Personal Incident that Helped to Make Ethical Decision - Essay Example

Running Head: PHILOSOPHY Philosophy Write about a personal incident in your life in which you had to make an ethical decision. What was the situation? What did you decide to do? Using one or more of the ethical theories in week one justify your decision and its results Introduction In our lives, we encounter ethical dilemmas in our lives daily. With numerous choices being given to us by life, making the right decision is often quite difficult. Often, the decision that we make may be practical but may not ethically correct. Ethics may be defined as a code of conduct that has been justified by society as the right code of conduct. A person may not be legally bound to choose a course of action but ethics demand that he take on that course of action. Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, deals with the obligations that human beings have to the society and people around them. It also deals with the values that we acquire while living within the society and it is these values that guide the decisions that individuals take in their lives (Duquenoy, George and Kimppa, 2008). In this paper, we attempt to present an ethical dilemma that I faced in my life recently and how this decision I made corresponds with two different ethical theories. Under the light of these ethical theories that are Utilitarianism and Kantism Theory, we would be discussing the decision that I made. The objective is to study the decision under these theories and determine whether the action taken was ethically correct. Ethical Situation Recently, while working as an intern in a hospital, I went across a case that required ethical decision making. A 5 year old child was suffering from severe trauma as a result of a car accident. The car accident that left the child in a vegetative state and he continued to be on life support for more than 3 months. Even before the condition, the child had been suffering because of his medical condition that had been diagnosed as Thalassemia Major. As the three months were nearing their end, the parents of the child were losing hope. The doctor, a senior and a mentor, was also losing hope. The parents were quite attached to their child and had been his main support throughout his life. But with time, they were realizing that their child may not survive given his condition and the injury that he had taken on. For this reason, they were considering using euthanasia as a valid option at that stage. The doctor, however, was not willing to allow the child to be put to sleep considering that the law was against such a situation. During the child’s illness and his injury, I had developed a good bonding with the parents. I saw them as caring individuals and loving parents who were generally distressed at their child’s present condition. Because of their concern, I usually took out the time in my busy schedule to visit and offer support at least once during the day. I was aware that my concern for the child reassured the parents and they discussed their options with me in great detail. Thus, it was not surprising that they came to me to discuss the option of euthanasia. Personally, I do not have a strong argument for or against euthanasia but seeing the child as he was and the suffering the parents were going through, I realized that euthanasia would be more advantageous in this position. However, I was legally bound to refrain from the practice myself. Decision After great deliberation, I decided that I indeed had an option that the parents would consider. I researched the internet about states that allowed euthanasia as legal practices and informed the parents of such states. Within a few days, the child was transferred to another hospital in another state and I got a thank you letter from the parent, thanking me for my support and my understanding. Discussion The decision that I took may not seem the right to certain people but I believe that under the circumstances I took the right decision. Some might say that I was indirectly responsible for the death of the five year old but I know that the five year old would have thanked me for putting him and his parents out of their misery. Utilitarianism Ethics According to utilitarianism ethics, any action is morally correct when it is done for the purpose of good and the utility that is derived from the action is the greatest. The idea is thus to promote the end result by defining right as something which gives the greatest utility to the greatest number of people (Sugarman, 2010). After considering the view of utilitarianism ethics, I believe that the decision I took was valid to a great extent. My decision was based on a greater good. I wanted to help both the parents and the child. With the treatment of euthanasia, the child would be able to relieve the pain that he had been suffering from since the time he was born. He would not have been able to live his life to the fullest as a vegetable and even as a Thalassemia Major. The parents were also going through a bad time as they had to see their child in misery and pain all the time and they were unable to enjoy and proceed on their lives without the burden of their child. Another reason the decision was justified under the utilitarianism is that it allowed for a better utilization of resources. The child was incurring health care costs that would never have brought him to a normal situation. These costs would now he utilized for curable diseases. Kantism Theory According to the Kantism Theory, a person’s actions are right if the intentions behind them are good. Even if the action does not result in the desired outcome, it is the intention of the doer that matters the most. Thus, according to the theory of Kant, a person may keep on doing the right things but his actions would still be justified as moral. This is because the intentions behind the actions are not good and thus the actions cannot be termed as moral (Amarakone and Panesar, 2006). If I was to justify my actions under the Kantism Theory, I would still be justified in my actions. This is because the intention behind my actions had been pure. I had aimed to help out the parents and the child in distress. Even though, I may have been killing the child in an indirect manner, I was doing it to relieve his pain and the pain of his parents. My actions may not have been right but my intentions were, therefore the decision was an ethical one. Conclusion The decision that I took may haunt me for the years to come but I believe that I have been able to justify my actions. I did not step any legal bounds by administrating the process of euthanasia by myself but rather guided the parents. Since my intentions were clear and I was aiming at a greater utility, my decision can be classified as an ethical one. References Amarakone, K. and Panesar, S. (2006) Ethics And Human Sciences, USA: Elsevier Health Sciences Duquenoy, P., George, C. and Kimppa, L. (2008) Ethical, Legal, And Social Issues In Medical Informatics, USA: Idea Group Inc (IGI) Sugarman, J. (2010) Methods in Medical Ethics, USA: Georgetown University Press Read More