Question

Decision Scenario #7 Helen and John Kent waited nervously in the small consulting room while Laurie Stent, their genetic counselor, went to tell Dr. Carles Blatz that they had arrived to talk to him. ?I regret that I have some bad new for you,? Dr. Blatz told them. ?the karyotyping that we do after aminocentesis shows a chromosomal abnormality.? He looked at them, and Helen felt she could hardly breathe. ?What is it?? she asked. ?It?s a condition known as tisomy-21, and it produces a birth defect we call Down syndrome. You may have heard of it under the old name of mongolism.? ?Oh, God,? John said. ?How bad is it?? ?Such children are always mentally retarded,? Dr. Blatz said. ?Some are severely retarded and others just twenty or so points below the average. Thy have some minor physical deformities, and they sometimes have heart damage. They typically don?t live beyond their thirties, but by and large they seem happy and have good dispositions.? Helen and John Looked at each other with great sadness. ?What do you think we should do?? Helen asked. ?Should I have an abortion, and then we could try again?? ?I don?t know,? John said. ?I really don?t know.? You?ve had a hard time being pregnant these last five months, and you?d have to go through that again. Besides, there?s no guarantee this wouldn?t happen again.? ?But this won?t be the normal baby we wanted,? Helen said. ?Maybe in the long run we?ll be even happier than we are now.? Helen and John Kent are married and looking forward to having a child. Helen is pregnant. The doctors inform them that the fetus has Trisomy-21 which is produces Down syndrome. It is impossible to determine the degree of impairment or differences in utero. They are considering whether or not to go through with the pregnancy. Should she have an abortion and try again to have a child? How would someone respond to this question using the ethical principles of: (Respond using the principles of a rule utilitarian?

Answer 1

She should have an abortion and try again to have a child using in vitro options. As per the ethical principles of rule-utilitarianism, the moral rightness of an action depends on the rightness of the rules that lets it achieve the goodness of greatest value. The best rule of conduct in this case is abortion to avoid the consequence of having a child with trisomy-21, which causes Down’s syndrome. Any rule which gives maximum benefit or positive outcomes becomes the best rule, which in this case is to abort the pregnancy. This would make them free of any future worries about a child with Down’s syndrome and will free them from the burden of taking care of such a child.