Case study on moral status edited 1 1

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Case Study on Moral Status
Elba Mora
Grand Canyon University
March 16, 2022
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Case Study on Moral Status
Introduction
Care providers are often faced with a dilemma on whether the decisions that they are
making while interacting with their patients are morally right. Therefore, physicians need to have
better critical thinking capacity that would help them understand and overcome the moral
dilemma they are likely to face while administering care services. For this case of fetal
abnormality, the physician feels like the safest way of handling the situation would be to go for
an abortion. However, the couples have a different view of the situation and there is a need of
coming up with ways of overcoming the challenges faced in the situation.
Christian View and Moral Status
One of the Christian views that can be used in this scenario is that a human being is a
living soul and should thus be treated with utmost dignity. This is a view that is derived at the
beginning of the bible where God formed man from the dust of the earth and breath on his
nostrils and became a living being (Vorster, 2017). Therefore, since a human being is a living
soul it is important for everyone to treat any human being with dignity. Furthermore, the human
being was created in the image of God, and thus any human life should be treated as special
(Vorster, 2017). Therefore, it is important to determine whether the embryo is already a living
soul and if so it should be treated with respect and dignity.
One of the theories that can complement the Christian view on the situation is the
Deontology theory. According to the theory, an action can only be regarded as morally right if it
can be applied universally. It means that a person can only take an action if he thinks that this
action can be applied as a universal rule and would not create any negative impact on people
(Amer, 2019). Therefore, whether the family or the doctor decides to go ahead and keep the baby
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or terminate the embryo through abortion, it would be important for them to consider if such a
rule can be applied universally and continue the dignity of human life at the same time. The
theory and the Christian worldview are related to human dignity as they clearly show how
human life is valuable and any action done on human life should be one that promotes the
respect of human dignity around the world.
Theories being used in the case study
The theory that is being applied by Jessica, Marco, Maria, and Dr. Wilson, in this case, is
principlism. This is a theory that usually tries to find the middle ground on how to tackle a moral
situation that people might be facing in the healthcare facility setting. The principles that are
used in healthcare facilities to guide people in making decisions should never be rigid but should
be flexible to cater to different scenarios (Amer, 2019). The principles used in the medical
facility should be applied in a way that they are balanced against one another depending on the
situation.
The theory is applied in this situation because Jessica is torn between enjoying a better
socio-economic status and keeping the baby which might result in economic and social strain in
the future. Marco is also trying to figure out what is best for his wife and that is the reason he
says that he will support whatever decision the wife will make. The doctor is also just suggesting
what he thinks is the best option for the situation but does not appear to have a fixed mind of
what should be done in the situation. Therefore, all of the four people in the case study are
applying the theory of principlism to solve the ethical problem.
How the theory influences the recommended actions
The theory of principlism is playing a significant role in the recommended actions that
the people in the case study want to take. For instance, all four of the people in the case study are
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trying to find ways of justifying their actions and how they relate to the Christian view and the
protection of human dignity. However, all of them except Maria seem to have a flexible view of
how the situation can be handled. This is why they are still trying to figure out what is the best
option for the child and the lives of Jessica and Marco.
The theory that is best for the case
The best theory that can be used in the case study would be the theory of Principlism. The
theory appears to be flexible and can easily be used in different situations within the healthcare
system. Furthermore, the theory comes up with a way in which the principles applied in every
situation balances each other to provide optimum outcome on the actions applied.
Conclusion
Healthcare providers are always faced with different situations which require them to
apply different moral theories as well as worldviews to help them overcome the dilemma that
they often face. For the case study, the best approach that could be used to tackle the moral
principles to be applied would be Principlism as it helps find balance in the decisions that are
made in the healthcare facilities.
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References
Amer, A. B. (2019). Understanding the ethical theories in medical practice. Open Journal of
Nursing, 9(02), 188.
Vorster, J. M. (2017). A Christian ethical perspective on the moral status of the human
embryo. Acta Theologica, 31(1), 189-204.
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