Considering Aristotle’s virtue theory and Hursthouse’s application of t

REGIONAL

ETHICS BOWL

CASES

FALL 2022

Written and edited by:

Michael Funke

Rhiannon Dodds Funke

Alexa Bishopric

Contributing Authors:

Matthew Mangum

Juliana Hemela (NHSEB)

Meredith Sheeks (NHSEB)

© Association for Practical and Professional Ethics 2 022

Editor’s Note: Please note that source materials cited may be used multiple times, but only

identified once per case.

2 © Association for Practical and Professional Ethics 2022

1. Abandoned? Well, that’s too bad

The Rowe family is suing Blue Energy LLC for compensation regarding an incident that

occurred in May 2012, although they say not even a million dollars would be sufficient for the

horrors they endured. Reuters reported that “Hanson and Michael Rowe noticed an overpowering

smell, like rotten eggs, seeping from an abandoned gas well on their land in Kentucky. The

fumes made the retired couple feel nauseous, dizzy, and short of breath.”1 Unfortunately, the

Rowes faced significant difficulty in holding the well's owner accountable. While the well was

on their land, the well itself was owned and drilled by J.D. Carty Resources LLC in 2006. Carty

dissolved in 2008 and sold the well to a company that was then acquired by Blue Energy, LLC,

which denied any ownership or obligation for the well.

The state of Kentucky declared the well an environmental emergency and ran a 40-day operation

to plug it, while the Rowes moved to a trailer on their property with no running water.

Regulators determined the leak was a toxic blend of hydrogen sulfide, a common drilling

byproduct, and the potent greenhouse gas, methane.

In last year’s bipartisan infrastructure law, 4.7 billion dollars were provided to plug and

remediate abandoned oil and gas wells.2 There are anywhere from 750,000 to over 3 million

abandoned oil and gas wells in the U.S. and they emit millions of metric tons of methane per

year. In addition to climate impacts, they also can contaminate ground water and even pose

safety hazards. And these wells are labor intensive and expensive to plug, costing anywhere

between $76,000 to $1 million for each well3. If you do the math, the funds set aside for fixing

the issue are a good start but nowhere near sufficient to fully address the problem.

While the issue of abandoned wells has been pervasive for decades, our lawmakers have only

begun to focus on remediation in the last few years. Many saw remediation of abandoned wells

as politically popular because it could become a source of jobs in so called “energy transition

communities” or areas where fossil fuel industry jobs dwindle as we transition to cleaner energy.

And although the money will be put towards reducing emissions, something which we must do

in order to reduce the most dire effects of climate change, some lawmakers have stated that the

private companies who caused this problem should be footing the bill, not the federal

government. Increasing bonding requirements for future well drilling could ensure that private

companies put aside money in advance to deal with abandoned wells, but this would not address

wells that have already been abandoned. Additionally, the money allocated in the bipartisan

infrastructure law for remediation of abandoned wells will not solve the systemic problems that

resulted in the abandonment of wells that emit methane, which would only accelerate with a

transition away from fossil fuels.

1 Nichola Groom, “Special Report: Millions of abandoned oil wells are leaking methane, a climate menace” June 16,

2020, Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-drilling-abandoned-specialreport/special-report-millions-of-

abandoned-oil-wells-are-leaking-methane-a-climate-menace-idUSKBN23N1NL 2 H.R.3684 – Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-

bill/3684/text 3 Daniel Raimi, Alan J. Krupnick, Jhih-Shyang Shah, and Alexandra Thompson, “Decommissioning Orphaned and

Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells: New Estimates and Cost Drivers” Environmental Science & Technology 2021 55

(15), 10224-10230 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.est.1c02234

3 © Association for Practical and Professional Ethics 2022

But, as made clear by the Rowe’s situation, these abandoned wells are causing harm in

communities, and the debate over who should pay would not have helped them live in a safe

home. If there is political capital so to speak, many argue that the opportunity should be grabbed

by the horns.

