Consequence-oriented decision-making and duty-oriented decision-making are two main types of choices that one would have regarding ethical issues. According to (Bedzow, 2020), consequence-oriented decision-making indicates an action is either right or wrong depending on its consequences. Thus, using this approach, one can decide whether to take action when they know or anticipate a specific outcome. On the other hand, duty-oriented decision-making starts with the action, whether it is right or wrong (Bedzow, 2020). This indicates the one who wants to decide on what to do assesses the action they need to take and analyzes whether it is ethical or not. An optimum decision can occur when taking both decisions results in at least one positive outcome.
In my opinion, this issue falls under both duty-oriented and consequence-oriented ethics. In particular, it is duty-oriented in the case where the parents desperately search for a 1-year old who can match the bone marrow. However, the issue is consequence-oriented, where the parents decide to have a child whom they hope can be a right match for the needed bone marrow. Here, the parents depend on the outcome, which can go either way, as the newborn can be a match or not. Thus, if the younger one becomes a match, then the parents’ action is right, while if the baby does not match, the seniors’ act becomes wrong. Consequently, the parents need to continue searching for a 1-year old match to donate the bone marrow and, at the same time, have a younger baby. Taking the two approaches indicates the parents use both action-oriented and consequence-oriented decision-making, which results in an optimum decision.
Reference
Bedzow, I. (2020). Is it time to rethink health care ethics? The American Journal of Bioethics, 20(1), W1-W2. Web.