What's Yours Is MINE!

Alas! The time has come again for me to spread my wisdom across the web. I actually enjoy writing my opinion in this format, and may continue to do so even after the conclusion of my course. After a weeklong vacation, cruising in Europe, I am ready to tackle another post. This weeks article, taken from The Guardian, is of a couple that utilized a fertility treatment to preserve embryos, and the ensuing battle for disposition after the couple split. You'll shortly understand why this article is relevant, in the meantime I will summarize a couple of key points in bullet format.

• Man claims to consider himself Catholic
• Couple agreed to bring embryos to term with mutual consent
• Catholic church forbids unnatural conception
• Pope Benedict..."IVF embryos have right to life even before implantation"
• Man wants the contract voided so that he may take possession of embryos 

So you see the ethical dilemma here? There is none. Issues of morality prevail. Philosopher Immanuel Kant defines evil as a self-serving choice that individuals make freely, even when they know fill well the moral law they ought to be following (Rosenstand, 2013). Let's be clear, I am not calling this man evil. I am, however, curious about what his intentions were for making such a private matter public. Previously, I mentioned that the man considers himself catholic. So why would he engage in practices that the religion frowns upon? The answer is simple. People are sometimes inclined to disregard morality on the basis of personal satisfaction. As a predominately self-serving body, we tend to do the thing that will cause us the greatest amount of satisfaction. What rationale guided this mans decision? Does he desire the ability to create the "perfect child"? Perhaps he wanted to embarrass his former partner. Nonetheless, this article highlights a person who appears to desire public persuasion to achieve his desired outcome. He seems concerned with his own motives, with no regard to anyone else. 

Rosenstand, N. (2013). The Moral of the Story: An Introduction to Ethics (7th Edition ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.

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