Even The Most Rational Approach To Ethics Is Defenceless If There Isn't The Will To Do What Is Right - Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Today, not just in the Media but in everyday life, we're faced with many ethical dilemmas. 

Some of the ethical dilemmas which have been in the media recently are -

• Abortion - 
• Is it right? Is it wrong? Should rape victims keep a baby from their rapist? Does the Catholic Church overstep it's boundaries when it comes to the topic of abortion?
• The homeless - 
• How far to we, as average Australians, go to help them? Are we doing too little? Are we doing too much? 
• Assisted Suicide - 
• Who has the right to tell someone else how to live their life, especially if they don't want to be here? Is it condemnable?  
• Life support for those in permanent vegetative states -
• Is it fair to keep those people alive? Is it putting unnecessary pressure on our already pressured hospital system? Are we just prolonging the suffering of the person in such a state?

We hear about issues like this all the time. In a lot of ways I believe that Australian's as a society have become disconnected from these topics, unless we have been personally affected by them. My views on these topics have been formed through my personal experiences and beliefs, but that does not mean that what I believe it right, or necessarily wrong. Neither are the beliefs of you, the person reading this blog entry. 

In the media there are codes which must be adhered to. MEAA, PRIA, AFA, AANA codes which guide media producers in what they can and can not do. There are no strict codes like these in "real" life. A lot of us must muddle through as best we can, hoping that the decisions we make are ethical and the best choice we can make in the given circumstances, and hope for a "good" or "right" outcome.

As I like to link everything back to a movie or a TV series, I thought on where I had witnessed an ethical dilemma. Instantly "Million Dollar Baby" came to my mind. This story had my crying my eyes out, but it also provoked me to think deeply on Euthanasia, and what it means not just to the person suffering but to those whom they ask to assist them. So I'll leave you with this video.