Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 16-1 Chapter Six Social Issues in Canada Abortion Stem Cell Research and Cloning Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide Multiculturalism, Racism and Minority Rights Animal Rights Sexual Relations, Homosexuality, Pornography and Prostitution Sports Issues

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-2 Abortion Under Canadian law, a fetus is not a person and has no legal rights. This means that anything done to a fetus prior to birth—even immediately prior to birth—cannot be brought as a charge against the person who did it. The fetus becomes a legally recognized person only at birth. (Continued)

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-3 Abortion What moral rights (if any) apply to: The pregnant woman? The biological father? The unborn fetus? (Continued)

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-4 Abortion How are the following used in arguments for or against abortion? Absolutism Relativism Divine Command Virtue Ethics Act-utilitarianism Rule-utilitarianism

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-5 Stem Cell Research and Cloning Canadian Guidelines for Stem Cell Research Research should have potential health benefits for Canadians Free and informed voluntary consent must be given Privacy and confidentiality must be respected No direct or indirect payments for tissues collected is permitted Embryos may not be created for research purposes Individual and community notions of human dignity and physical, spiritual and cultural integrity must be respected (Continued)

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-6 Stem Cell Research and Cloning What are some arguments for and against embryonic stem cell research or reproductive cloning, based on the following: Moral rights Consequences Divine Command Enlightened Self-interest

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-7 Euthanasia Euthanasia must be intended to benefit the person who dies. Euthanasia is directly caused by an action (active euthanasia or mercy killing) or an omitted action (passive euthanasia) by someone else. Euthanasia only occurs when a person who was alive dies as the result of the action or omission. The person's death must be the desired outcome for an action to be considered euthanasia.

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-8 Euthanasia Voluntary euthanasia occurs when a mentally-competent adult knowingly and freely asks to be helped/allowed to die. This includes advance directives and “do not resuscitate” orders for passive euthanasia. Non-voluntary euthanasia occurs when the person did not ask or consent to euthanasia. This does not mean it was against his will, but others had to make the choice for him.

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-9 Passive Euthanasia VoluntaryNon-voluntary Patient requests Without patient’s request No heroic measures Nor ordinary, life-prolonging measures (i.e., DNR) Withhold heroic measures Terminate life support (heroic and ordinary)

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-10 Active Euthanasia VoluntaryNon-voluntary Mercy killing and active euthanasia, voluntary or involuntary, are illegal in Canada. Passive euthanasia (withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining measures) is illegal; however, patients have the right to refuse consent to treatment. assisted suicide (assistant provides means to patient) assisted suicide (assistant commits act for patient) mercy killing without request or consent

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-11 Euthanasia and Physician- Assisted Suicide What are some arguments for and against euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, based on the following? Autonomy Duty (duty to care and duty to die) Divine Command Virtue ethics Act-utilitarianism Rule-utilitarianism Enlightened Self-interest

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-12 Multiculturalism, Racism and Minority Rights Multiculturalism refers to all the cultural heritages brought into our country by immigrants. Stereotype = a false, exaggerated or misleading opinion about a specific group of people, such as women, teenagers, homeless people, blacks, Muslims, etc. Racism = the result of stereotyping based on another person's racial background. Minority rights = laws that protect the rights of minorities, or small groups of people.

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-13 Discrimination National or ethnic origin Sexual orientation Marital status Pardoned conviction Family status Mental or physical disability Race Religion Age Colour Gender The Canadian Human Rights Act lists 11 prohibited grounds of discrimination:

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-14 Publicly Inciting Hatred This occurs when someone: communicates statements in a public place inciting hatred against an identifiable group in such a way that there will likely be a breach of the peace. Criminal Code, Section 319(1)

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-15 Affirmative Action Achieved by: 1. Active search—actively seeking and encouraging members of the targeted group to apply. 2. Tie-breaking—choosing between equally qualified applicants by giving preference to members of the targeted group. 3. Extra qualification—being a member of the targeted group is made one of the additional qualifications. 4. Setting quotas—creating a policy whereby a percentage of new hires or promotions must be from the targeted group, or the percentage must be achieved by a certain date.

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-16 Discrimination and Minority Rights What are some arguments for and against protecting minority rights, based on the following: Equality Affirmative action Divine Command Virtue ethics Act-utilitarianism Rule-utilitarianism Enlightened self-interest

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-17 Animal Rights Do animals have moral rights? A right is defined as a strong and legitimate claim. If animals have moral rights, they have their own moral status, or moral worth, independent of humans. There must be some grounds, legal or moral, on which the right is based.

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-18 Positions on Animals’ Moral Worth and Rights 1. Animals have as much moral worth as humans and we should consider their interests as equal to our own. 2. Humans have greater moral value than animals, but animals do have some rights and we have a moral duty to take those into consideration in our dealings with them. 3. Human beings alone have moral rights and the other creatures on Earth are here for our use.

Copyright  2010 Pearson Education Canada / J A McLachlan 6-19 Positions on Animals’ Moral Worth and Rights Give some arguments that support or refute each of the three positions, based on: Sentience Speciesism Equality Non-maleficence and beneficence Divine Command Law of Nature Enlightened self-interest