critical thinking abortion paper. cla format

PHIL 212 Critical Thinking Essay Assignment

WRITING TOPIC

In class you read about the complex issue of abortion and discussed/debated specific cases that illustrate this complexity. For your critical-ethical thinking assignment, you should examine the ethics of one of the “hard” cases, either the Sherri Finkbine or Marlise Munoz case.

ESSAY FORMAT

The essay should not be less than three (3) full pages (typed, double-spaced). It should be in paragraph form with an introduction = 1 paragraph; body = at least three paragraphs, and a conclusion = 1 paragraph. Your goal is to write a concise, focused, informed, and thoughtful essay that satisfies the criteria of the CT rubric.

Here’s what your essay must do:

(1) In the first paragraph, you must describe the dilemma and relevant facts of the case and explain the ethical dilemma or conflict of moral values. Rather than giving an exhaustive description of facts, highlight what you think are the most important factors from an ethical and legal standpoint. Then state your thesis or position, which is what you think should be allowed or done (abortion, adoption, continue artificial life-support, remove life-support, etc.)

(2) In the body of your essay, provide evidence in the form of other prior similar cases with known outcomes. You must use relevant ethical language as well as accurate medical terminology. You must also make your own assumptions and moral beliefs explicit, e.g., about the purposes of medical technology, the value of prenatal life, the possibility of survival of the fetus, the involvement of the legislature in private, family-based decisions, the meaning of death, grief, and futile medical treatment, quality of life, and so forth. There are many values and perspectives to think about here; consequently, there is no single “correct” answer. However, you must craft a coherent and reasonable position in view of the relevant facts and values and argue for it.

(3) In the body of your essay, you must also consider at least one counter-perspective or counter-argument, i.e., why some people might take a different stance on what should be done.

(4) Lastly, your concluding paragraph should briefly summarize your argument for what would be best in the case under consideration, all things considered. You should also provide separate title page and a Works Cited page documenting any factual claims that you make about or in relation to the case. Your sources must be academic (e.g., our textbook, a peer-reviewed journal, a reputable newspaper) rather than pulled from a political or religious website from the World Wide Web.

Writing Prompt Questions:

Before you write, review the case in detail and ask yourself the following:

For the Marlise Munoz case:

1. Should the artificial life-support technology be withdrawn at the family’s request?

2. What is the legal purpose of the Texas statute?

3. Is the statute reasonable in particular circumstances of this case?

4. If that statute is not reasonable in this case, under what different circumstances might it be considered reasonable?

5. What do you think are the overriding values in this case? If the husband and family’s wishes are in conflict with the “pro-life” statute, who should decide what happens and on what basis?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xXbiwXbZ0E

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/01/28/267759687/the-strange-case-of-marlise-munoz-and-john-peter-smith-hospital

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/08/us/pregnant-and-forced-to-stay-on-life-support.html?_r=0

For the Sherri Finkbine case:

1. Should the probability of giving birth to a severely deformed baby ever be a sufficient basis for considering an abortion, or should all fetuses be given a chance to live, even if the probability of survival is low and/or quality of life is reduced?

2. What manner of birth defects was caused by the thalidomide drug?

3. Is it morally relevant that thousands of pregnant women who were taking thalidomide, which was widely marketed for the treatment of nausea, did not know that it caused birth defects?

4. Is it morally relevant that the Chemie Grünenthal pharmaceutical company failed to test its product for developmental toxicity in animals before marketing the drug for human use?

5. Is this case related to questions about the morality of euthanasia?

6. Is this case related questions about the morality of eugenics?

Internet sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuBKNIIaJXc

http://helix.northwestern.edu/article/thalidomide-tragedy-lessons-drug-safety-and-regulation

http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/122/1/1.full

http://www.thalidomide.ca/recognition-of-thalidomide-defects/

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/sep/01/thalidomide-campaigners-dismiss-insulting-apology

ESSAY EVALUATION and RUBRIC

1. Your essay should follow the standard rules for written English that you learned in ENGL 101. Use standard formatting for citation (MLA, APA, Chicago), according to your instructor’s preference. Follow the rules for standard English Grammar and punctuation count!

1. You must also demonstrate the skill of ethical reasoning by considering multiple perspectives in relation to a wide range of social, legal, civic, and moral values upheld or compromised by the position taken. You must take into account the complexity of the ethical issue. You should make direct or indirect use of some of the Eight Key Questions in ethical reasoning. (See the Eight Key Ethical Questions and complete CT Rubric before you submit your finished essay.)

1. You may incorporate ideas from my lectures or your previous take-home exams. You should make good use of class materials, including our texts, my PowerPoint lectures, or educational videos. Only use reputable academic sources for your research!

1. You should write in paragraph form and think carefully about the overall organization of your essay as well as the specific ideas, concepts, themes or data that you are comparing, contrasting, and integrating. In addition to the (minimum) three pages of writing (you should write more if you are seeking to earn an ‘A’), you should include a separate title page and a Works Cited page.

1. This essay is worth 25% of the overall course grade.

According to the VU rubric, the qualities of critical/ethical thinking are as follows. These are the ideal qualities that you as the student/writer should strive to achieve in your essay.

1. Explanation of problem, question, conflict or issue: Precisely relates the main issue(s), explaining why/how they create problems, questions, conflicts or issues, and is able to recognize associated issues and/or contexts.

1. Evidence/Selecting and using information to investigate a point of view or conclusion: Insightfully evaluates and/or identifies evidence from multiple perspectives while using skillful judgment when synthesizing information. (Research is from high-quality sources/data and integrates multiple perspectives.)

