Case Study on Moral Status

CASE STUDY ON MORAL STATUS 1
Case Study on Moral Status
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CASE STUDY ON MORAL STATUS 2
Case Study on Moral Status
In the case study of Fetal Abnormality, there are four typical persons that can make their
feelings on abortion of a fetus as indicated. The individuals are Dr Wilson, Maria, Jessica and
Marco. In the case study, Jessica is pregnant with a fetus that has a 25 percent probability of
developing Down syndrome. Besides, the fetus does not have arms with a low likelihood of
development (Oliveira Melo et al., 2016). Jessica’s husband is Marco who is responsible for
offering her support. Dr Wilson, on the other hand, is responsible for support of the abortion of
the fetus, while Maria is religious, she, therefore, asks Jessica to avoid aborting the child, and
instead obey her duty to the child as well as God (Walker & Van Zyl, 2015).
Christian Views
According to the Christians, human life is considered as sacred and thus it is a gift from
God that needs to be protected and respected. The teachings from the Bible indicates that all
human beings were created in the image of God. Additionally, it educates that murder is
forbidden. Therefore, there are numerous views of Christians based on abortion. For instance,
certain Christians believe that morally abortion is wrong, and this is based on the belief that the
life of any human being begins at conception. Others also believe that it the choice of a woman
on whether to abort or not to, since it is her body. Apart from that, there are Christians who
totally believe that abortion is wrong in every particular circumstance.
Moral Status Theory
According to the case study, Dr Wilson has offered all the available options to the family
regarding the situation. For instance, he has indicated the most significant support relating to
abortion based on his medical knowledge of the disabilities the child is likely to have. Apart

CASE STUDY ON MORAL STATUS 3
from that Dr Wilson has told the family the burden they will have if the child is born. Based on
the whole situation, the theory being used by Dr Wilson is the theory of cognitive properties, that
stipulates that to gain a moral status, an individual must display some level of rationality as well
as awareness (McAdams, 2015) However, in the case study, the fetus does not have features
required for one to be considered possess a moral status. Conclusively, the fetus does not have
the moral status; thus it should be aborted.
Explanation of Theories Used By Each of the Characters
Jessica is asked by Maria not to abort the fetus based on the argument that there was the
need for her to think about her duties as a mother to the particular child, and also obeying the
intentions of God. The mentioned aspect is based on the theory of relationship. There is a mother
to child relationship already existing between the child and Jessica. She also has a relationship
with God. The mentioned relationships offer the fetus a moral status that makes the whole
abortion thing unacceptable (Knill, 2017).
Thus a divine command theory is displayed in the mentioned situation, and this is
according to the fact that God is the creator, and makes decisions on morality.
In the case study, a conflict is created where Jessica is sad because of the financial burden she
will have when the child is finally born, and at the same time, her religious beliefs do not allow
for abortion. She is seen to act as the moral agent, that implies an individual that works for
herself to make the right decisions. The theory of moral agency is depicted in this scenario since
Jessica should ascertain the moral status of the child (Marquis, 2017).