How to Analyze Positions

The chair of the hospital’s Ethics Committee has asked you to analyze each position in the debate. Specifically, she would like you to consider each of the following questions:

• Who is affected by the position?


• What are the short-term and long-term consequences of the position for each affected party?


• What ethical principles are at stake for each affected party?

Keep in mind that in your debate you will need to tie your statements to ethical principles, i.e., instead of saying “Selling organs just isn’t right” you need to ground your arguments in ethical principles, e.g., “Selling organs is a violation of a poor patient’s right to justice, in this case, receiving just medical treatment. If organs can be sold, no one will donate their organs for free, and the poor will no longer be able to afford organ transplants…” As you do your work, remember your purpose – to strengthen your arguments for and against the legal sale of organs in the United States.

This step-by-step guide will help you work through the process of answering these questions.

1. Together with your team, review the email from the Ethics Committee chair. You may want to print the email and highlight the important points.


2. Each team member should download the Position Analysis Template, attached to Dr. Jones’s email. You will record your work in this template.


3. Working individually, begin by analyzing the negative position. Determine who will be affected by the position. Keep in mind that these issues often have broader consequences than we may initially consider.


4. Determine the consequences of the position. Consider the positive and negative consequences associated with the position. Remember that this decision may have far-reaching effects. There will certainly be consequences for all the people involved in the issue, but there may also be broader ramifications for your colleagues, for the hospital, in the community and, in this issue especially, the world at large. Note positive and negative consequences for each position, and who will be affected by these consequences.


5. Determine which ethical principles are upheld and/or violated by the position, and for whom. Think about the ethical principles you have become familiar with in you work on the Ethics Committee. For the position you are analyzing, which ethical principles are upheld, and which are violated, and for whom? On the template describe which ethical principle(s) the position addressed and explain how. For example, you may feel a patient’s autonomy is violated by never allowing the sale of organs. You may also feel a donor’s autonomy is violated, by not being able to sell his or her organs. Your answer should not only state these point, but also describe why you feel this way.

For more information on specific ethical principles, you may refer to the document Ethical Principles for Consideration, which Dr. Jones attached to her email. Note: It is the same document used in earlier work.

6. Complete the table. Once you have finished analyzing the negative position, repeat these steps for the affirmative position. For the affirmative position, be sure to note the specific conditions upon which you feel it would be ethical to allow the sale of organs in the United States, and why you feel these conditions are ethical for the concerned parties (patients, donors, families, etc.).


7. Reconvene as a team to share your analyses of the positions. Review each position:
   1. Discuss each point you have been asked to consider (affected parties, consequences and ethical principles).
   
   
   2. Discuss the conditions each person applied to the affirmative position.
   
   
   3. Have you created a strong argument for each position? Discuss the weaknesses you see in either position. What would strengthen that position?
   
   
   4. During the discussion, each team member should take notes on their individual analysis templates, to reflect new ideas from their teammates. Each team member is expected to turn in his or her own template.
   
   
8. Update your analysis template. Make any edits to your template to be sure you’ve captured any changes you want to make based on the discussion with your team.


9. Submit your work. Review the checklist on the Submit your Work tab and submit this document to your mentor.