Module 5 Caesarean Section by
Choice (CSBC)
Lesson 24 – CSBC
Explain the good reason
requirement, and why Warren
and Patrick think that this
requirement is not satisfied in
the case of Wendy's CSBC when
it comes to the risk CSBC poses
to infants?
Explain Doran's view on the
moral permissibility of CSBC,
and why he thinks the harms
CSBC poses to infants, the
mother, or women in general
are not sufficient to make CSBC
wrong.
It is morally wrong to put others at greater than necessary risks of significant harm,
unless one has a good reason:
1. It is morally wrong to put others at greater than necessary risks of significant harm,
unless one has a good reason.
2. CSBC has greater risks of significant harm than does vaginal delivery (to the infant,
to the mother).
3. Wendy lacks a good reason for CSBC.
-4. Therefore, Wendy’s CSBC is morally wrong.
Patrick basically agrees with Warren’s argument above, but he thinks that the main
objection to Wendy’s CSBC is that she lacks sufficient reason to put her child’s health
at increased risk.
Wendy’s CSBC is not wrong. There are many analogies like the fast food case,
unnecessary driving case, and the home birth case. Each involves parents acting in
ways that put their children at slightly greater risk of significant harm for little reason,
and where we do not think those choices are morally wrong.
If the risks of significant harm are in real terms very low, then virtually any reason will
satisfy the good reason requirement.
CSBC puts the pregnant woman at greater risk of significant harm than vaginal
delivery, but so does playing ice hockey without a full face shield, which may be
imprudent but not immoral.
Warren also thinks that CSBC can be harmful to women because it medicalizes a
natural event and glamorizes a procedure that is not in women’s or children’s best
interests and encourages the manipulation of women.
Reducing C-section rates in general could reduce health care costs overall. Since CSBC
is not a medically necessary procedure, there is reason not to offer CSBC as part of a
publicly funded health care system.
Formulate your own view and
arguments on the moral
permissibility of CSBC.