Duty in Ethics

Description

For months doctors told eleven-year-old Visna (as we’ll call her) and her parents that her abdominal pains were nothing but indigestion. Then in July the truth finally emerged—Visna was twenty-three weeks pregnant.

Visna’s family had emigrated from India to the Detroit suburb of Sterling Heights, Michigan, only the previous summer. Her parents found factory jobs and rented a two-bedroom apartment, and Visna shared one of the rooms with Hari, her sixteen-year-old brother. Sometime during the winter after their arrival in the United States, Visna told her parents that Hari had raped her, but this emerged only after Visna, who had turned twelve, was found to be pregnant.

As soon as Visnas parents learned her condition, they made plans to take her to Kansas for an abortion. Visna would have to have a late-term abortion, and because Michigan law bans almost all abortions after twenty-four weeks, her family would have to take her out of state. But their plans were frustrated when they were leaked to a family court judge. Charges of parental negligence were filed by prosecutors against her parents, and the court immediately removed Visna from her family and made her a ward of the state.

At a court hearing, Visna’s doctor argued that if her pregnancy were allowed to continue, it could cause her both physical and psychological damage. A psychologist testified that because Visna was a Hindu, if she were forced to have an illegitimate child, it would make her unfit for marriage by another Hindu. Her parents also expressed their worry that if Visna had a child, the child might suffer from genetic abnormalities and, in particular, might be mentally retarded, because her brother was the father.

At the end of the hearing the prosecution announced it was convinced pregnancy might endanger Visna’s life and dropped the negligence charge against her parents. Visna was reunited with her family.

this should look familiar as it was last weeks discussion topic, in this assignment you will be using Duty to evaluate the question what should be done with Visna. Please start by explaining the theory and listing the 2 categorical imperatives, next do some research to determine 3 reasons that support your decision (she should or should not have an abortion) Explain those reasons and how they support your decision based on duty. Finally don’t forget to provide the sources you use. You should plan on 1 paragraph per reason and 1 pararaph explaining the theory.