Introduction
Disparities existing within thinking capacities, perceptions, and emotions trigger the formation of dilemmas that require ethics intervention. Apparently, ethics relays the multidimensional perspectives arising from cultural norms, legal requirements, religious beliefs, and determination of right and wrong (Davis, 2003). Dilemmas are potential causes of suicides, madness, and interferences with normal health for diabetic patients. Consequently, ethics sets analytical techniques to overcome these potential occurrences.
These professional strategies are applied to restore problems and pave ways for the affected individuals. Subsequently, it eliminates the establishment of woeful decisions in real life situations. It is vital to show the performance and participation of ethics in providing substantial life solutions. In a bid to perform this task, I will review a pregnancy case involving a 14-years old girl and apply ethical techniques to provide a solution.
Dilemma
The case identified under this dilemma involves a 14-years old girl. The girl seeks therapy in relation to her pregnancy. She fears that her parents would kill her when they realize, or find about the pregnancy. However, her state does not allow abortion to individuals of age 14 without parental consent. Consequently, she came to my office seeking therapeutic assistance.
Effects
There are diverse negative effects that could arise from this case. First, it is identifiable that the young girl cannot pay full responsibility of her actions. According to the description, it has been revealed that abortion must take place with parental acknowledgement. Consequently, not only will a parent/guardian face legal measures, but also the operating doctor could be confiscated and jailed.
Moreover, the resultant operations could have adverse outcomes including death or permanent infertility. It cannot be stated plainly that these are the only parties affected. Instead, the issue broadens to the community responsible for death consolation, burial ceremonies, and hospitalization among other potent occurrences.
If this issue is analyzed intricately, it will be identified that people will be jailed to reduce human resource and cause knowledge restrictions (Haugen, Musser & Lovelace, 2010). For instance, what would happen if the parent and doctors were imprisoned?
Probably, a hospital will require the attention of another doctor. Jailing a doctor would reduce or restrict the medical knowledge that could help other people seeking health attention. Concurrently, brothers and sisters of the young girl could be subjected to hardship when living without parents.
However, poor application of ethical strategies could lead to equivalent outcomes (Pope & Vasquez, 2011). For instance, if a therapist decides to reveal information to the parents inconsiderately, the reactions could be uncontrollable, fierce and reproaching. It is vital to consider all factors concisely before taking any action as an ethical therapist. Moreover, the education of the affected patient could rely on the pregnancy.
Maybe, if the pregnancy was terminated, little effects would appear to the girl’s education. Also, ridicule of pregnancy before marriage is an issue that requires relative attention. Apparently, these pregnancies cause loss of friends and create an inconveniencing angle on how people think about the subject. In fact, age mates could ridicule the girl in regard to the unfortunate pregnancy.
This act of mass rejection from a life that a person was not aware about could lead to mind interferences and suicides. There remains a question seeking the best answer in regard to this dilemma.
What will be the final judgment to consider all these factors and prevent adverse effects? What will be the intensity of effects in relation to each decision made? The decision could lay where there is little to lose and few, or no effects of the decision chosen.
The Client
Identifying the patient and retrieving all possible information is necessary. The patient should be triggered to tell the truth. If the patient fears that parents might kill her, she could keep on hiding some truth. Importantly, these aspects could be crucial to the final decision of the therapist. Also, a therapist should rate the presentation made by the patient.
For instance, this rating could be identified by determining the coherence of the case or confusions. In some instance, the stress and depression availing from these cases require integrated counseling to reveal whether the patient is desperate. If this aspect is identified during the initial stages, harm and broadening of the issue could null down substantially due to therapeutic guidance.
Missing Knowledge
There is a lot of information hidden, or unclear in cases brought for therapeutic evaluation. It is vital to note that not only does therapists receive inadequate and incoherent information, but also miss some skills and experiences about the subject case. These issues require the therapist to fill and find a solution that can cover either side of the argument.
This implies that the decision will be considerate of a two-sided solution where the doubted occurrence is incorporated as a problem with or without its real effect. For instance, the pregnant patient might not be aware about her HIV status.
Consequently, it could be assumed that the patient is HIV positive to prevent disease transmission from mother to the infant. If this issue is not accounted for, the patient could fail to go for tests and infect the infant during, or after birth.
Ethical and Legal Standards
Pregnancy is termed as life in expectancy according to the community. The expected child belongs to the community that provides protection roles to the expected child (Farquharson & Stephenson, 2010). Abortion is an attempt to defy the ethical backgrounds of the community (Hull & Hoffer, 2001). It is a form of killing a human life without its consent and ability of self defense.
Generally, abortion is far beyond a notion of community grant. This implies that the community does not approve abortion. However, other approaches recognize that a patient could have health and life issues to prevent successful birth. Consequently, the pregnancy could lead to death and adverse effects to the health of the patient. How will the 14-years old girl raise the expected infant?
