Case Studies


1			CASE STUDY ONE – Abortion Lupe and Robert, both in early twenties, are having their first child. Because Lupe had some problems early in her pregnancy, her doctor recommends that an amniocentesis be performed. At four (4) months of pregnancy she undergoes the procedure and the results six weeks later show that Lupe will give birth to a child with Down's syndrome with multiple deformities. Results are also indicative that the child suffers from a heart disease and might not live past the age of five (5). Lupe and Robert want children badly, but they would rather not raise a child with mental retardation, particularly if the child is at high risk to die within the first five (5) years. Lupe decides to have an abortion. Is she morally right? Whose human rights should be protected, the mother's or the child's?




2			CASE STUDY TWO – Euthanasia Laura, a 19-year old woman, fell into a coma because of an overdose of drugs and alcohol. She was given an emergency treatment at a hospital and was place on a respirator which stabilized her breathing. She remained in a deep coma, and when she was tested by neurologists and neurosurgeons, it was discovered that about seventy percent (70%) of her brain was irretrievably damaged. She was not brain dead; however, she reacted to pain, her eyes would sometimes open and her pupils contracted, she would at time thrash about, and her EEG showed some brain activity. She was in a persistent vegetative state. Because she could not be pronounced dead in any medical or legal sense, the hospital and doctors refused to take her off the respirator or stop any other treatments they were giving her. At one point Laura's sister was alone in the room with her and thinking that Laura wouldn't want to live on in this way, she disconnected the respirator and caused her sister's death. Was Laura's sister acting within moral boundaries? Why or why not?




3			CASE STUDY THREE – Megan's Law Kevin, a 21-yearl old man, was arrested and convicted for molesting a ten (10) year old girl and was sentenced to ten (10) years in prison. While in the state penitentiary, Kevin completed a rigorous therapeutic class which included making amends via letter to the young girl and her family. Upon release Kevin is place under probation and voluntarily continues with an out-patient sexual based offender therapy group near his home. Kevin was also ordered to report to members of the community his conviction as a sex offender. Kevin has been diagnosed normal by two (2) different psychiatrists and has served his sentence in prison. Should he be forced to alert the neighborhood of his past? What are Kevin's rights as a human in society?




4			CASE STUDY FOUR – The Patriot Act Rula has been an American citizen for ten (10) years. Although she once lived in Pakistan, she now raises her family in a suburb of Pittsburgh. As a professor of Linguistics, Rula often travels across the country to give presentations. Before nine (9) of the last ten (10) plane flights, she has been stopped by officials and checked for explosives. The Patriot Act now allows for the government to tap her phones, even if she has done nothing wrong. Are her rights being infringed upon? Is the Patriot Act going too far? Or does American need it today?

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