Tooley 38).
A. A. The "Best Possible Child" Journal of Medical Ethics 33.5 (2007): 279-283. Web.
In general, the debate over abortion can be attributed to conflicting opinions about morality. Pro-life advocates believe terminating a potential life is immoral, whereas pro-choice advocates consider restricting the rights and freedoms of a mother is the greater evil. Morality, however, is not the power that rules over this nation – the law is what determines what actions are and are not permitted. Consequently, since the...
To discuss the questions concerning Verhagen’s thought process concerning the justification and moral righteousness of “baby euthanasia,” I have an adamant decision. Regarding whether to leave a child with only a few days or weeks to live in a state of suffering until their natural death? I would respond “no”. It is not fair for a baby, especially one who has a severe debilitating disord...
The doctors in Haiti thought Charlotte should not be resuscitated, undergo anymore horrible treatments and die peacefully. Charlotte’s parents were not happy with the doctor’s guidelines and thought the United States medical care would have better technology and could save their daughter. Charlotte’s parents bought her a doll which Charlotte’s parents thought otherwise, the Ethics Advisory Committee had to get involved. The debate surrounded if the doctors were in the right to control the life of someone who were incapable of deciding themselves, or is it the parents right. The Ethics Advisory Committee, stated that the parents were superior to those of the hospital and the hospital should conduct with less painful test.
Many arguments in the abortion debate assume that the morality of abortion depends upon the moral status of the foetus. While I regard the moral status of the foetus as important, it is not the central issue that determines the moral justifiability of abortion. The foetus may be awarded a level of moral status, nevertheless, such status does not result in the prescription of a set moral judgement. As with many morally significant issues, there are competing interests and a variety of possible outcomes that need to be considered when making a moral judgement on abortion. While we need to determine the moral status of the foetus in order to establish the type of entity we are dealing with, it does not, however, exist in a moral vacuum. There are other key issues requiring attention, such as the moral status and interests of the pregnant woman who may desire an abortion, and importantly, the likely consequences of aborting or not aborting a particular foetus. Furthermore, I assert that moral status should be awarded as a matter of degree, based upon the capacities of sentience and self-consciousness an entity possesses. In a bid to reach a coherent conclusion on the issue, the moral status of both foetus and woman, along with the likely results of aborting a particular foetus, must be considered together. Given the multiple facets requiring consideration, I assert that utilitarianism (Mill 1863) offers a coherent framework for weighing and comparing the inputs across a variety of situations, which can determine whether it is ever morally justifiable to have an abortion.
An issue that has flared up in today’s society, abortion is a highly debated topic that has sparked some of the most violent discussions. The rapid growth in teenage pregnancy has only increased the amount of attention that has been drawn to abortion and whether it is ethical or not. While some say that a woman is in power of her own body and can make choices based on her best interest, some take much offense to that and demand that a baby is a baby no matter how small it is and that abortion is never okay. It is important to know going into this debate that to argue one side, one would have to be 100% consistent with that decision because of all of the grey areas that come up regarding abortion. With that being said, I still believe that a mother should take responsibility of the situation and recognize that, even though it is minuscule, a baby is a person the moment it begins to develop inside of her.
I believe that parents are not morally justified in having a child merely to provide life saving medical treatment to another child or family member, but that this does not mean that the creation of savior siblings is morally impermissible. By having a child solely to provide life saving medical treatment, you are treating this child merely as a means rather than an end to the individual child. By having the child solely as a means to save another, you are violating this savior sibling in that you are treating them as a source of spare parts that can be used by the sickly child in order to solely promote the prolonged life of the currently sick child. This view that having a child merely as a way to provide medical treatment does not consider the multitude of other avenues that this newborn child can take, and presupposes that the child will only be used for the single purpose of providing life saving medical treatment through use of stems cells or organ donation. What this view fails to consider is that these savior siblings are valued by families for so much more than just as a human bag of good cells and organs that can be used to save the life of the original child. Instead, these savior siblings can be valued as normal children themselves, in that they can be valued in the same way that any other child who is born is valued, yet at the same time they will also be able to provide life-saving treatment to their sibling. My view runs parallel to the view held by Claudia Mills who argues that it is acceptable to have a savior sibling, yet at the same time we can not have a child for purely instrumental motives, and instead should more so value the child for the intrinsic worth that they have. Mills presents her argument by puttin...
Abortion is the process of removing the unwanted contents of conception, which will develop into a human being, from a mother’s body. It has been a controversial topic for years and undoubtedly will continue as one until the end of time, with valid arguments being made from members on both sides of the isle. Many of the argument and issues pointed out are ethical, scientific, and moral in nature. When do these contents of conception actually become a person? Should abortion remain legal? If made illegal will women’s health suffer as back alley abortions are performed? These are some of the many questions that are asked when the topic of abortion is discussed. For the time being abortions are legal since the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision legalized it. This law is in direct opposition of many health care workers and nurses’ personal moral and ethical beliefs, therefore, we as nurses must examine our own surrounding and beliefs while at the same time being aware that proper care must be provided to all patients. In situations where moral obligations are tested, the professional nurse will remain free of stereotyping or segregating and will either dismiss themselves from care of these patients or will be nonjudgmental and provide the best possible care.
Imagine…the birth of a human being into the world. 9 months of endless anticipation leading to someone’s first chance at seeing the world for the first time. While some enjoy the result of a pregnancy, leading to a new human being entering life, some are not so fond, or just can’t be in such a situation. Abortion is the supposed “cure” to this problem and is, for the most part, done safely. However, one of the factors stopping someone from committing an abortion is the consideration of moral status on the child.
Absolute monarchy or absolutism meant that the sovereign power or ultimate authority in the state rested in the hands of a king who claimed to rule by divine right. But what did sovereignty mean? Late sixteenth century political theorists believed that sovereign power consisted of the authority to make laws, tax, administer justice, control the state's administrative system, and determine foreign policy. These powers made a ruler sovereign.
The case presented was another controversial battle between surrogacy and parental rights and it was hard to actually internalize every detail that was happening in the situation. I went back and forth, going into every piece of helpful information that may guide me to decide on a possible solution to a very sensitive issue. I even searched for the Church’s perspective just to make sure that my personal opinion does not over power what was legal and ethical through the eyes of the Father because I cannot deny the fact that what ever solution I might come up with, I still have to act in the same way
Many of our inner standards take the form of judgments as to what is right and what is wrong. They constitute the moral and ethical principles by which we guide our conduct. Lawrence Kohlberg refined, extended, and revised Piaget’s basic theory of the development of moral values. Like Piaget, Kohlberg focused on the moral judgements in children rather than their actions. The manner in which moral judgments develop has been studied extensively by Kohlberg, through the questioning of boys seven years old and up. Kohlberg presented his subjects with a number of hypothetical situations involving moral question like the following. If a man’s wife is dying for lack of an expensive drug that he cannot afford, should he steal the drug? If a patient who is fatally ill and in great pain begs for a mercy killing, should the physician agree? By analyzing the answers and particularly the reasoning by which his subjects reached their answers. Kohlberg determined th...