Moral Theory on Termination of Pregnancy

Case Study on Moral Status
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Case Study on Moral Status
In the current case study, there are four people that have different opinions about a fetus that has been diagnosed with a fetal abnormality. These individuals include Marco, his wife Jessica, their aunt Maria, and Dr. Wilson. According to the case study, Jessica is pregnant with a fetus that has no arms and has a low chance of developing them. In addition, the fetus has 25% of developing a medical condition referred to as Down syndrome. Marco indicates that he will support Jessica for whatever decision she will make, whereas her aunt, Maria, is of opinion that Jessica should continue with the pregnancy and give birth to the child. On the other hand, while Dr. Wilson has provided all available options to Jessica, he believes that termination of pregnancy is the best option. On her side, Jessica believes that giving birth to a disabled child will bear a huge socioeconomic burden to the family.
From the Christianity perspective, all humans are created by God in his own image. Additionally, God has forbidden murder of any human being in the Ten Commandments, including a fetus (Vorster, 2011). According to Christianity, human life starts immediately after conception. The sixth commandment stipulates that “you shall not kill.” Thus, the Bible points out the intentional killing of an innocent person. In other words, God allows the killing of the guilty and the shedding of innocent blood is harshly condemned throughout the Bible (Vorster, 2011). In Christianity context, human beings encompass unborn children as affirmed in various biblical references such as Psalm 139:13-16, where God confirms the importance of a human being while still in an embryo state. In other Bible verses, God indicates that He called some prophets such as Jeremiah and Isaiah while still in their mothers’ wombs. There are many other biblical references emphasizing the importance of conception, revealing that life begins before one is born (Vorster, 2011).
One of the moral theories that is compatible with a Christian perspective of human life is human moral right to life. According to the theory, innocent humans have the right to live. The theory points out that no human being should be discriminated on any basis, including race, sex, age, and disability, among other biological traits. The right to life is upheld in various ethical declarations such as the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights that states all human beings have the right to life, and the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child that indicates that children deserve legal protection before and after birth.
Each of the four persons in the case study is basing their decision on a particular theory. For inst...