Duties and Obligations

1
Duties and Obligations

• Tony (55) and Carol (50) live with their son
  Michael (20) in a suburban area of a
  north-western city. Tony works for Virgin
  Railways as a train driver on the west coast
  mainline service. Carol works as a library
  assistant at a local college.
• Michael has recently returned home to live with
  his parents after suffering a mental breakdown
  while he was away at university. Michael was
  unable to continue his studies and spent 8 weeks
  in an acute psychiatric unit. He is currently
  taking medication for depression and anxiety.
• Tony and Carol have two other children, Tom (28)
  a primary schoolteacher and Becky (26) a
  theatrical set designer. Tom lives with his wife
  and two small children in Hull. Becky is
  currently working on a European touring
  production of The Tempest with the Royal
  Shakespeare Company.
• Tony has just been admitted to hospital with
  severe headache, blurred vision and altered
  sensation on his right side.

2
Rights and Obligations

• (Extract from BBC news story 25 November 2002)
• Two female students at British universities have
  used a fertility agency (Egg Donation inc.) to
  sell some of their eggs to infertile couples in
  the United States. The women were paid
  approximately 3,800 and 5,000 each for their
  eggs.
• The director of the agency says that the amount
  paid to an egg donor will depend on factors such
  as their qualifications, what they look like,
  what the infertile couple are requesting and
  whether or not they have donated before.
• "You're looking for someone who's between the age
  of 21 and 32 years old, whose height/weight ratio
  is appropriate and you're looking for someone
  who's really intelligent and nice looking," she
  said.
• "If you can't use your own eggs, you're going to
  try and give the best that you can to your child
  and generally what you're going to do is try and
  find a nice looking donor."
• Egg Donation Inc asks donors to send photographs
  of themselves, their siblings and any children
  they may have.
• In the UK, men and women receive 15 - ostensibly
  to cover their expenses -for sperm and egg
  donation.

3
Ethical Perspectives

• Michael is a 45 yr old bus driver who has been
  admitted to hospital with coronary artery
  disease. He has had three previous admissions
  with chest pain and doctors have told Michael
  that the best treatment option would be open
  heart surgery to bypass the damaged sections of
  coronary artery.
• Michael is three stones overweight and smokes 30
  cigarettes a day. He has been advised to lose
  weight and give up smoking by his GP and hospital
  doctors on previous admissions but has failed to
  make any progress with either.
• The surgeons have told Michael that the risk
  further heart attacks is greatly increased
  amongst patients who continue to smoke after
  surgery and that they will not operate unless he
  makes a concerted effort to give up smoking.

4
Autonomy and Moral Responsibility

• Scientists have identified a neuro-chemical
  imbalance that influences 'stimulation
  sensitivity' in males. Males with this condition
  require high levels of stimulation to provoke
  normal responses. As a result they tend to seek
  out high-risk activities in order to fulfil their
  need for excitement.
• This imbalance has been identified in males who
  are actively involved in high-risk occupations or
  extreme sports. These men, it is said, have found
  socially acceptable ways to deal with their drive
  for stimulation.
• The scientists' claim that, in males who do not
  have access to socially acceptable high-risk
  activities, this imbalance may account for
  violent or criminal behaviour.