Question

St. Augustine in the 5th Century held that we are free to make choices in life. This is the idea of free will. It may seem at first glance odd for a religious thinker to say that we have free will. After all, if God exists, then God created all things. God knows already what we will do. God can cause anything to occur. If we cause things to occur, that seems to be a limitation on the power of God and not make God all-powerful. There are also religion traditions that say that we have no free will. There are some theologians in Islam who seem to suggest that is true. In order for this line of reasoning to hold true, one would need to believe free will is an illusion and that we have no control over how we live our lives, but rather that we are puppets moving and acting due to God's will and the powers of destiny and fate. And if this then in the case, how can we possibly be responsible for our actions? The considerations above show us to what degree our religious beliefs can shape us. For instance, someone who believes in free will may experience way more guilt than someone who believes we don't have free will and thus aren't responsible for the choices (and consequences) of the actions we take. Personal struggles with religion and ethics occur in many places, including in the healthcare arena. Consider the following: You are a nurse in a hospital. A 12 year-old was brought to the hospital by an ambulance. The parents have just arrived at the hospital. This 12 year-old has lost a large amount of blood and requires a transfusion. The parents happen to be members of a religion that believes that blood transfusions are immoral. They want to remove the child from the hospital and prevent the transfusion even if it means the death of the child. You have to decide whether or not you will participate in an action that violates the will of the parents and aid in providing blood for the child. If you choose to participate, and even if you are able to legally justify it, you have to think about the distress you are creating for the parents. If you refuse to aid here, you may be subject to retaliation from the hospital. What is the moral thing for the nurse to do here? Initial Post Instructions For the initial post, address the following questions: What would a divine command ethicist say is the moral thing to do here? Why would they say that? Do you agree with the divine command ethics? Why or why not? Evaluate what a natural law ethicist would say is right to do. Do you agree with them? Why or why not? Given what you said are the right things to do, what would an emotivist say about your positions and judgments? What role does subjectivity play here in determining what is ethical?

Answer 1

Answer 1. As a nurse, the moral duty is to save the patient by providing best treatment plan. But when religion ethics are involved, then plans are made with its due respect. When the religion ethics interfere with the medicine which could result in death of the patient, then the nurse have to educate the parents or family of the patient about the positive outcomes of the teatment. And if he/she are not treated that way, they might die of illness. By providing the facts and benefits of the treatment, the nurse might put pressure on the family, but the main motive is to save the patient and with the religious beliefs he/she can't be saved. The patient needs treatment medically.

Answer 2. According to the Divine command ethics, the basics says that the commands of God tells us what is good or bad,tht is, if something is morally right, then God will command us to do so. And if and something is morally wrong, then God forbids us to do so. In this case, the child needs treatment of transfusion, otherwise he will die. And if divine command ethics work, then the nurse is getting that command to go for it.

But these facts are not specific to whom they will apply. This do not provides clear or decision making thought.

Answer 3. According to Natural law ethicists, the power of decision making is within the human beings. They possess intrinsic values that governs our reasoning and behavior towards any topic of life.

This approach towards is more correct that the education along with the intrinsic values will justify the pros and cons of the treatment. By following this ethics, the nurse can make correct decision for the patient for his life. The knowledge will help the intrinsic power to justify the decision.

Answer 4. Emotivists are those who believe in emotivism, that says, morality is nothing. Every decision or thought should be under the influence of emotions. Only emotions work whether the act is right or wrong. This theory is no longer in practise because, its results were harmful for the humans. People felt good in killing someone they did it under the emotivism ethics, or under the influence of their emotions.

Such ethics do not work especially in Healthcare systems. They do not justify with the worth of a person's life. Emotions not work while making decisions for one's life. The actual facts, knowledge, along with the positive and negative consequences are taken into consideration keeping in mind the ethics of the system, so as not to violate any aspect. Things like emotivism do not work in such systems.