MARY ANNTONETH R.

LAPECEROS BSTM-2A
GE-SS 201 ETHICS 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM T-F

 Moral Case Analysis: Final Term- First Semester 2020-2021

Apply the Seven Steps Process in Moral Decision Making. Answer the following questions.

Moral Case: Susan decided to have an abortion without her husband’s knowledge.

Susan met her husband when they both just graduated from law school. She and her husband Rick
wanted a large family and thus they have four children. When the couple’s youngest child was old
enough to go to school Susan decided that she would like to return to legal practice. She realized
how much she missed what she used to do before she became a mother and felt as if she had given
up on her career. • After she talked to her husband about the child care situation, Susan began her
job application process as a legal assistant at a law office. While searching for a job Susan became
pregnant and later on found out that the fetus has Down syndrome. The doctor was unable to tell
Susan whether the Down syndrome will be mild or severe and knowing that having a child with a
disability may prevent her from ever returning to the working world she decided to an abortion
without her husband’s knowledge.

Apply the Seven Steps Model of Moral Decision / Judgment:

Gather facts:

 When they both graduated from law school, Susan met her husband.
 They have four children who are
 Susan decided she wanted to go back to law practice.

 Susan started her work application process at a law firm as a legal assistant.

 Susan got pregnant and learned that the fetus had down syndrome.

 Susan chose to have an abortion without the knowledge of her husband.

Identify Stakeholders:

 Susan
 Her husband Rick
 Her four children
 Her fetus with down syndrome
Articulate Dilemma:

Without her husband's

awareness, she decided Telling her husband about
VERSUS the situation.
to Abort.

DEONTOLOGICAL PRINCIPLE DEONTOLOGICAL PRINCIPLE

 Recognizing and honoring her  It is a duty to let her family

decision is a responsibility informed

List the Alternatives:

 Have a talk with her husband and discuss what is best for them.
 Try persuading her husband and asking her why she wants to do so.

Compare Alternatives with the Principles:

Principle A Principle B
Alternatives
OPTION A OPTION B
 Have a talk with her
husband and discuss It's the right thing to do, and It is the right thing to let her
what is best for them. both of them have agreed to. partner know about the
situation.

 Try persuading her

husband and asking Respect for personal autonomy The autonomy of a woman and
her why she wants to in decision making “conscience” her right to choose whether a
do so. pregnancy should continue or
end.
Weight Consequences:

Moral Choices Positive Consequences Negative Consequences

An abortion without the She will begin to follow her This can lead to resentment
consent of her husband dream career and be happy. towards each other.

Telling her husband about She can have a safe, happy She can’t work in her desired
the scenario relationship, job.

Make a Decision: (What will be the best decision for Susan to make? Point of critic: Did she make a good
decision? Why or why not?)

Susan's only option is to tell her husband about the circumstances because if she does the abortion
without her husband's knowledge, it can lead to resentment towards each other.

Essay Questions”

1.) Explain on how our emotions are of great help for morality to be possible.

Emotions, that is, emotions and intuitions, play a significant role in most people's ethical
choices. Many people do not know how much their thoughts influence their moral
decisions. Emotions evoked by pain, such as remorse and compassion, frequently lead
individuals to behave ethically towards others.

2.) Explain moral courage as fuel for morality.

Moral courage is the power to use ethical values to do what one feels is right, even
though the results may not be to the liking of others or may cause personal loss.

3.) Explain virtue ethics as a moral norm.

Moral virtue is characterized by Aristotle as a desire to act in the correct way and as a
means between extremes of deficiency and excess, which are vices. Instead of logic and
training, we mainly learn moral virtue through habit and practice.

4.) Explain natural law ethics as a moral norm.

It is a system of law or justice that is considered universal to all human beings and derived
not from the laws of society or positive law, but from nature. Natural law holds that these
laws of right and wrong are innate in persons and are not established by judges of society
or court.
5.) Explain deontological law ethics as a moral norm.
In ethics and philosophy, natural law is a theory that claims that human beings hold
inherent qualities that control our reasoning and actions. Natural law states that these
laws of right and wrong are inherent in persons and are not created by judges of society or
the court.

6.) Explain utilitarian ethics as a moral norm.

Utilitarianism is a normative ethical philosophy that positions the locus of right and
wrong over other actions/policies solely on the effects (consequences) of choosing one
action/policy. As such, it goes beyond the scope of one's own interests and takes the
interests of others into account.

7.) Explain “justice as fairness” as a moral norm.

Justice as fairness refers to the definition of justice outlined in A Philosophy of Justice by
John Rawls. The parties, however, have general social, psychological and economic
knowledge when selecting these values, and they also recognize that the conditions of
justice are acquired in the society to which they belong.