forum posts

In need of a 250 word response/discussion to each of the following forum posts. Agreement/disagreement/and/or continuing the discussion.

Original forum discussion/topic post is as follows:

Topic: Schiavo Case Relationship to Moral Development

There have been many difficult medical cases that have sparked controversy regarding ethical issues. The case of Terri Schiavo is one of the most controversial in recent memory. Please link to and read the following summary/timeline of the Schiavo case:

https://bioethics.miami.edu/research-and-clinical-…

Based upon Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development, where do you believe that the Schindlers (Terri’s parents) fall? What about Michael Schiavo?

forum post #1

When examining Kohlberg’s stages of moral development, one can see that the first three stages are almost identical to the first two stages of Piaget’s (Crain, 2016). This third is the stage most would consider conventional morality, meaning it is what one assumes are values shared among the majority of the members of a society. The husband, Michael Schiavo, was likely in this third stage because he believed he was acting in the best interests of his wife, based on what he believed she would do if given the choice to act of her own accord. This is difficult to say with any certainty, because it could be argued he was interested in inheriting the money from the lawsuit instead of seeing it used on maintaining his wife’s vegetative state. If one is in favor of the individual right to “die with dignity” than they would view Michael Schiavo’s actions as the fifth stage, because he is fighting for his wife’s individual rights; however, if one favors the rights of the individual, the law may be held under scrutiny.

I theorize based on the reading of the Timeline, the fourth stage is where the parents were, and this is likely why the Schindlers fought so hard to maintain Terri’s life support. The parents were not acting in their daughter’s best interests, but doing what they thought was just or correct based on their morality, or what they thought most people would want them to do. If the claims made by Michael Schiavo in the transcript are correct, and the parents were more interested in a portion of the cash settlement, not the welfare of their daughter, one could also argue quite effectively that these parents were in stage two, because their motives appear quite selfish and self-serving (Crain, 2016). It is difficult to argue with the principles of the fourth stage of morality, because it typically reflects the laws of a society, as well as the most influential religious beliefs. For many, whether removing the feeding tube or not would be heavily influenced on their idea of what that individual believes about the afterlife. The Schindlers for instance could say that they are fighting removal of the feeding tube because allowing someone on life support to die violates what their faith considers a moral action. In many ways, these beliefs are no different from a child in the first stage that simply thinks an action is “wrong” (Crain, 2016), because if asked to articulate, these individuals would likely fall back on their faith, not a personal morality. Just as Michael Schiavo can use the fifth stage to argue that he is fighting for his wife’s individual desires, the parents could also use this fifth stage to say that their morality is more important than the rule of law. Unfortunately, at least based on our current development in society, I do not believe that there is a universal principle here to justify the sixth developmental stage, because life versus death does not allow room for compromise (Crain, 2016).

Forum post #2

Kohlberg’s theory is one that catches my interest as it focuses on the thinking process that occurs when one decides whether a behavior is right or wrong. His emphasis was to understand how one decides to respond to a moral dilemma, what one decides versus what one actually does. According to Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development, there are 6 stages of moral development, separated into three levels: pre-conventional, conventional. and post-conventional. Reading through the court proceedings of Terri Schiavo, I instantly noticed a tug of war. It was a sad story, the Schindlers and Mr. Schiavo both wanted to do what was right but both had different beliefs of what right was. The issue at hand was rather or not to keep Terri on life support, this issue persisted for many years. Michael wanted what was best for Terri and the parents were convinced she would wake up one day, even though multiple doctors confirmed that there would be no recovery for Terri. According to our textbook, Kohlberg’s stages of moral development were criticized. Some of the criticism he received was that his theories were not universal for all cultures, specifically non-western cultures. (Crain, 2016).

Over time I believe that both the parents and the husband experienced different stages of morality. The legal issues in my opinion resulted in the husband moving into stage five, Social Contract and Individual Rights in Kohlberg’s moral development. Instead of arguing only for Terri’s individual right to die to end her physical suffering he was arguing to change laws and social contracts by judicial and democratic means. At first Terri’s parents continued to hold on to hope for recovery, because of this I would say they were at stage three Good Interpersonal Relationships. Their perspective was one of care and concern for their daughter. However, as time progressed and there did not appear to be hope of recovery for Terri, her parents were greatly opposed to removing their daughter’s feeding tube thereby ending her life. At that time, Terri’s parent’s moved to Stage 6 Universal Principles in Kohlberg’s moral development. I also noticed that the parents seemed interested in part of the cash settlement which would allow us to assume that at one moment they were in stage two, being selfish. Realistically we will only know what is document and can conclude and formulate an opinion, we should not leave a the matter of life and death in the hands of others.

Forum post #3

In my opinion, the Schindlers represent Stage 3 of Kohlberg’s moral development. At stage 3, people believe that they should strive to live up to the expectations of their family and community. At this stage, people typically associate good behavior with having concern for other people, having positive motives, and displaying feelings such as love and empathy for others (Crain, 2011). I think that Terri’s parents represent this stage because they were acting out of love and concern for their daughter, which is why they opposed withdrawing medical treatment. I also think that Terri’s parents were attempting to display “good” behavior by living up to the ideals they believe their family and community expect of them. As Terri’s parents they likely felt that they were expected to fight for her to continue living, despite her health situation. I think that their strong desires to protect and care for their daughter took over and may have inhibited them from fully accepting her medical condition.

Stage 5 of Kohlberg’s moral development is characterized by people beginning to think about their society and to consider the beliefs and rights which a society should uphold. At Stage 5, people believe that certain basic rights should be protected. At this stage, people also believe that unfair laws should be changed in an attempt to improve the society as a whole (Crain, 2011). I believe that Michael Schiavo falls into Stage 5 because of his strong desire to uphold his wife’s right to die and not to endure further medical therapies when it had been determined that her condition would not improve. In the Schiavo case, Michael was initially unable to legally carry out passive euthanasia, despite medical evidence suggesting that Terri was in a persistent vegetative state. I also think Stage 5 applies to Michael’s efforts to argue that Terri’s Law was unconstitutional and his desire to change a law which he believed was unfair to others. According to Crain (2011), people at Stage 5 often believe that morality and certain rights take priority over particular laws. This is evidenced by Michael Schiavo through his consistent efforts to remove Terri’s feeding tube and allow her to die. He ran into numerous legal roadblocks, but continued to pursue what he felt was morally correct and the right thing to do for his wife as well as what was morally right for the society as a whole.