4 © Association for Practical and Professional Ethics 2022

2. Happy to be alone?

On May 18, 2022, the New York Court of Appeals heard a case on whether Happy the elephant

has the right of Habeas Corpus, and therefore, whether she is considered a legal person. This was

the first case of its kind in an English-speaking high court and called into question what

constitutes a person in the United States.1

For the past 45 years, Happy the elephant has been kept at the Bronx Zoo in a one-acre

enclosure, with intermittent contact with other elephants.2 A petition led by the Nonhuman

Rights Project (NhRP) garnered almost 1.5 million signatures calling for Happy’s release to an

elephant sanctuary. The petition, titled “End Happy The Elephant's 10 Years of Solitary

Confinement”, states that Happy has been in isolation since her companions Grumpy and Sammy

died. Zoo defenders assert that Happy is not alone, and that she receives extensive care,

including efforts at interaction and enrichment, unlike prisoners in solitary confinement who

receive little if any human contact. For instance, Happy resides next to another female elephant,

Patty, who is separated by a fence and the two elephants can see and smell each other, and even

touch trunks.3

Proponents on both sides agree that a ruling in favor of Happy’s personhood would have massive

ramifications. The Nonhuman Rights Projects filing the case on behalf of Happy, argue that the

ruling could help animals achieve the bodily liberty that has been denied to them across human

history. Whereas in a brief, attorneys for the Bronx Zoo wrote “Expanding the notion of a

‘person’ to include animals … has implications not just for zoos, but for pet owners, farmers,

academic and hospital-based researchers and, most critically, every human who might seek or

need access to the judicial system.”

Happy was, in part, selected by the NhRP because in 2005 she was the first elephant to pass the

mirror test, previously only passed by great apes and dolphins. The mirror test determines

whether an animal possesses the ability of visual self-recognition and is often associated with

capacity for empathy. It is unclear whether opening the legal recognition of personhood to

Happy the elephant would set the stage for all animals to fall under this category. There have

been many theories on how to quantify the moral value of a being, whether that is self-

awareness, capacity for pain, or the capacity of rational thought. Some philosophers have even

addressed consideration for the moral weight of plants.

NhRP argues that those who have claims against their case do so for personal interest, such as

the National Association for Biomedical Research, which claimed that “extending habeas rights

to animals would … drive up the cost of conducting critical research using animals, threatening to

1 Michael Doyle, “Happy the elephant's case poses heavy philosophical” Politico, 05/12/2022

questionshttps://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eenews/2022/05/12/happy-the-elephants-case-poses-heavy-

philosophical-questions-00032060 2 Vicki Constantine Croke, “Happy the elephant had her day in court. We humans are better for it.” The Washington

Post, June 23, 2022 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/23/bronx-zoo-elephant-lawsuit-happy-

captivity/ 3 Jill Lepore, “The Elephant who could be a person” The Atlantic, 11, 2021

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/11/happy-elephant-bronx-zoo-nhrp-lawsuit/620672/

5 © Association for Practical and Professional Ethics 2022

impede important medical breakthroughs and other major scientific advances that benefit

humans and animals alike.”4

Three Buddhist scholars countered in a brief that “this legal moment for Happy represents a great

opportunity to consider the treatment of sentient beings from a cross-cultural and more moral

perspective than we have done before, so as to avoid perpetuating a great moral wrong merely

because it has been a habit of the law.”

On June 16, 2022, the top New York Court ruled that Happy cannot claim habeas corpus rights,

and therefore, is not a legal person. While this may put to rest this challenge seeking animal

personhood in the United States, the law is not necessarily coextensive of morality.

