Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Euthyphro’S Dilemma And Divine Command Ethics, Charis Steffel

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

Euthyphro, one of the Greek philosopher Plato’s earliest dialogues (about 380 B.C.), presents a dilemma that has troubled philosophers and theologians for centuries. The quandary is provoked by an assertion Euthyphro makes about piety in conversation with Socrates. Euthyphro is planning to prosecute his father for an unintentional murder to avoid being associated with him. He hopes that this will help his standing with the gods. Socrates shows great surprise at Euthyphro’s apparent knowledge of “religion and things pious and impious.” This leads to a discussion concerning the nature of piety, where Euthyphro proposes that whatever is pious and holy …

Pope Paul Vi And The Pill, Sara White

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

The Roman Catholic Church has strong moral rules opposing the use of oral contraceptives. The Church still holds the view that a “sexual union must always allow for the possibility of procreation” (Sullivan, 2006, p.1). Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical Humanae Vitae in 1968, stated that that the use of contraceptives was a sin against God. In this paper, I will present the views of Pope Paul VI from this encyclical, then present arguments against his claim that using them violates God’s law.

Abortion And The Link To Breast Cancer, Jennifer Heiden

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

“It is only reasonable to conclude, from all extant evidence, that induced abortion is indeed a risk factor for breast cancer, despite the strong and pervasive bias in the recent literature in the direction of viewing abortion as safe for women.” So states Joel Brind, in a landmark review of the evidence for the abortion - breast cancer (ABC) link (2005, p. 110). Over the last forty years, this issue has been an intriguing topic of research, for both scientific and ideological reasons. But what can we conclude from the published studies currently available? According to a comprehensive meta-analysis by …

If Kevorkian Could Meet Hippocrates, Scott Van Dyke

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

No abstract provided.

The Pro-Child Movement: Adopting A Compassionate Strategy, Jessica Seman

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

In vitro fertilization (IVF) has become the most common assisted reproductive technique in the United States, accounting for 48,000 births in one recent year alone. This has also given birth to a silent generation of over 500,000 human embryos, waiting in cryopreservation for their chance at birth (Grabill, 2006). For the Christian who believes that conception marks the beginning of human life, the fact of half a million frozen persons creates an ethical challenge of enormous proportion. Besides the obvious solution of not contributing to the problem (by freezing or discarding one’s own embryos), embryo adoption is often presented as …

Roe V. House: A Dialogue On Abortion, Katie Condit

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

No abstract provided.

Substance, Nature, And Human Personhood, John Wildman

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

What is a person? The answer to this foundational question may seem intuitive at the first glance. Many would respond, without much thought, that a person is a human being. However, proponents of empirical functionalist philosophy contend that personhood is based on the ability to perform certain actions in actual, not potential, form. They would therefore claim that some members of species homo sapiens may not actually be persons (Singer, 1985). To understand when personhood begins, it is first necessary to understand what a person is. This paper will apply the Aristotelian concepts of substance and nature to define person, …

Embryo Adoption: An Opportunity For Life, Carla Gaines

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

The world began a new revolution during the second half of the twentieth century. This revolution centered not on industry, but on biotechnology. Researchers unlocked the mysteries of procreation and genetics. The promise of science seduced common sense about the value of human life. Postmodern pluralism embraced the modernist idea of utopia through technology at the cost of the helpless.

Yet civilization is no closer to utopia than it was 50 years ago. Instead, we debate a whole host of new ethical dilemmas. Several debates focus on the creation, storage and eventual destiny of millions of human embryos. Hundreds of …

The Logic Of Birth Control: A Look At The Numbers, Lydia Wong

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

If personhood begins at the moment of conception, the failure of an embryo to implant results in the death of a person. Therefore, many in the pro-life community worry about the ethics of using oral contraceptives, if such hormonal birth control actually interferes with implantation (a so-called “abortifacient” effect). Obviously killing is wrong, and death should be avoided. However, even if contraceptives occasionally prevent implantation, a very good case can still be made in favor of their use. This paper seeks to show how contraceptives, even if they cause implantation failure, can be used with a clear conscience.

Life is …

Human Personhood From A Kantian Perspective, Jennifer Nelson

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

What sets humans apart from all other creatures? If you were to approach a biological Homo sapiens with the question “what makes you human?” how would they respond? Do we have value simply as humans, or are we nothing more than what we offer the world? Philosophers have discussed these questions for centuries and it seems that there have been a few concrete conclusions. These conclusions depend on how one views ethical theory.

Ethical theory and personhood go hand-in-hand. Immanuel Kant, one of the greatest philosophers of the 18th Century, developed his moral philosophy in what is now known as …

An Internal Ethical Revolution, Hillary Jones

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

Despite legislation to protect individuals from slavery and forced prostitution, many continue treating people as property. The Fourteenth Amendment states that persons have the right to “life, liberty, and property,” and U.S. society has never regarded persons as property. Unfortunately, some ethics do not consider all human beings as persons. Personhood denotes being a member of the “moral community.” I base personhood on an ontological perspective, meaning that all human beings are human persons. I also believe that there is no such thing as a “potential person” or a “human non-person” regardless of disability, race, ethnicity, gender or any other …

Tubman Versus Hodgson: A Conversation About Abortion, Nicole Brewin

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

No abstract provided.

A Biblical Approach To Cadaveric Organ Transplants, Erica Graham

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

Upon passing their driver’s license exam every American has the opportunity to become an organ donor. Organ donor status allows immediate retrieval of transplantable organs after death for transplantation into other patients in order to save their lives. Many citizens endorse this action because one donor can save multiple lives by donating viable organs postmortem. However, some people do not endorse organ transplants arguing that it violates the body and that being an organ donor results in a premature declaration of death.

The current standard for cadaveric transplantation is retrieval from heart beating donors. A heart beating donor is brain …

Charity As A Moral Duty, Erica Graham

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

A question many Americans frequently encounter is whether or not they should give money to aid developing countries. We have the opportunity, through a charity, to help fund efforts to feed, clothe, and employ people lacking one of these from no fault of their own. What is the moral duty in this case? Society views these donations as beyond one’s moral duty but Peter Singer argues that such giving is a moral duty. This paper will explore Singer’s argument regarding this case, ultimately agreeing with Singer that charity is a moral duty.

A Grounded Natural Law, Benjamin German

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

For many Evangelical thinkers, natural law is an untenable ethical framework. The very phrase makes some cringe. Many Evangelicals find it irreconcilable with their conception of the totalizing effect of sin upon the human will and intellect. In his article “Natural Law and a Nihilistic Culture,” Carl Henry illustrates this deep-rooted fear of many within the movement. However, in recent years, some evangelical thinkers are reconsidering natural law. While Henry enumerates valid concerns over possible abuses of natural law, he forfeits the common denominator by which Evangelicals can engage in helpful ethical debate with the secular world.

Virtue Ethics And Abortion, Jacob Countryman

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

Singer suggests that the argument of abortion has missed the point. He asserts that the debate should focus on if it is wrong to kill an innocent human being instead of arguing whether a fetus is or is not an innocent human being. The Pro-Choice arguments of when personhood begins are vague and, therefore, cannot provide a concrete moment of when personhood starts. Since reason can only go so far in its ability to determine ethics, this paper will explain that Singer also misses the point; rather, striving to be virtuous demonstrates that abortion is morally wrong.