Nursing Ethics Assignment - University Name - Semester 2, 2024

This assignment delves into key concepts in nursing ethics. It begins with an exploration of the categorical imperative, derived from Immanuel Kant's philosophy, and its implications for biomedical research involving human subjects. The assignment then examines the application of Kantianism in healthcare settings, highlighting the importance of informed consent. Furthermore, it analyzes Harris's arguments for procreative liberty, including the right to select against disabilities, and considers potential concerns regarding libertarian arguments. Finally, the assignment addresses Allmark's critique of a distinct 'ethic of care' in healthcare, providing a comprehensive overview of ethical considerations in nursing practice. The assignment includes references to support the arguments and concepts discussed.

Running head: NURSING ETHICS
NURSING ETHICS
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author’s note

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Activity 1
1. Categorical Imperative
1. Categorical imperative has been taken from the ethics of the 18th century German
philosopher Immanuel Kant, who was the founder of critical philosophy. Categorical
imperative is a moral law, which is absolute for every human being. Its validity does not
depend upon any motive. According to Kant, human beings hold a special position in the
creation of god, as it has got morality. A categorical imperative refers to an absolute
requirement that has to be followed under every circumstance.
2. Kantianism and ethics of research involving human subjects.
2. In the world of Science biomedical research often needs the use of human subjects. An
experiment might not give a fruitful result if it is implemented on other species, for
example in the world of pharmacokinetics. Biomedical researches involving human
subjects can raise ethical and legal issues, which have concerned the set of philosophers,
scientists, lawyers. In the research the chief role of the human is to serve as a source of
the data. It should be kept in mind that all researches involving a human subject should
be reviewed by the ethics committee. According to the Kant’s theory, if a person is
researched upon without their consent then the person is being simply used as an object
for serving a purpose.
3. How Kantianism can be applied to healthcare?
3. Kantian formulation of the imperative is often used in healthcare settings. According to
Kant, a person should never be used as mean to serve any purpose, especially without his
consent. Human testing for various procedures and medications is highly regulated in

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some nations. However, many has closely monitored trials and used the informed consent
process. After getting a better understanding of Kantian ethics, this type of process that
occurs in some health care system today is not morally equitable with his beliefs. “Some
actions are intrinsically immoral, no matter how positive and beneficial one might judge
the consequences to be” (Purtilo, 2005, p. 72).
Activity 2
4. a) What features, if any, of Harris’ case for ‘procreative liberty’ do you find
compelling?
b) What concerns, if any, do you have about his libertarian arguments?
4. a) The Journal by Harris J, he has argument about the limiting access to the
reproductive technologies and to the gene based reproductive procedures. He has
argumented that this limiting access should be denied as they do not possess any harm or
serious harms. He had also argument that reproductive liberty should also consist of the
liberty to select against the disability for moral effects.
b) Procreative liberty is mainly a negative claim right, which is a right against the
interference by the state with the reproductive decisions (Harris, 2005). Procreative
liberty is the freedom to make your own decision regarding the procreations. But this
procreative right has been interpreted as the right not to reproduce, the right to abortion
and contraception. The right to reproduce poses deep questions, particularly when it
involves potential harm to other persons, as well as the other parties involved de (Melo-
Martín, 2013).

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5. Allmark’s arguments against the role of a distinct ‘ethic of care’ in healthcare.
5. In the Journal of Medical ethics by Allmark, P. (1995), Allmark has said there is
vagueness about the concept of care. He has given an example about a mother, whose son
studies in a school, where no absence is permitted unless one is ill, therefore if that son
had to do something away from the school, the mother would always write letters saying
that the child is ill. Here the mother remains faithful as the ‘one caring’, but if ethics are
to be considered, she had done something wrong (Allmark, 1995).

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References
Allmark, P. (1995). Can there be an ethics of care?. Journal of medical ethics, 21(1), 19-24.
de Melo-Martín, I. (2013). Sex selection and the procreative liberty framework. Kennedy
Institute of Ethics Journal, 23(1), 1-18.
Harris, J. (2005). Reproductive liberty, disease and disability. Reproductive biomedicine
online, 10, 13-16.
Herring, J. (2014). Medical law and ethics. Oxford University Press, USA.
Sherman, N. (2014). The place of emotions in Kantian morality. In Kant on Emotion and
Value (pp. 11-32). Palgrave Macmillan UK.