Utilitarianism means that you do anything to get the most amount of happiness. No matter what it takes in utilitarianism the bigger factor and, really the only factor that matters is being happy and receiving pleasure. If it means killing someone because it brings pleasure and for the greater good to you and others than that is okay. Utilitarianism also uses humans as always having to do good for others. You will always have to volunteer o always try to help in any way possible to help everyone and any problem that comes up. Basically, you have no break because you’re always busy doing things to benefit others and not just yourself. You also must distinguish what’s more important and do whatever is more important instead of what’s least important in utilitarianism. This theory uses people to make bad things go away and good things stay for example pleasures and happiness. People must get rid of all the bad no matter what it takes so it uses people as means to an end. The theory says that you always should choose what brings you the most pleasure in everything that you do in life. If you have to choose between the food you have to choose whatever everyone likes not just you so you never get to choose for yourself, you always have to think of what other people may like or want. “utilitarian think that what makes a morality be true or justifiable is its positive contribution to human” Nathanson, Stephen. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Overall this theory is always looking for the best thing for others and not just yourself whatever you think is right needs to benefit other people. You always need to think about other people and not just yourself.
Down syndrome is a birth defect that happens more and more often. “Down syndrome occurs when an individual has a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21.” National Down Syndrome Society. Some countries think it is okay to kill all these innocent babies just because of their birth defects. Utilitarians would do it because it is for the greater good. The good will be that no one will have to take care of the kids and the parents won’t have to live sadly because their baby came out with down syndrome. Also, we won’t have to spend money on special classes they need for example therapy and other things like that. Medication is a big one as well because sometimes they do need medication so that they can be still and not be moving around as much. For utilitarian all those reasons are more than enough to kill all the babies since it won’t only be for the greater good of the parents but also for everyone that has to do things with these kids.
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If utilitarians do kill all the kids that have down syndrome it would cause many falls not only good things. For example, if we have no down syndrome babies a lot of jobs would be lost. All the doctors and nurses that give therapy and all the medicine workers would be jobless so in that case it is not for the greater good and it doesn’t benefit the most. Not only will a lot of jobs be lost but companies and other franchises would suffer from losing employees too. “More than half of adults with Down syndrome are employed, with many finding jobs in restaurants, grocery stores, and office settings.” Lawler, Moira What is Down Syndrome. This alone shows that people with down syndrome can be help to society and if utilitarians do get rid of them we would not be benefiting everyone.
Deontology is basically helping not for the good of anyone but just because it is good. “Deontology is simple to apply. It just requires that people follow the rules and do their duty.” Ethics Unwrapped. Deontology has rules that you must follow and those rules are what you go by to know what’s right or wrong. For example, telling anyone a lie isn’t okay so it is wrong and you shouldn’t do it. Now if you don’t tell a lie and not do anything wrong then you are doing what’s right and doing what you are supposed to do as far as Kant’s theory. Deontology isn’t happiness it is just doing what’s right because it is right. No matter what it is if its right then it is good and you should do it. If you want the good end, then you must do things to get it and that is doing right. For example, going to heaven if you want to go then you must live a certain way so that you can make it possible.
In deontology, life is very precious and you should never use human life as a means to an end no matter the situation. Human life is sacred and shouldn’t be used as a tool or a way to get something better. If you are going to use a person to get to a better place or to get something good out of something with the person's consent then it is okay and it is right. This only applies if the person knows what’s going on and they know that someone is using them to get the greater good. The reason it is okay to use someone with them knowing is because the person being used knows that they are being used to achieve a greater good. But other than that life shouldn’t be a way to get the greater good. Deontology shows that using someone is like using them not as a human but just using them as a way to get somewhere you are basically taking their humanity away.
Deontology would not be okay with all kids born with down syndrome being killed. They wouldn’t be okay with it because the baby is a life and you shouldn’t use someone for the greater good if they don’t know. A baby wouldn’t know what’s good or wrong so it is not okay to do this. With this theory being applied to killing all babies born with down syndrome there is lot of positives. This theory wouldn’t allow this to happen and that is good itself. A baby has no way of knowing what’s going on and this theory doesn’t let you do something like that which is a good thing. “universal moral laws, such as “Don’t lie. Don’t steal. Don’t cheat.” Ethics Unwrapped. This also includes killing. So overall this theory is good when it comes down to killing babies with down syndrome.
The bad things about using this theory with killing down syndrome babies are that if they cannot kill them or they can’t kill themselves then they will still be in society and it will cause society a lot more in medicine and many other things. Also, families will be devastated because of them suffering every day and not being able to do anything about it. They are not allowed to kill them so they are going to suffer and at the end, that alone isn’t right.
Deontology is better when it comes to this issue they believe that is wrong to kill innocent human beings. And that is why I argue that it is better than utilitarianism where it is okay to kill for the greater good. They use human beings as a tool to save money or to live better without any down syndrome people but they are human beings and they do have feelings just like anyone else. “People with Down syndrome have feelings just like anyone else. They experience the full range of emotions.” Triangle Down Syndrome Network. With deontology, they are against any life-ending even suicide they do not believe in that and they do believe that every life is good and every life is sacred. As for utilitarianism, it is okay for you to kill yourself and do anything if it is for the greater good. Killing all down syndrome babies or adults doesn’t bring as many positives as it does negatives. You will have many people suffering from depression and many broken families. They shouldn’t be treated as a means to an end anybody with down syndrome didn’t choose to have it so they have no fault. If they have no fault, then they shouldn’t be punished or killed they aren’t doing anything wrong and deontology says that as long as you do good then you are good.
Deontology argues that as long as the person agrees that they are being used for the greater good then it is okay then it is fine. I think that since you can euthanize yourself in countries such as Belgium doesn’t mean you should. “legalizing both euthanasia and PAS for 'competent' adults and emancipated minors suffering from 'constant and unbearable physical or mental suffering that cannot be alleviated.” Procon. If they have disabilities such as down syndrome they don’t know what they are doing and since its okay to kill in deontology if it’s the right reason, here being to save resources I think the doctor or whoever is helping kill the people should be trained to try and stop them. They don’t have the best decision-making skills when it comes to complex decisions and of course, this isn’t an easy decision. “For any big or complex decisions where it has been established a person lacks capacity, a formal best interests approach must be taken.” A Registered Charity Down Syndrome Association. Doctors need to be trained to take a different approach when it comes to dealing with down syndrome people trying to euthanize themselves because they need the extra help to think. Deontology would argue that a doctor is doing right by helping and saving a life. Not helping is wrong because the person has a disability.
Killing people with down syndrome is discrimination just because they have an extra chromosome doesn’t give the right to do so. In some countries, they eliminate all down syndrome babies just to save resources all because they have down syndrome. “babies diagnosed with Down syndrome in Iceland are aborted.” Patricia Heaton America. They aren’t different in many ways they all have human features and are human no one should try and kill them for no reason that is not socially okay it is discriminating. A group of people that has a disability is still part of society. Families go through a lot of depression with losing a loved one and we shouldn’t allow them to get rid of all of them. One of the main reasons they want to get rid of people with down syndrome is because they need a lot of money and resources. “According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the cost of raising your typical kid to the age of 18 is around $240,000. people affected by disabilities will spend around $10,000 annually in out-of-pocket costs just for medical services.” Patrick A Coleman Fatherly. Although it may seem like a lot we are basically attacking one group of people and that is never okay in any society.
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