A group of medical school conducted a study on very premature babies-those born

Question

A group of medical school conducted a study on very premature babies-those born between 24 and 27 weeks of gestation (instead of the normal 40 weeks). These children face a high risk of blindness and death. The goal of the study was to determine which level of oxygen in a baby's incubator produced the best results. Before enrolling families in the study, the investigators did not tell them that being in the study could increase their child's risk of blindness or death. The study made some important discoveries: the level at which too little much oxygen increased the risk of blindness and level at which too little increased the risk of death. What would Mill and Kant say about this decision not to tell the families?

Explanation / Answer

Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill proposed the ethical considerations in moral philosophy. Kant proposed the deontology model and Mill proposed the utilitarian model of moral philosophy. The most important difference between Kant’s and Mill's model is that Kant viewed an action as right or wrong without respect to the consequences, whereas Mill viewed an action as right or wrong only with reference to the consequences of the action.

Therefore, according to Kant the decision not to tell the families of premature babies who were a part in a study to determine the level of oxygen which produced blindness or death is correct. On the other hand, Mill proposed a different utilitarian model. According to this view, the decision not to tell the families of premature babies about the consequences of the study is considered wrong.

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