Case Study: Fetal Abnormality
Case Study: Fetal Abnormality
Fetal Abnormality
In the age of technological disruptions, the healthcare industry has also been impacted as it continues to advance its scientific knowledge on matters concerning healthcare. For instance, the involvement of the Human Genome Project has contributed to understanding human genome genes’ impacts using the functional and physical points of view. However, religion also has its own standpoints concerning human beings, which needs to be factored in by the healthcare industry when making any proposition concerning human beings. That is because conflicts arise when explaining various factors that make up human beings’ morality between the theological and clinical perspectives, which leaves most Christians in a dilemma, thus impacting their clinical reasoning. The case study presented a clear dilemma that faces a couple, Marco and Jessica, whose fetus has been identified to have Down syndrome and an abnormality. The case also influences the view of Maria and the Dr. in the case study. Hence, the paper will reflect on the fetal abnormalities case study to determine the human persons’ nature using the Christian view, theories of moral status in their relationship with intrinsic human dignity and value, and the theories used by Dr. Wilson, Maria, Marco and Jessica in determining the fetus moral status. Also, the paper will evaluate the most appropriate theory and its influence on the recommended action Case Study: Fetal Abnormality.
Human Person’s Nature Using the Christians Views
Most professional healthcare providers engage moral status to determine the worth of a human being. According to Sofronas et al. (2018), moral status is an aspect that relates to ethics concerning ways to treat other living things through a hierarchy. It provides a sense of understanding regarding the degree to which an action toward a living thing is morally unacceptable or acceptable. Moral status exists in five distinctive elements: cognitive, moral agency, sentience, human, and relationship (Sofronas et al., 2018). Each of these elements aims to determine whether an individual has moral status. However, using the Christianity perspective, the value of human beings is based on the Bible, which teaches them that all human beings resemble God and that they are mandated to care for God’s creation. Therefore, Christians must obey God by observing His commands (Cacique et al., 2020). These commands are based on the Divine command theory, which puts God as the only being that has power over moral actions, thus requiring the Christians to obey the commands God gave them to guard their moral actions. On the other hand, the aspect of intrinsic value and dignity showcases that human beings engage in various behaviors as a reason for their humanity. Such reflects Divine Command Theory’s perspective of human beings being superior to any other living thing.
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The Abnormal Fetus Case Study Theories
From the case study, there are different theories expressed by the four individuals concerning the fetus’s moral status. For instance, the fetus’s parents who are Marco and Jessica, have already identified the condition that their unborn baby exhibits. The situation frames them in a dilemma to either save the baby or listen to Dr. Wilson’s suggestions. One form of the dilemma is that the couple is aware that by saving the baby, their financial and psychological well-being will be implicated by the baby’s condition since the baby will need to seek regular medical attention, thus meaning that either the mother or the father has to be present always. Hence, human property theory may impact the couple’s decision since, from the theory, it is clear that the moral status of an individual is dependent on human beings (Shea, 2020). In such a case, the couple may decide not to abort since the fetus has human property, and Marco is ready to support his wife in any decision she makes Case Study: Fetal Abnormality.
Dr. Wilson’s decision relies more on the cognitive property theory, which individuals possess in enhancing their cognitive functions that makes them gain high-level functioning (Shea, 2020). Hence, using his scientific knowledge about the fetus’s future, Dr. Wilson sees that by keeping the fetus, the baby will have a variety of dysfunctions, including social and cognitive abnormalities. Such a situation will make the child miss important cognitive activities like those presented in perception, memory, and learning.
For Aunt Maria, the theory surrounding her argument is the moral agency theory. From her point of view, Jessica and Marco should be moral agents from their moral status standpoint. Hence, she believes that the couple must wait upon God instead of aborting the fetus. Also, Relationship theory is evident since she believes that Jessica, the fetus’s mother, should work on protecting it, thus ruling out the abortion option (Shea, 2020).
The Most Effective Theory
All theories presented in the case study are essential since they are all trying to solve the dilemma puzzle, but the cognitive property theory prevails. The reason for supporting that theory is that it is important to evaluate the presented case study using clinical reasoning instead of emotions. That is because if the couple decides to keep the baby, they will suffer more emotionally and physically, considering that they will also put the baby in a very compromising condition full of pain and social implications due to its deformities.
Conclusion
The Case Study: Fetal Abnormality paper has assessed the fetal abnormalities case study and concluded that the most appropriate theory to guide the present dilemma is the cognitive property theory. That is because its choices are made using a scientific and medical approach compared to other theories like relationship, moral agency, and human property theories, whose foundation is more emotional rather than from an evidence-based point of view.
References
Cacique, D. B., Passini Junior, R., Duarte Osis, M. J. M., Oliveira, H. C., Padilha, K. M., Tedesco, R. P., … & Feitosa, F. E. D. L. (2020). Perspectives of healthcare workers on the morality of abortion: a multicenter study in seven Brazilian public hospitals. Health care for women international, 41(7), 761-776. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2019.1672169
Shea, M. (2020, July). Forty years of the four principles: Enduring themes from Beauchamp and Childress. In The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy: A Forum for Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine (Vol. 45, No. 4-5, pp. 387-395). US: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmp/jhaa020
Sofronas, M., Wright, D. K., & Carnevale, F. A. (2018, October). Personhood: An evolutionary concept analysis for nursing ethics, theory, practice, and research. In Nursing Forum (Vol. 53, No. 4, pp. 406-415). https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12267 Case Study: Fetal Abnormality
