Monday Morning Moral Dilemma 2
 

Mary is a nurse on the Intensive Care Ward. A young man visiting his father confides in Mary that his father is very ill. The doctors believe that he has a week to live at most. He explains further that his father has a substantial life insurance policy that expires at midnight.

If his father dies before midnight, this young man will receive a very large sum of money. He says that the money would mean a great deal to him and his family, and that no good will come from his father’s living a few more days. After talking with him, Mary can tell this man is in desperate need of the money to feed his family. The man tells Mary he is going to smother his father with a pillow if she will turn a blind eye.

What would you do in Mary's position?

Call security...
I couldn't turn a blind eye I don't think, there are other ways to get money than murdering your father.

This is actually a hard one..it should be easy as there is an obvious answer, but its not.

If the doctors are really sure he will die in a week, and he is very seriously ill, and especially if was in pain, I would be tempted to turn a blind eye.

tell him he is a sick bastard and needs to leave.

Wouldn't feel right letting him do it even if I understood his reasons, and if anyone ever found out I'd lose my job at best or could face some sort of prosecution

Report him without question, after giving him a sound beating.

Also, if you had knowledge that this was being planned and you didn't report it, you would be an accessory to murder.

Depends if the father is in real pain, if he wants to die and not suffer anymore

Leave the room quickly and flirt with a doctor or something.

Tell him to make the most of the last week with his father.

No amount of money will take away the guilt of murderng your father.


However, if your father was in agony and terminal, asking you to end his life..money or not, then that would be a different dilemma altogether.


The nurse should tell her the staff to keep an eye on him or have him barred.

This.

I would grass him up.

This isn't difficult at all, its not up to the son to decide that his Dad's life should be terminated because he wants to get his hands on some cash. Tell him to sod off.

I'd lean towards Vicky's opinion on this one. Don't know if I'd actually do it, but wouldn't dismiss it out of hand.

you have to ask why is the son in this position?

In situations like this alot of people would hope for a miracle. How many times have doctors been proved wrong with a diagnosis, they can never be 100% certain, the only certainty is that we will all die at some point.

I would not turn a blind eye. It is wrong pure and simple to me so I would reveal his intentions.

It's one thing if he was switching off a life support machine but to smother his own father with a pillow, I'd have him thrown out. I couldn't turn a blind eye to murder.

Precisely, there is are no morals involved here as he is not doing it for his Dad's good but for his own gain.