Benchmark Assignment: Ethical Dilemmas When faced with ethical dilemmas, our belief system gets put to the ultimate test, as it is what we rely upon to guide us through these difficult decisions. Our upbringing, morals, spirituality, and environment all affect our beliefs and outlook on life, dictating how we react under these circumstances. Certain choices that seem suitable to one may seem atrocious to another. This paper will focus on a specific ethical dilemma regarding euthanasia, evaluating a possible solution from the perspective of a Christian worldview as well as an opposing worldview.
Ethical Dilemma Joni is a 17 year old girl, swimming with friends in Chesapeake Bay. Misjudging the depth, she dives into shallow waters and fractures her vertebrae. The accident leaves her a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the shoulders down, severely diminishing her quality of life. She lapses into such a severe depression that she …show more content…
A solution unfathomable to one may seem like the only possible answer to another. The prominence of the importance of human life in the Christian worldview make the idea of euthanasia appalling, while an opposing worldview could see the prolonged suffering of a loved one as sadistic. Based upon our own personal values, the decision is ultimately between the quality and the importance of life. Whether we feel that the severe pain and suffering will affect Joni so much that her death can be viewed as a release from pain or whether we believe she will eventually learn to accept what has happened, is largely based upon our faith. With such a huge gray area left up to the personal interpretation of each individual and the possibility of negative outcomes in both choices, Joni’s case becomes a dilemma with no definite or universal answer, only a right and wrong determined by our own personal
Ethical Dilemma Joni is a 17 year old girl, swimming with friends in Chesapeake Bay. Misjudging the depth, she dives into shallow waters and fractures her vertebrae. The accident leaves her a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the shoulders down, severely diminishing her quality of life. She lapses into such a severe depression that she …show more content…
A solution unfathomable to one may seem like the only possible answer to another. The prominence of the importance of human life in the Christian worldview make the idea of euthanasia appalling, while an opposing worldview could see the prolonged suffering of a loved one as sadistic. Based upon our own personal values, the decision is ultimately between the quality and the importance of life. Whether we feel that the severe pain and suffering will affect Joni so much that her death can be viewed as a release from pain or whether we believe she will eventually learn to accept what has happened, is largely based upon our faith. With such a huge gray area left up to the personal interpretation of each individual and the possibility of negative outcomes in both choices, Joni’s case becomes a dilemma with no definite or universal answer, only a right and wrong determined by our own personal