1. Awareness of Perspectives and Contexts (i.e. cultural/social, educational, technological, political, scientific, economic, ethical, personal experience): A careful analysis of own and others’ perspectives and relevant contexts occurs and applies the analysis of the contexts and assumptions to the main problem(s), question(s), conflict(s), or issue(s).

1. Student's Position: Asserts a focused, consistent, and significant personal position concerning the main problem(s), question(s), conflict(s) or issue(s). Recognizes the specific strengths and weaknesses of multiple points of view while synthesizing other perspectives.

1. Conclusions and related outcomes (implications and consequences): The conclusions and implications logically, systematically develop from the synthesis of the information. The conclusions and implications are insightful and significant.

1. Ethical Reasoning: An effective assertion accounts for its implications and the complexity of an ethical issue. Analysis of core beliefs, their origins, and different ethical perspectives that identifies assumptions and implications and the values upheld and compromised by the position.

Eight Key Questions:

Fairness - How can I act equitably and balance legitimate interests?

Outcomes - What achieves the best short- and long-term outcomes for me and all others?

Responsibilities - What duties and/or obligations apply?

Rights - What rights (e.g. innate, legal, social) apply?

Liberty - How does respect for freedom, personal autonomy, or consent apply?

Authority - What do legitimate authorities (e.g. experts, law, my religion/god) expect of me?

Character - What action best reflects who I am and the person I want to become?

Empathy - What would I do if I cared deeply about those involved?

Nine Ethical Principles:

1) The principle of autonomy (or liberty) is the reciprocal duty to respect the free will and decision-making capacities of autonomous persons insofar as this capacity is not used to harm others.

2) The principle of integrity upholds the practice of truth-telling and public disclosure of all necessary and essential information to safeguard those whose lives would otherwise be negatively impacted by deceit or unnecessary secrecy.

3) The principle of non-maleficence stipulates that we all have a duty to avoid causing needless harm or injury to other persons, whether directly and deliberately, or through carelessness, culpable negligence, or inexcusable ignorance.

4) The principle of beneficence (or professional care or service) says that we should act in ways that promote the welfare of other people, according to reasonable expectations and standards of due care.

5) The principle of respect for persons (or the principle of human dignity or value of life principle) is understood as a moral ideal that requires everyone to treat all other human beings in a way that recognizes and respects their inherent dignity and worth as unique, irreplaceable individuals. People should never be treated as something less than ends in themselves or as mere means for someone else's interests.

6) The principle of equality (or impartial and equal treatment of persons) is generally connected with some notion of justice or fairness and the impartial rule of law. The basic idea is that law-abiding citizens should be treated as having equal status before the law.

7) The principle of privacy is understood as a legal immunity from unnecessary intrusion by the state (or any other political agency or civil authority) into the private lives of citizens. Privacy does not simply refer to private ownership of physical things and places, but also to one's personal capacity to think and believe as one wants and to have the freedom or autonomy to make decisions that intimately affect one's personal life.

8) The principle of distributive justice says that human beings should treat each other fairly and justly when distributing risks, burdens, and benefits among themselves in civic society.

9) The principle of retributive justice broadly refers to the procedures for determining guilt or innocence and the application of just and fitting punishment for convicted criminals.

Ethics of Abortion: Cases for Class Discussion & Debate

Is abortion permissible in any of these cases? Why or why not? Where would you draw the moral and legal line?

Excerpted from class handout/activity

Note: You may mention other similar cases discussed in class.

Marlise Munoz Case

Marlise Munoz was declared brain-dead by JPS Hospital in 2014 who was 14-weeks pregnant at the time of the diagnosis, but her body was sustained by artificial life support because, under a Texas statute, pregnant women could not be removed from life support until the viability of the fetus was ascertained. Fetuses are not viable until 20-weeks at the earliest. Consequently, the hospital told the husband and family of Marlise that her body will would be kept functioning for another 6 weeks, despite the family’s wishes to let go and grieve. Here’s another variation: Suppose the pregnant woman is in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) but is being kept alive via a feeding tube and that the pre-viable fetus is still alive.

Sherri Finkbine Case

After two months of pregnancy, Mrs. Sherri Finkbine learned that she might bear a severely deformed child because she had used a prescribed tranquilizer containing the chemical thalidomide. In the 1950s and early 1960s, thousands of pregnant women obtained this drug, which was advertized as effective against insomnia and nausea. The drug was available without prescription in Europe. After a period of use, it was discovered that at least 8,000 deformed babies were born to mothers who took thalidomide. During the first fifty days of gestation, these babies developed without ears, arms, legs, or with very deformed arms and legs, a type of congenital deformity called phocomelia. Although thalidomide is associated in the public mind with limb defects, which certainly account for the majority of cases, almost any organ of the body could be affected, occasionally including development of the brain. Approximately 60% of infants with some of these birth defects survived and grew to adulthood. Many of these children were mentally fit despite severe physical impairments. Mrs. Finkbine’s doctor told by her that she should consider having an abortion, but the law in Arizona where she lived at the time permitted abortion only to save the pregnant mother’s life. In her case, however, the hospital made arrangements for the operation. But then Mrs. Finkbine, wanting to warn others of the dangers of the drug, phoned a local newspaper and talked with a medical reporter who agreed not to use her name in telling her story. When the story came out in print, it became a national sensation, and the publicity led to the cancellation of her abortion due to the fear that her doctor, the hospital, and Mrs. Finkbine herself might be criminally prosecuted. The hospital unsuccessfully petitioned the state supreme court in Arizona in hopes of obtaining clarity on the law in this case. No one at that point had seriously challenged the restrictive laws on abortion in the U.S. Eventually, Mrs. Finkbine and her husband flew to Sweden and waited for a week for a decision from a Swedish medical board. The abortion was approved and performed.