Phil 104 – Fall 09 Third Writing Assignment

Anderson

Due Mon., Nov. 30

1. Chapter Nine – The Ethics of Treating Impaired Babies

Consider the dilemma faced by parents of a severely impaired baby, one that could possibly survive to adulthood or even beyond but whose quality of life is expected to be quite low.

(a) If the parents decide not to treat the baby and allow it to die, are they guilty of prejudice against disabled infants?

(b) If not, what positive justification can they give for not letting the baby live and nurturing its development?

(c) Should the federal government have imposed a law requiring the treatment of all impaired newborns except those who are comatose, inevitably dying or whose treatment would be futile?

2. Chapter Ten – Medical Research on Animals

If it is morally permissible to use animals as subjects of medical experiments, why shouldn’t it be equally if not even more permissible to use irreversibly comatose humans?

Why would it beg the question to reply that it would be impermissible because they are human?

3. Chapter Eleven – Research on Human Subjects

(a) The Tuskegee syphilis study is actually defended by some physicians on the grounds that the subjects weren’t knowingly and deliberately harmed by the people conducting the experiment. This is an appeal to the consequences of their actions. But even if true, the study can still be condemned from the standpoint of kantian ethics. Explain how.

(b) Some AIDS research work in Africa in recent years also involves a conflict of utilitarian vs. kantian ethical principles. The problem is this: in order to determine the efficacy of a reduced dosage of AZT at reducing the risk that an HIV+ pregnant woman will transmit HIV to her offspring, the researchers gave one group of pregnant women the AZT and another control group of pregnant women a placebo. They defended this on the grounds that it was the only way they could learn in a short span of time whether reduced dosages of AZT were really effective (and therefore, more affordable). Should this experiment have been carried out?

4. Chapter Twelve – Surgeon’s Desire for Fame

Given the enormous costs of some kinds of transplant surgeries (such as hearts and livers), together with the follow up costs of immunosuppressant drugs which have their own risks, are these surgeries a wise allocation of scarce health care dollars? Defend your answer.

5. Chapter Thirteen – Allocation of Artificial and Transplantable Organs

(a) Many countries (the U.S. included) ban the sale of bodily organs for transplantation. But this ban is harder to justify than is commonly thought. If a poor man sells one of his kidneys to a rich man for a substantial amount, both parties are better off than they would have been if the sale were legally banned. What can defenders of the ban say in reply?

(b) The demand for transplantable organs outruns the available supply in many countries (U.S. included). So in order to increase the supply, some countries have adopted a policy of presumed consent. Explain what this policy is. Is it morally defensible?

(c) The rule of rescue is arguably an unjust way of deciding who gets the next available donated organ. What is this rule and why is it thought to be unjust?