Mother’s Perspective

By Ronny and JoJo

Background Information★Nadya Denise Suleman, previously known as

Natalie Doud, is an American woman who gave birth to octuplets on January 26, 2009.

★She is a single mother, unemployed and on public assistance programs. She had already six older children in home before she gave birth to 8 more via IVF with the participation of a male friend who provided donor sperm.

Knowledge issues

• The mother’s thoughts might be emotionally colored as she wants to have a big family and feel more loved but is this ethically correct? For a woman that’s barely able to support herself to raise up another 8 children?

• Are we being judgmental because she is a single mother? Would we perceive this differently if the mother was married?

More…

• Why should Suleman have 8 babies when some other mothers are still waiting for 1?

• Is she mentally ill? Should she have gone through a psychological examination in the beginning?

• Is she have babies for selfish reasons? She had the choice of “selective abortion” but she chose to ignore it.

Theories

• Ethical Egoism applied on Suleman “If it’s good for me, it’s good”

• It was all about her want, her desires for a large loving family. She had no concerns about anything else

• She was informed of the risks but went along with the decision although the doctors DO have the ultimate decision she plays a major role in it.

More.. • Self-pleading? False dilemma? She was told by

the doctors that the chances of all 6 embryos taking effect would be very low, so she went along with it. Is she making exceptions for herself by having this IVF even though she already has 6 children?

• Utilitarianism.• Was it wrong for she simply wanted to seek the

“greatest happiness of the greatest number?”

Hobbes social contract theory✔✖

• There is a social contract• A set of society expectations, a

code of moral behavior• Unwritten but we understand

what is acceptable and what not.

Moral relativism

• Out of 100 doctors, out of 100 people, they would all have different answers to the question “Was 6 children not enough ?” This is relativity, what may be right for you may not be the same right for another.

• Those 6 children were cared for, so it shows that she can handle a lot of children. Why are people objecting her to have more children…She has the capability…..(Not really but.)

• She wanted it…So should she have gotten it?

Duty ethics

• Ethics is fundamentally fulfilling your obligations which is your duties. However doesn’t this contradict with human rights?

• People would rather talk about rights than duties?

• So in this case, Suleman has a duty not to burden taxpayers with her selfish desires for 14 children albeit it is her right to raise a big family.

Motives

• Moral value of an action is determined by the motive. Consequences should be considered.

• Did Suleman ever intend to cause such controversy ? Her publicists quitting could reveal that her motives such as trying to milk money out of this issue, are immoral.

Asking ourselves

Are we being biased? Is it fair that she is put under the spotlight merely because she had 8

babies after already having 6 children? Is it our business? Are we binded by conforming to

social beliefs that we don’t allow personal exceptions?

• PEOPLE SEE ETHICAL AND MORAL ISSUES/PROBLEMS

DIFFERENTLY THUS WE HAVE

CONFLICT!