A husband of more than 50 years said he had run out of options.

His wife, 78, had been seriously ill for the last 15 years. The cost of her medications had become so expensive that they could no longer afford it. He decided that on Monday morning while she was sleeping, he would shoot her in the head to relieve her pain and suffering.

The man killed his wife at 7:30 a.m. while she was asleep. He then put the gun on a dresser, went into the kitchen had some coffee. He then called his daughters to tell them what he had done before calling 911 later that afternoon. He told police that his children knew that his wife wanted to die because she was in so much pain, and that he had been thinking of killing her for several days. The man apologized to police for not calling them earlier in the day but said he had wanted to let his children know what had happened first.

At the police station, the man told police that his wife had been sick for a very long time and had multiple ailments that required numerous medications. The man said that he could not afford to buy all the medications and still keep a roof over their heads.

According to AARP, an advocacy group for people over 50, specialty drugs that treat chronic conditions such as the rheumatoid arthritis that his wife had, are extremely expensive, sometimes costing thousands of dollars per dose. 

Records show that the man and his wife had filed for bankruptcy in 2011, and the man worked in retail for a short time to try to pay for the medications. The man was arrested and charged with first-degree premeditated murder. But the case appeared to also highlight the difficulties faced by older people who are retired or on fixed incomes and struggle to pay for their medicine when they are ill or in pain. The man was very emotional about the situation and knew that he was going to jail, but said that he was out of options to help his wife.

After reading the story below, answer the following questions:

• Was the man’s action of killing his wife ethical?
• How does the ethical framework you consider (absolute ethics, relative ethics, behavioral ethics, applied ethics) impact your ability to analyze the situation?
• What does society think about the man’s action?
• What would you do if you were in the same situation of watching a loved one suffer excruciating pain and you felt unable to help their suffering?
• When is pre-meditated murder socially, morally, and legally acceptable?

Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format.

Estimated time to complete: 2 hours

Rubric

HU240 Unit 1 Assessment – Ethics (2)HU240 Unit 1 Assessment – Ethics (2)CriteriaRatingsPtsThis criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeContentHU240-CO227.0 ptsLevel 5Expresses content knowledge with the assignment purpose in a complete, organized, clear, professional, and culturally respectful manner.24.0 ptsLevel 4Expresses content knowledge with the assignment purpose in a complete, organized, clear, professional, and culturally respectful manner with minor weaknesses in one or more of the areas.22.0 ptsLevel 3Partially expresses content knowledge with the assignment purpose. Expresses ideas in a complete, organized, clear, professional, and culturally respectful manner with weaknesses in these area.19.0 ptsLevel 2Partially expresses content knowledge with the assignment purpose. Ideas are partially expressed in an organized, professional, and culturally respectful manner with major weaknesses in these areas.16.0 ptsLevel 1Expresses limited content knowledge with the assignment purpose. Ideas are not expressed in a complete, organized, clear, professional, and/or culturally respectful manner.0.0 ptsLevel 0The assignment was not completed or there are no constructed concepts that demonstrate analytically skills and no evidences to support the content does not align to the assignment instructions27.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeAnalysisPRICE-P27.0 ptsLevel 5Constructs concepts related to course content, demonstrating strong analytical skills with strong evidence to support professional and personal subject knowledge through details, supporting evidence, and idea differentiation.24.0 ptsLevel 4Constructs concepts related to course content, demonstrating strong analytical skills with evidence to support professional and personal subject knowledge through details, supporting evidence, and idea differentiation.22.0 ptsLevel 3Constructs concepts related to course content, demonstrating analytical skills with some evidence to support professional and personal subject knowledge through details, supporting evidence, and idea differentiation.19.0 ptsLevel 2Constructs concepts related to course content, demonstrating weak analytical skills with minimal evidence to support professional and personal subject knowledge through details, supporting evidence, and idea differentiation.16.0 ptsLevel 1Constructs concepts related to course content, demonstrating inadequate evidence of analytical skills. There is minimal or no evidence to support professional and personal subject knowledge through details, supporting evidence, and idea differentiation.0.0 ptsLevel 0The assignment was not completed or there was no evidence of constructed concepts that are supported by professional and personal subject knowledge through details, supporting evidence, and idea differentiation.27.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeTechnology15.0 ptsLevel 5Manipulates multiple technological resources to effectively implement all assignment requirements.14.0 ptsLevel 4Manipulates multiple technological resources to effectively implement most assignment requirements.12.0 ptsLevel 3Manipulates multiple technological resources to effectively implement some assignment requirements.11.0 ptsLevel 2Manipulates multiple technological resources for some assignment requirements.9.0 ptsLevel 1Manipulates technological resources to minimally meet some assignment requirements.0.0 ptsLevel 0The assignment was not completed or difficulties with technological manipulation were evident. The assignment submitted does not meet requriements.15.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeWriting10.0 ptsLevel 5The assignment exhibits a excellent command of written English language conventions. The assignment has no errors in mechanics, grammar, or spelling.9.0 ptsLevel 4The assignment exhibits a good command of written English language conventions. The assignment has no errors in mechanics, or spelling  with minor grammatical errors that impair the flow of communication.8.0 ptsLevel 3The assignment exhibits a basic command of written English language conventions. The assignment has minor errors in mechanics, grammar, or spelling that impact the flow of communication7.0 ptsLevel 2The assignment exhibits a  limited command of written English language conventions. The assignment has frequent errors in mechanics, grammar, or spelling that impede the flow of communication.6.0 ptsLevel 1The assignment exhibits little command of written English language conventions. The assignment has errors in mechanics, grammar, or spelling that cause the reader to stop and reread parts of the writing to discern meaning.0.0 ptsLevel 0The assignment does not demonstrate command of written English language conventions. The assignment has multiple errors in mechanics, grammar, or spelling that cause the reader difficulty discerning the meaning.10.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeAPAPRICE-I6.0 ptsLevel 5In-text citations of sources and references in proper APA style are included with no errors.5.0 ptsLevel 4In-text citations of sources and references in proper APA style are included but have 1-2 minor APA errors.4.0 ptsLevel 3In-text citations of sources and references in proper APA style are included but have 3 – 4 minor APA errors.3.0 ptsLevel 2In-text citations of sources and references in proper APA style are included but have more than 4 errors.2.0 ptsLevel 1The errors demonstrate limited understanding of in-text citation and reference requirements0.0 ptsLevel 0There are no in-text citations AND/OR references.6.0 pts