Case study on moral status
Christian view of the nature of human persons and theory of moral status
According to the Christian perspective of humanity and human persons, they view every
individual as a representation of the image of God based on the fact the Bible explains we were
all created in the image and likeness of God. Additionally, the physical form is culminated by the
fact that there was Jesus Christ who was the purest divine and perfect image of God. Christians
believe that all human beings were created with almost a similar purpose and they were expected
to behave in the same manner and that’s the reason why God sent His son to live among them
and unite them (Dietrich 2017). God is believed to be the source of all humanity and nature and
through him all people live with a definitive goal and fulfilment.
Human beings who were created as man and woman find their satisfaction through one
another and that was the ultimate gift given to humanity by God. Hence every person was
created to be able to socially interact with one another and develop a bond that would solidify
their relationship (Cox 2015). However, humans were egoistic and they ended up destroying the
good relationship with their creator through disobedience. Through their pride humans developed
sin and they became distant from good according to what God had initially intended. Unlike the
common mutual relationship that was between humanity, there has been hostility, violence, and
distancing from one another.
Human beings created the source of their misery by sinning and since then, they have
continued to suffer. The only liberation according to Christianity is through believing and
accepting Jesus Christ as the personal savior. Unlike the nature of the human beings, they ceased
to be free from when they committed sin. God reconciled Himself to humanity through offering
his own son Jesus Christ. God was able to free his people from sin and restore their nature of
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freedom and close association. According to the Christian anthropology, human nature is
categorised into five main standards; openness to transcendence and every individual being
unique in their own way, people are united in nature, there is freedom of person, they are
dignified and equal among all, and they are sociable in nature.
The theory of moral agency explains that all human beings have the ability to decide and
chose what is right and what is wrong. They have the individual ability of moral judgement.
Additionally, it explains that all human should be held accountable for all their actions (Ewin
2019). Being a moral agent is being able to act with a reference to the right or wrong.
Intrinsic human value and dignity
Human dignity is measured through the quality of life. It has been always a matter of
consideration on whether human dignity is an intrinsic or relative value. Dignity has been one
main core concept that has been adopted in modern medicine. When considering the issue of
value and dignity, the measurement is focused on a viable or non-viable existence which causes
the decision of assisted death or leaving the patient to die naturally. Even though the quality of
life is used as a measure of dignity and value, it has been confirmed that it cannot well be applied
in medicine as there are several considerations on the matters of ethics in health. Human dignity
is intrinsic and thus dependent on individual personality and character and not their quality of
life. According to the study of intrinsic human value and dignity, there are two main categories
of human value determined; lives worthy living, and lives unworthy living. The society is the
judge for matters concerning dignity.
The moral agency theory exemplifies the uniqueness of humanity as they are their own
determiners of fate (Ewin 2019). Human beings are created to judge and analyse all situations
critically through critical thinking and proper decision making, they can judge what action to
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take based on a particular situation. Since the creation of man, God gave them the gift of choice
which many have ended up abusing and doing the wrong thing with unwarranted justification.
Case study
Based on the case study, the couple, Jessica and Marco are faced with a tough decision of
whether to keep or terminate their unborn baby who is at risk of being born with Down’s
syndrome. The baby is also to be born without both arms hence being disabled and also might be
mentally challenged. Those factors affect the couple’s choices as Jessica says she wants to be
financially stable through her entire life and bringing up a child with such shortcomings can be
financially excruciating. The husband decides to support Jessica with the action that she takes.
Dr Williamson also decides to wait on the judgement of the couple and not to decide for them.
However, their aunt Maria keeps on insisting on the importance of maintaining the pregnancy
and taking care of the baby despite the challenges as it is still hers.
Aunt Maria applies the theory of moral agency as she explains to Jessica on the
importance of having the baby. She tells her to trust in God and believe that He has plans for the
baby and the family. She strongly believes in the theory that does not support abortion as it is
based on moral virtues and beliefs. She believes the family should go through with the pregnancy
and upbringing of the baby as based on the theory of moral agency. On the issue of moral agency
Jessica’s husband Marco also is very conflicted on what choice to make. Thinking rationally, he
believes that Jessica should keep the baby as the chances of having Down’s syndrome are 25%
which is not a confirmation the child will be mentally unstable. He believes that many disabled
children have been brought up to become very successful in life.
Jessica is however conflicted as he puts all the theories into practice. When considering
the theory of human properties and cognitive properties, she thinks about the fetus and if
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abortion is the right choice (Kruglanski et al.,2018). She thinks about what the fetus approach on
the matter would be. However, the theory of sentience contradicts that as for anyone to have
feelings and ideas they should be alive and physically living with knowledge and ideas. The fetus
may not feel the pain of death or abortion has it has not fully gained its own life. She is also
considerate on the matter of morality as she thinks keeping the baby is the most appropriate
choice and the right thing to do. However, before settling on the final decision, the theory of
relationship comes into play as she will consider what her husband and her aunt think.
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References
Cox, J. (2015). Autism, humanity and personhood: A theological perspective (Doctoral
dissertation, Murdoch University).
Dietrich, D. (2017). God and humanity in Auschwitz: Jewish-Christian relations and sanctioned
murder. Routledge.
Ewin, R. E. (2019). Virtues and rights: The moral philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. Routledge.
Kruglanski, A. W., Shah, J. Y., Fishbach, A., & Friedman, R. (2018). A theory of goal
systems. In The Motivated Mind (pp. 215-258). Routledge.