The legal standards are clear and directive. They allow abortion with the consent of a guardian. This implies that there must be coherent understanding and comprehensive study of this case. This knowledge will assist to determine the health and life risk factors. The issues that the infant could face due to parental failures must be identified and analyzed explicitly.
The father to the expected child must be identified and determined punishable under legal directions. For instance, if an adult impregnated the young girl, there must be legal implications in relation to the action.
Judgment Interferences
Therapeutic judgment should exempt all forms of biases, personal feeling and individualism. It is necessary to acknowledge that a therapist is a person to help the patient in identifying a right path. It is not a strategy for individual interest where a therapist identifies the intensity of the case and takes advantage of the situation.
For instance, a professional therapist cannot assume that the girl is young for conception and advice her to abort the pregnancy. This is an act of bias and inclusion of individual feeling. Additionally, the feelings of the patient should be incorporated in the judgment.
How does the patient respond to issues involving friends’ involvement and their reactions to the final decision? What trouble will the patient undergo after making, terminating, or retaining the pregnancy? Will she lose friends and other people who matter in her life? What are the requirements of the decisions made for their fulfillment?
Other Vital Factors
Other information and study about the culture, religion, and social status should be considered. What are the cultural requirements of abortion? For instance, the culture might recommend ridicule of pregnant girls without husbands. This implies that the pregnant girl cannot stay conveniently in the community. Otherwise, she will stay without friends due to embarrassment.
In what religion does the girl belong? Christianity does not approve abortion by all means. Consequently, it should be determined whether the girl is ready to defy the religion by aborting the pregnancy. However, this will apply in accordance to the religion of the patient.
Finally, how will she socialize with people after identifying and applying the decision? In most cases, pregnancy of a young girl leads to rejection. Few girls and boys will walk and talk with pregnant girls. Subsequently, the girl will not interact freely with other individuals of her age group.
Consultation
After filing and understanding the information, I could consult from other therapists who have adequate experiences. The intervention of another person provides additional knowledge and revelation of hidden ideas. In fact, arguments in regard to the dilemma could help to identify a solution.
Decision
Apparently, the weakest section of this dilemma that requires address involves allowing parents to know about the case. However, this issue cannot be performed plainly. This implies that the parents cannot know about the issue with immediacy. The critical part of this issue could involve a close friend to the parents. The identified friend could be used to prepare and understand the due reactions.
For instance, the friend could be used confidentially to retrieve the ideas about what the parents could do if their daughter was impregnated. Also, s/he could advice the parents about the repercussions in case they disown and/or harm the troubled girl. This would assist to prepare parents about the unbroken news. If the results are adverse or critical, arguments must be applied to make them understand.
Moreover, the friend will mediate and refuse any harm to the girl. For instance, this friend could declare ownership to the child in adverse reaction. Probably, this would help the parents to realize the importance and value of their child. They could learn from past experiences through being reminded. In other cases, the parents could assume less pleasure and stress to the girl.
Therefore, the revelation of the news could be performed and mediated by the friend. S/he could make them to understand the situation and make an agreement that the child will receive proper care until she conceives. Consequently, this decision will have considered many factors that are ethical, legal and therapeutic. These have been identified and discussed in the following paragraph.
Dimensions of the Decision
Legal requirements needed the consent of parents before operating an abortion. The decision described above incorporates ethical, legal and therapeutic issues. Legally, the parents will have known about the pregnancy and abortion if the girl will still be willing to abort the pregnancy. This implies that the legal requirement will be performed accordingly and through the right channels.
Ethically, if they decide to retain the pregnancy, most ethical projections will be apparent. For instance, they will not have acted against the religious ethics that recommends child birth and refutes abortion. Although the girl might be ridiculed culturally, she will not have performed the abortion that the culture does not recommend.
Finally, therapeutic requirements will be satisfied for uniting the family and paving way for future life. It will have prevented life desperation and woeful actions. Consequently, each part will be considered adequate to provide the best solution for this case.
Conclusion
Life reveals situations that require evaluation assistance and adequate guidance to prevent desperation. Dilemmas are common and become easy to evaluate with assistance. Therapists perform tasks of helping people to identify the best strategies to act in regard to dilemmas. Early and unplanned pregnancies are fearsome. They require therapeutic and ethical knowledge to provide solutions that are grounded substantially.
The ground can be provided through step by step analysis of dilemma through ethical techniques. This will achieve admirable results and prevent future regrets such as infertility. Therefore, ethics is a key and fundamental aspect that must be applied when finding a solution to similar issues.
References
Davis, D. B. (2003). Handbook of multicultural competencies in counseling & psychology. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.
Farquharson, R. G., & Stephenson, M. D. (2010). Early pregnancy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Haugen, D. M., Musser, S., & Lovelace, K. (2010). Abortion: opposing viewpoints. Detroit: Greenhaven Press.
Hull, N. E., & Hoffer, P. C. (2001). Roe v. Wade: the abortion rights controversy in American history. Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas.
Pope, K. S., & Vasquez, M. J. (2011). Ethics in psychotherapy and counseling: a practical guide (4th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.