4 Kathleen M. Sullivan, Amicus Curiae Brief, September 24, 2021

https://www.nonhumanrights.org/content/uploads/Kathleen-Sullivan-brief-Happy-Court-of-Appeals.pdf

6 © Association for Practical and Professional Ethics 2022

3. Knowledge for the sake of … lizard dewlaps?

An ecology lab at a renowned University focuses their research on animals largely found in the

Caribbean and the southeastern United States. One of the groups focuses on anoles, a type of

lizard of which there are more than 425 species, and focuses on one of these species. The Anolis

Distichus had been selected out of hundreds, due to the dearth of research on the particular

species, because it is smaller and quicker, and therefore harder to catch than others. The group

researches the lizard’s dewlap, a brightly colored extendible flap of skin, and seeks to determine

its true purpose as it has been hypothesized that male anoles use it to attract mates. In the course

of research, teams of students are sent to capture wild anoles for study, measurements are taken,

and then the lizards are released. But sometimes during this process, accidents happen, and the

lizards die due to sun exposure, dropping of containers, or other unforeseen circumstances.

It is unclear to some, what this research would do for either humanity, or for the lizards

themselves. This begs the question whether knowledge, for the sake of knowledge, is a goal

justified in it of itself, in exchange for the loss of animal lives. Others may argue that scientific

discoveries sometimes lead to unexpected advantages in other aspects of life. Like how scientists

discovered that sharks resist infection, and then transitioned this knowledge into studying the

sharks’ immune system with the hope that their immunity could unlock secrets to improve

human health1. Scientists may not always know the application of their study until after findings

are made. Thus, it’s possible the dewlap research could become relevant for conservation of

lizard habitats if, for instance, we learn that they need to use their dewlaps in a particular

location, climate, or time of day. And even if the research does not impart some immediate

further application, some could say the knowledge alone is powerful. But the anoles at the

moment do not get a say.

The above is an example where animals are accidentally killed in the field, but in many cases,

animals are killed at the end of experiments due to factors such as stress or illness, that would not

allow them to be returned to the wild. Many consider this a reasonable cost of better knowledge

and understanding of our world. In Germany, there are investigations into whether the routine

culling of unused research animals should be allowed, as they were not even used “for the

greater good”. For example, the European Union estimated that in 2017, EU labs culled 83% of

mice in labs without any studies, due to space or time constraints.2 Animal rights activists in

many countries have tried and failed for decades to get stricter animal testing laws on the books.

The Animal Welfare Act is the only federal legislation that regulates researching animals in the

U.S, but it does not cover 95% of the animals used in laboratories such as mice, rats, birds, and

fish.3

1 Melinda Ratini, “Understanding Cancer — the Basics” WebMD, January 20, 2022

https://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20170721/what-sharks-can-teach-us-about-our-health 2 Hinnerk Feldwisch-Drentrup “Germany weighs whether culling excess lab animals is a crime” Science, May 5,

2022, https://www.science.org/content/article/germany-weighs-whether-culling-excess-lab-animals-crime 3 Susan Gilbert, Gregory E. Kaebnick, and Thomas H. Murray, “Animal Research Ethics: Evolving Views and

Practices,” Special Report, Hastings Center Report 42, no. 6 (2012) http://animalresearch.thehastingscenter.org/u-s-

law-and-animal-research/

7 © Association for Practical and Professional Ethics 2022

4. Do no harm

On December 24, 2017, 75-year-old Charlene Murphey was admitted to Vanderbilt University

Medical Center with a subdural hematoma.1 Two days later, Murphey’s condition had improved,

and she was prescribed a sedating drug, Versed, to allow her to be still during a final MRI before

release. RaDonda Vaught, a registered nurse with seven years of experience at the hospital, was

ordered to administer the sedative. Vaught attempted to withdraw the sedative from an

automated dispensing cabinet by keying “VE” into the search function. When this failed Vaught

used an override code to manually withdraw the medication. Unfortunately, Vaught mistakenly

withdrew vecuronium, a paralyzing drug, the administration of which led to the death of

Charlene Murphy.

Vaught admitted her error to Vanderbilt administrators, explaining that she was distracted by a

trainee and had been complacent. That information was not passed on to medical examiners, as

required by law, and Murphy’s death was attributed to natural causes. In the following month

Vaught was fired but retained her nursing license as Vanderbilt continued to suppress public

knowledge of the incident. In October 2018, the incident became public due to an anonymous tip

and Vaught faced a hearing with the Tennessee Department of Health’s Board of Nursing.

