1) What is the Christian concept of the imago Dei?
2)How might it be important to health care, and why is it relevant?
Case Study: Maternal and Fetal Viability
A young married couple, Tina and Jeff, recently moved into their first house. Starting his career in the financial services industry, Jeff has been doing well in this job. Tina enjoys her job at a Christian school as an elementary school teacher. In her 20th week of pregnancy, Tina now prepares for a leave of absence.
On Tina’s drive home from school one day, she pulls out of the school parking lot when another driver, distracted by his phone, collides with her car. Despite nearly being in a head-on collision, both Tina and the fetus are alive. Tina has sustained severe head trauma and is unconscious when paramedics arrive at the scene.
Jeff rushes to the hospital, and doctors tell him that his wife has sustained significant injuries to her brain and may never fully recover.
Medical personnel intubate and closely monitor Tina. The fetus appears to have been spared major injuries, but doctors cannot assess the full extent of injuries at this time. Physicians are concerned the fetus may have sustained internal injuries that could cause significant disabilities or other health issues.Further, they are concerned for Tina’s health and recovery, which is complicated by her pregnancy.
Reflective Questions
1. Should Tina’s pregnancy continue, or should Jeff consider abortion as an option, both for the sake of Tina’s health and out of concern for the viability of the fetus?
2. Does the fetus have moral status and deserve continued medical treatment, or is the viability of the fetus questionable enough to merit Jeff focusing primarily upon restoring the health of Tina?
3. What is the Christian view of the worth of human persons?
4. How might different moral status theories lead Jeff to make different decisions?
