Eight month old, Leo, displays some minor dysmorphic features and developmental delays. Due to Leo’s developmental troubles, Dr. Lewes was consulted. After Dr. Lewes received a comprehensive three generation family history, he performs a thorough examination on Leo. The results determined that there was no species genetic syndrome. Given this, Dr. Lewes orders a micro-array comparative genomic hybridization study, which demonstrates no substantial deletion or duplication. At ten months of age, Leo’s developmental delays became even more apparent. Leo’s parents grew anxious concerning a diagnosis. They would like to have more children in the future and each of their sibling are planning to have children of their own. All of these prospective
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Classic utilitarian’s including Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, define happiness as pleasure in the absence of pain. John Stuart Mill, was an economist and English philosopher from 1806 to 1873. He wrote a famous essay in 1861 titled, Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is a legal and moral theory, with background in traditional philosophy that was well-known in the 18th and 19th centuries by, Jeremy Bentham. The main idea behind this type of utilitarianism is explained by the famous quote “act for the greatest good of the greatest number.” This means that good actions are measured by the happiness or pleasure that is produced and bad actions are measured by the unhappiness and pain produced. In other words, for each and every moral decision making situation that one finds them self in, one applies the utilitarian theory of morality, in order to determine which option or alternative course of action will produce more good consequences over bad consequences, happiness over unhappiness, and pleasure over pain (Dr. Taylor). Act utilitarianism takes into account the consequences of actions. The act utilitarian theory seeks to produce the greatest amount of overall happiness in every action and limit the amount of unhappiness and pain. The action that presents the best outcome, if and only if, it produces the most satisfaction with the least amount of dissatisfaction. …show more content…
Leo is not technically a patient of the geneticists, he was merely brought on the case, and therefore, he is not obligated to tell the parents any information. One can only assume that there is also a pediatrician involved, and they brought Dr. Lewes on the case to do further testing. But in order to pick the best action for this moral decision-making situation, one should first identify the possible options. This part is fairly simple since there are only two options. The first option would be to inform the parents of the two mutations and the risk that go along with them. The second option would be to not inform the parents of the two mutations and the risk that go along with them. The second step is weigh the consequences of the two options. If the parents were informed of the two mutations, they would be worried about Leo and possible refrain from having any other children. They would not want to pass the mutations to any future offspring, because this may affect them as it has affected Leo. Then later in life Leo will have to be informed and he would constantly be worried about his health. Also, each of the parent’s siblings would hesitate to have children of their own in fear that they could inherit the mutations. If the parents are not informed than they will continue to live their lives worry free. The siblings of each of the parents would also be relieved and confidently
Classic utilitarian’s including Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, define happiness as pleasure in the absence of pain. John Stuart Mill, was an economist and English philosopher from 1806 to 1873. He wrote a famous essay in 1861 titled, Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is a legal and moral theory, with background in traditional philosophy that was well-known in the 18th and 19th centuries by, Jeremy Bentham. The main idea behind this type of utilitarianism is explained by the famous quote “act for the greatest good of the greatest number.” This means that good actions are measured by the happiness or pleasure that is produced and bad actions are measured by the unhappiness and pain produced. In other words, for each and every moral decision making situation that one finds them self in, one applies the utilitarian theory of morality, in order to determine which option or alternative course of action will produce more good consequences over bad consequences, happiness over unhappiness, and pleasure over pain (Dr. Taylor). Act utilitarianism takes into account the consequences of actions. The act utilitarian theory seeks to produce the greatest amount of overall happiness in every action and limit the amount of unhappiness and pain. The action that presents the best outcome, if and only if, it produces the most satisfaction with the least amount of dissatisfaction. …show more content…
Leo is not technically a patient of the geneticists, he was merely brought on the case, and therefore, he is not obligated to tell the parents any information. One can only assume that there is also a pediatrician involved, and they brought Dr. Lewes on the case to do further testing. But in order to pick the best action for this moral decision-making situation, one should first identify the possible options. This part is fairly simple since there are only two options. The first option would be to inform the parents of the two mutations and the risk that go along with them. The second option would be to not inform the parents of the two mutations and the risk that go along with them. The second step is weigh the consequences of the two options. If the parents were informed of the two mutations, they would be worried about Leo and possible refrain from having any other children. They would not want to pass the mutations to any future offspring, because this may affect them as it has affected Leo. Then later in life Leo will have to be informed and he would constantly be worried about his health. Also, each of the parent’s siblings would hesitate to have children of their own in fear that they could inherit the mutations. If the parents are not informed than they will continue to live their lives worry free. The siblings of each of the parents would also be relieved and confidently