| Apply This to the case study: For this essay, I want you to provide a utilitarian analysis of the potential actions of the parents in the case study below. In other words, according to Mill’s theory, would it be moral to create a human life for the purposes of saving another life. For this answer, you must employ Mill’s Greatest Happiness Principle. You’re answers should demonstrate a mindfulness of the depth and breadth of each theorist’s work. That means, you must apply his theory as he intended. Remember, you are not applying Mill, the person (so, it’s not a matter of what Mill would say). You are applying his theory, which means that you much ask yourself what does his theory permit you to say. In other words, be a Utilitarian.
Ethics Case Study: “Creating a Life to Save a Life” “In England, the Whitaker family faced a terrible situation: their son, Charlie, suffered from a rare disorder that prevented his body from producing red blood cells. Without daily medications and frequent transfusions, Charlie would simply die. With them, he continues to live, but under close medical care. For a while, it looks as though Charlie’s parents had figured out an answer to this dilemma. They proposed to use in vitro fertilization to have another child, but with an added twist. They would, as is usual in this procedure, have the eggs fertilized outside the womb in a laboratory dish, but they would then include an additional step. Using new screening techniques, they would screen the embryos to see which would be most able to donate blood-making cells to Charlie. That would be the one that they would choose to implant and bring to term. In contrast to the United States and many other countries, in England someone proposing such a procedure must obtain government permission –in this case, from the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority. The Authority rejected the request by the Whitaker family, saying that it was not right to create a human life with the express intent of saving another life.” – Case Study from L. Hinman, PhD |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preferred language style US English |