Vaught explained the incident and that overriding the automated dispensing system was daily

practice, that “You couldn’t get a bag of fluids for a patient without using an override function.”

The board allowed her to retain her license.

Vaught was arrested on February 4, 2019 and charged with reckless homicide and impaired adult

abuse. To fund her legal defense, Vaught started a GoFundMe campaign writing, “Many feel

very strongly that setting the precedent that nurses should be indicted and incarcerated for

inadvertent medical errors is dangerous.” Nurses rallied to Vaught’s defense raising over

$100,000, appearing at her trial, and writing letters of support. Janie Harvey Garner, a St. Louis

registered nurse and founder of Show Me Your Stethoscope, a nurse’s group with more than

600,000 members said, “In response to a story like this one, there are two kinds of nurses,”

Garner said. “You have the nurses who assume they would never make a mistake like that, and

usually it’s because they don't realize they could. And the second kind are the ones who know

this could happen, any day, no matter how careful they are. This could be me. I could be

RaDonda.”2

Pharmacists have taken Vaught’s case as an object lesson in the need for reform in the control of

dangerous medications. For example, pharmacist confirmation of drugs obtained by overriding

an automated dispenser, limiting overrides to emergency situations, separate control systems for

paralytic drugs, like vecuronium, and other increases in institutional safeguards.3 Under

1 Brett Kelman “The RaDonda Vaught trial has ended. This timeline will help with the confusing case” Nashville

Tennessean March 27, 2022. https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/health/2020/03/03/vanderbilt-nurse-radonda-

vaught-arrested-reckless-homicide-vecuronium-error/4826562002/ 2 Brett Kelman “As a nurse faces prison for a deadly error, her colleagues worry: Could I be next?” NPR, March 22,

2022 https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/03/22/1087903348/as-a-nurse-faces-prison-for-a-deadly-error-

her-colleagues-worry-could-i-be-next 3 Myungsun (Sunny) Ro and Emily B. Holcomb, “More Lessons Learned From RaDonda Vaught Case” Pharmacy

Practice News June 27, 2022 https://www.pharmacypracticenews.com/Operations-and-Management/Article/06-

22/More-Lessons-Learned-From-RaDonda-Vaught-Case/67213

8 © Association for Practical and Professional Ethics 2022

increased federal scrutiny Vanderbilt developed a “plan of correction” which satisfied officials

and allowed it to continue operations with federal funds.

On the other hand, the Tennessee Department of Health’s Board of Nursing reversed its earlier

decision and revoked Vaught’s nursing license. Vaught was subsequently convicted of criminally

negligent homicide and abuse of an impaired adult. Although guilty of very serious charges,

Vaught was sentenced to three years of probation and while she will likely never be a nurse

again, she will also likely not serve time in prison. Still, many worry that the apparent

institutional cover-up and chilling effect on nurses will cost other patients their lives.

9 © Association for Practical and Professional Ethics 2022

5. Do innocents pay the price?

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in an escalation of long-standing tensions

between the nations. The on-going conflict has caused humanitarian problems including food

shortages and a refugee crisis. In response to the conflict American and EU nations have

provided and pledged billions in military support to Ukrainian defense. Individuals and private

organizations have refused to carry Russian vodka in restaurants, liquor stores, or bars; refused to

play symphonies by Russian composers. Additionally, western nations have implemented an

aggressive series of escalating sanctions on the Russian state and individual powerful Russian

citizens.

Beyond western state sanctions, some private organizations have chosen to apply pressure on

Russia within their own spheres of influence. In one such case, Wimbledon, the oldest and

perhaps most prestigious tennis tournament in the world, banned Russian and Belarussian

athletes. Wimbledon’s ban impacts a handful of top players including Daniil Medvedev, the

number two ranked men's tennis player, and Aryna Sabalenka, the number four ranked women’s

tennis player.1

Wimbledon wrote in explanation, “Given the profile of The Championships in the United

Kingdom and around the world,

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