Ethical Dilemma Paper - Essay Example

The school of thought of ends based ethics abides by the notion that an act can be justified and deemed acceptable or applicable if it is to provide the ‘greatest pleasure (or happiness) to the greatest number of people’ (Robison and Reeser, 2000). Applying the recommendations of this ethical concept to the ethical case of the married couple, who have now been fully rehabilitated after years of drug addiction, during the process of which they also decided to hand over their daughter in foster care, it can be stated that the law is defying ethics in the given scenario.

This conclusion has been drawn from the fact that the parties which are involved in this situation which are that of the young child, her biological parents and foster parents are likely to experience either pain or pleasure as a consequence of the court’s decision. Such that the law’s decision in favor of the biological parents would indeed grant them with happiness however, the child who has been raised by her foster parents since infancy would not appreciate being handed over to her biological parents as this action is being taken against her will, nor would the foster parents who have showered the child with love and affection experience pleasure as a consequence of the court’s decision.

On the other hand, the implementation of rule based thinking in this scenario would recommend that by adopting a reckless approach towards parenting, the child’s parents have forgone their right to establish an association with their daughter if she does not intend to do so willingly. In the given case, the young girl has accepted her foster parents as her natural parents and demanding her to change this perception would be considered unfair because her natural parent’s incompetence in failing to responsibly raise her cannot be deemed as her fault.

The court’s decision in this case can be negated by relating to the case 14-year-old, Kimberly Mays who was awarded the right to choose between her biological and adoptive family (Konstan, 1994). Therefore, as the child has been returned to her natural parents against her will, then it can be stated that ethics do not support law in the given scenario as per the foundations of rule based ethics. The similarities and differences of the ethical schools which have been applied in this case are based upon their evaluation of the matter and the identification of the parties which are involved in the case.

The distinction between the theoretical models however, lies in the reason behind the court’s decision to favor the natural parents under the contemplation that the relationships which are defined by blood are more valuable than those which involve attachment, love and affection. While, stating whether Aristotle would have approved of the solutions that have been presented in the paper, it can be stated that this understanding entirely depends upon the character of the biological parents. If the biological parents can guarantee that they would not resort back to their past of drug addiction then it would be possible to support the court’s decision through the application of virtue ethics, however, doing so would not be possible in an alternative scenario.

ReferencesKonstan, D. (1994). Oedipus and his parents: the biological family from Sophocles to Dryden. Scholia, 3, 3-23.Robison, W. L., & Reeser, L. C. (2000). Ethical decision making in social work. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.