Sarah and Jim: A Moral Dilemma

In this paper, I am arguing for a solution to the moral dilemma that is presented to Sarah and Jim. As we already know, Sarah and Jim had sex and as a result of that she is pregnant. They both have different moral views, and this is creating a conflict between them. To begin with, Sarah was raised in a utilitarian environment, so she reflects utilitarianism as her moral view. She is relaying in the principle of utility, which states that one should always act to produce the greatest good for the greatest number of people. She believes that continuing with the pregnancy will end their dreams of going to college and possible end their education. In addition, she is worry that neither she, nor Jim are interested in committing themselves to a relationship and continuing with the pregnancy will in a sense make them responsible and committed with their baby. Furthermore, Sarah is worried about their financial stability, since they are not financially independent and she feels that bringing a baby into this world without being financially stable would not be a wise decision to make. Also, she knows that she is not emotionally ready to be a mother and thinks that having a baby without being prepared will not be the right thing to do and it will produce a bad consequence for her and the baby. Sarah feels that terminating the pregnancy will be beneficial for everyone, and it will not inflict any pain on the fetus, since she is only six weeks pregnant, and embryos do not gain sentience until much later in the pregnancy. As a result of this, Sarah feels no moral obligation towards her pregnancy, since under a utilitarian view beings are deserving of moral consideration based on their ability to feel pleasure or pain. For all of the reasons mentioned above, Sarah will decide to terminate her pregnancy since with her decision, more good is produced. On the other hand, Jim was raised in a Catholic family and his moral view is Natural Law Theory. Jim knows that continuing with the pregnancy will bring extremely difficult changes to his life, but he believes that life is a gift from God that has to be preserved. He believes in the principle of totality, which states that your body is a temporary gift from God and you do not have the right to decide what happens with it. Jim states that he knew that engaging in sexual acts, even using protection, had a small percentage of risk, and that pregnancy was one of them. He feels an obligation towards the fetus because it is a new entity that they have created. Also, Jim believes that from the moment of conception the fetus is alive and