UU200 TUTORIAL EXERCISES (WEEK 10)

1. LECTURE OVERVIEW [Approx. Time 20 mins]

Your tutor will ask you some questions regarding the lectures this week. He/She will
briefly discuss the keywords and the main content of the lecture. You may pose any
queries about the lecture or course during this time.

2. DEBATES ON CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES [Approx. Time 40 mins]

You will be divided into groups of three. Each group of three will have an opposing
team. Your tutor will select a range of controversial ethical issues in the field of bioethics
for you to debate on. One team will be FOR the issue and the other AGAINST the issue.
You will be given 15 minutes to prepare your debate.

Each team should have a leader and all members of the team should present one
argument each. Be as convincing as possible. You will only have to talk for about 2
minutes each but should be ready to rebut the other team. Your tutor will provide you
with clear guidelines on how the debate and rebuttal will work.

The class will decide which team wins the debate. This is a learning exercise and all
members in the larger tutorial group should also feel free to add to the discussion or
pose a question to the team debating. Most importantly, all members must speak in the
debate!

3. ORGAN OWNERSHIP AND ETHICS [Approx. Time 20 mins]

“Today, China stands alone in continuing the use of organs of executed prisoners for
transplant surgery. International organisations such as the World Medical
Association and the World Health Organisation regard the sale of human organs as
inhumane and unethical. These organisations believe it is essential to address all
concerns surrounding illicit organ trade and possibly invoke an international trade
mandate to which all nations must adhere. Human rights organisations and
numerous former Chinese citizens, like Harry Wu, assert that China uses human
organs from executed prisoners to sell for substantial profit. The repercussions
resulting from the lack of international laws regulating global human organ trade has
caused a worldwide upheaval. Human rights issues encircling the illicit human
organ trade as well as the effects of this trade in China and globally should be
examined and analysed.”

(Extract from http://www1.american.edu/ted/prisonorgans.htm)

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Do you think people “own” their bodies?
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Do we have the right to sell parts of our bodies if we wish to?

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Is China ethically justified in using the organs of executed prisoners for transplant
surgery? Explain your answer.

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Clearly highlight the controversy surrounding the issue that raises ethical concerns
above using the theory of deontology.

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4. EUTHANASIA – DR. DEATH [Approx. Time 30 mins]

Assisted suicide advocate, Jack Kevorkian, died at the age of 83 at Beaumont Hospital
in Royal Oak, Michigan, after being hospitalized for about two weeks with kidney and
heart problems. Kevorkian (also known as ‘Dr. Death’) helped more than 100 people to
die by travelling around Michigan in a rusty Volkswagen van with his ‘death machine’.
While euthanasia advocates saw him as a hero, his harshest critics branded him ‘a
cold-blooded killer’ who preyed on those in chronic pain.
Kevorkian’s attorney, Geoffrey Fieger told reporters: “Dr. Jack Kevorkian was a rare
human being. It’s a rare human being who can single-handedly take on an entire
society by the scruff of its neck and force it to focus on the suffering of other human
beings”.
Kevorkian began his assisted-suicide campaign in 1990. An Alzheimer’s patient was
the first to kill herself using a machine devised by Kervorkian that allowed her to trigger
a lethal drug injection. After her death, Kervorkian was charged with first-degree murder
but the charges were later dropped. Throughout the 1990s, he continued his campaign
using various methods of bringing about death including carbon monoxide gas.
Kervorkian often dropped bodies at hospitals late at night or leave t hem in motel rooms
where these assisted suicides took place.
After a CBS News program aired a video of Kevorkian administering lethal drugs to a 52
year old man suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1999, he was convicted for second-
degree murder. Kervorkian was imprisoned for eight years and released in 2007 on
parole after he agreed not assist in any more suicides. He continued however, to
remain in the limelight, giving occasional lectures on assisted suicides. Kervorkian’s
personal philosophy was: “If we can aid people coming into the world, why can’t we aid
them in exiting the world?”

Story adapted from: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/03/us-kevorkian-idUSTRE7523JP20110603

Use the theory of virtue ethics to discuss Dr. Jack Kervorkian’s character.
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How would you respond to the statement by Kervorkian’s attorney (in the story above)?
Do you think Kervorkian was a rare human being?
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If you lived in Michigan and was suffering from a terminal illness at the time Kervorkian
travelled around in his Volkswagen, would you ask for his assistance to die? Clearly
explain your answer.

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How would you respond to Kervorkian’s question: “If we can aid people coming into the
world, why can’t we aid them in exiting the world?”

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5. SHORT SKITS [Time depends on the number of skits]

Groups will be performing short skits in the tutorials from weeks 10-12. Tutors may not
be able to complete all the allocated tutorial exercises on weeks where 2 skits may take
place. Please complete any unfinished exercises at home.