Take-Home Essay Assignment
Topic: Normative Ethics Elements and the ANA Code of Ethics as applied to example on Vaughn, pg. 10 (Critical Thought: Ethics, Religion and Tough Moral Issues)
Assignment: Write an essay, 5-6 pages in length, with 12-point font, double spaced. Essays are worth 100 points: 90 for content and 10 for grammar.
Once I receive it, I will respond acknowledging that I have your essay and that you are on time. If your essay is not in my inbox, if I cannot open or cannot read it by the deadline, it receives the late penalty, no exceptions. Once I open and print your essay, I will respond to let you know I have it.
Background: Our textbook provides an example of a news item which has interest for ethical evaluation. In this case, the topic is on using genetic information in the creation of one child to assist in the healthcare of his sibling. Chapter 9 also provides background selections to broaden our understanding of the issues involved in moral evaluation.
In your essay, you will be expected to discuss the moral issue from the point of view from deontologist, utilitarian, and principled (autonomy, beneficence, nonmalfeasance and justice) orientations. You may also use elements of virtue or care ethics, which we will also be studying before the due date. You MAY use additional materials from other sources. Make sure all references from these sources and from Vaughn meet the APA style guide for professional writing.
You may write this essay from a neutral viewpoint or take a position. In either 'case, make sure that you have fairly stated the opposing viewpoints. Do NOT worry about my point of view on the topic assignment. If you present your case fairly, you have achieved the objective of the essay.
CRITICAL THOUGHT: Ethics, Religion, and Tough Moral issues
How can we hope to grapple with complex moral issues that have emerged only in recent years? Can religion alone handle the job? Consider the following case.
According to a report by CNN, Jack and Lisa Nash made history when they used genetic testing to save the life of their six-year-old daughter, Molly, by having another child. Molly had a rare genetic disorder known as Fanconi anemia, which prevents the generation of bone marrow and produces a fatal leukemia. Molly's best chance to live was to get a transplant of stem cells from the umbilical cord of a sibling, and Molly's parents were determined to give her that sibling, brother Adam. Through genetic testing (and in vitro fertilization), Jack and Lisa were able to select a child who would not only be born without a particular disease (Fanconi anemia, in this case) but also would help a sibling combat the disease by being the optimal tissue match for a transplant -a historic combination. As Lisa Nash said, "I was going to save Molly no matter what, and I wanted Molly to have siblings."
Is it right to produce a child to save the life or health of someone else? More to the point do the scriptures of the three major Western religions provide any guidance on this question? Do any of these traditions offer useful methods for productively discussing or debating such issues with people of different faiths? How might ethics help with these challenges? Is it possible to formulate a reasonable opinion on this case without doing ethics? Why or why not?
"Genetic Selection Gives Girl a Brother and a Second Chance," CNN.