Also, there are two types of moral decisions. One is a temptation. With a temptation it's pretty obvious what the morally right thing to do is. The hard part might be doing it. An example would be finding a wallet on the street. it's your duty to turn it in and get it back to its owner. But you have bills to pay, so you might not do it, but you know you should. The other is a dilemma, where you have moral reasons to do two opposing actions. . An example of a dilemma would be whether to honor a patient's request for assisted suicide. On the one hand, a doctor is trained to keep a patient alive, but is also taught to abide by the wishes of the patient. Coming to an answer as to what is right requires further ethical consideration.
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The other is a dilemma, where you have moral reasons to do two opposing actions. An example would the decision to get an abortion.
Now why did you go and do that?
I've twice found a wallet in the street. The first time, I found the rightful owner immediately. The second time, I will admit to severe temptation, since there were several thousand dollars cash in it!!! Worse, despite trying, I could not find the owner... so I turned it over to the police, figuring it was now their problem. (And who knows? There might have been something criminal associated with that much cash in a wallet.)
I was actually going to remove the business about abortion, and I think I will.
An example of a dilemma would be whether to honor a patient's request for assisted suicide. On the one hand, a doctor is trained to keep a patient alive, but is also taught to abide by the wishes of the patient.
While it's true that doctors are trained to keep patients alive by treating them, they are not obliged to follow the wishes of the patient. When a patient wishes to go against the doctor's advice, medical personnel record it as "against medical advice", AMA.
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