Theranos: Kant's Ethical Dilemma

Theranos was founded by Elizabeth Holmes, Stanford dropout turn creator of a multi-billion dollar enterprise, while the company goes against the ethical stance of Utilitarianism it’s actions can be justified with Kant’s moral position. Theranos was founded as a medical service that would be able to diagnose a patient with a variety of diseases with a simple prick of a finger. Holmes first came up with this idea while attending Stanford University, this idea was quickly shut down by every professor she went to for a professional opinion, but she continued onward in her pursuit. The professors were correct, Theranos was a scam, a finger prick is not a reliable way to test for diseases. However, the company made false claims and attracted many investors and patients and quickly became a 9 billion dollar company. The core of utilitarianism is based around the idea that what is moral is what benefits the greatest amount of people, in that perspective, Theranos is completely immoral. The majority of people were hurt, while the minority benefited from the actions of the company. Holmes is arguably the only person to have benefitted from the scam of a company. She was able to make millions of dollars and built a solid reputation for herself. She developed a strong influence that would allow her to speak alongside former President …show more content…
Kant states that actions do not matter, what makes an act morally sound is intent. It could be argued that the eventual outcome of Theranos makes Holmes’ actions moral. Holmes end goal was to provide patients with a quick and easy way to test for a range of diseases. She was just trying to make the public more aware of their health. By formulating a convenient way to test for diseases, it makes it less of a burden for the public, encouraging people to get tested and live healthy