On Sunday, November 23rd, 1980, Tracy Latimer was born to the parents of Robert and Laura Latimer. Seemly a normal child up until her birth where she experienced a lack of oxygen which caused Tracy Latimer to develop cerebral palsy. The name Tracy Latimer was known globally twelve years later on Sunday, October 24, 1993, when Robert Latimer killed Tracy. Robert Latimer placed Tracy in his truck and ran a hose from the exhaust pipe into the cab of the truck and killed Tracy by carbon monoxide poisoning. What makes this case morally relevant and debated is that Tracy Latimer had cerebral palsy did not get to decide if she wanted to live or die. In this case the features that are morally relevant are that Tracy’s father, Robert, reason behind
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After developing a worthy understanding of this case I feel strongly that Robert Latimer’s decision to kill Tracy Latimer was morally unjustified. I am a firm believer that everybody should have the right to life regardless of their situation. A perfect example of why I believe this action is morally unjustified is when Leslie MacLeod states “Tracy 's disability was not killing her, but her father did. Tracy 's disability was part of who she was, but not the sum total of who she was.” (Macleod 2000). Tracy was merely twelve years old at the time of her death and was never given a chance to live, even if that was with a handicap, the opportunity was never presented to Tracy because her father made the decision to end her life for her. It has been proved that Tracy felt pain but it was not unrelenting. Tracy still attended school and enjoyed her life as much as she could, as do many people who live with the same condition as Tracy. With Tracy’s condition we are reminded of what Tracy could not do. Tracy could not talk, feed herself or go to the bathroom by herself, she had to around the clock care. But Tracy could laugh and cry and most importantly smile. Thousands of other individuals have the medical condition as Tracy and it has been proven that cerebral palsy is manageable with medication, surgery and therapy. …show more content…
Handicapped people should be treated in the same way as everyone else. 2. When Tracy was killed, she was not treated in the same way as everyone else. 3. Therefore, killing her was wrong. A variety of different moral theories that indicate why this killing Tracy Latimer is morally wrong. Looking at classical act utilitarianism Lewis Vaughn states “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By ‘happiness’ is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by ‘unhappiness’ pain, and the privation of pleasure” (Vaughn, p. 84). When relating this moral theory to the Tracy Latimer case, the decision for Robert Latimer to kill his daughter would be morally wrong because even though it may have brought “happiness” to Robert, the net utility for all those affected by her death was very low. A problem with classical act utilitarianism is that it may interfere with our sense of judgment and rights. That being said, an act is only right if it corresponds to rules that are universally obeyed. Murder is rule that is universally obeyed to be wrong, so for Robert Latimer to kill Tracy would not be justified
After developing a worthy understanding of this case I feel strongly that Robert Latimer’s decision to kill Tracy Latimer was morally unjustified. I am a firm believer that everybody should have the right to life regardless of their situation. A perfect example of why I believe this action is morally unjustified is when Leslie MacLeod states “Tracy 's disability was not killing her, but her father did. Tracy 's disability was part of who she was, but not the sum total of who she was.” (Macleod 2000). Tracy was merely twelve years old at the time of her death and was never given a chance to live, even if that was with a handicap, the opportunity was never presented to Tracy because her father made the decision to end her life for her. It has been proved that Tracy felt pain but it was not unrelenting. Tracy still attended school and enjoyed her life as much as she could, as do many people who live with the same condition as Tracy. With Tracy’s condition we are reminded of what Tracy could not do. Tracy could not talk, feed herself or go to the bathroom by herself, she had to around the clock care. But Tracy could laugh and cry and most importantly smile. Thousands of other individuals have the medical condition as Tracy and it has been proven that cerebral palsy is manageable with medication, surgery and therapy. …show more content…
Handicapped people should be treated in the same way as everyone else. 2. When Tracy was killed, she was not treated in the same way as everyone else. 3. Therefore, killing her was wrong. A variety of different moral theories that indicate why this killing Tracy Latimer is morally wrong. Looking at classical act utilitarianism Lewis Vaughn states “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By ‘happiness’ is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by ‘unhappiness’ pain, and the privation of pleasure” (Vaughn, p. 84). When relating this moral theory to the Tracy Latimer case, the decision for Robert Latimer to kill his daughter would be morally wrong because even though it may have brought “happiness” to Robert, the net utility for all those affected by her death was very low. A problem with classical act utilitarianism is that it may interfere with our sense of judgment and rights. That being said, an act is only right if it corresponds to rules that are universally obeyed. Murder is rule that is universally obeyed to be wrong, so for Robert Latimer to kill Tracy would not be justified