How do natural law, proportionalism, situation ethics and utilitarianism each handle abortion and euthanasia, and can any ethical theory be reliably applied to issues of life and death?
Component 3 the application of ethical theories to issues of human life and death: abortion and euthanasia under natural law, proportionalism, situation ethics and utilitarianism, and whether ethical theories can be applied, with strengths and weaknesses.
An Eduqas Component 3 (Religion and Ethics) guide to the application of ethical theories to issues of human life and death. Covers how natural law, proportionalism, situation ethics and utilitarianism each handle abortion and voluntary euthanasia (sanctity versus quality of life), and whether ethical theories can be reliably applied, with the evaluation the exam rewards.
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What this dot point is asking
Eduqas Component 3 applies the ethical theories to issues of human life and death, principally abortion and voluntary euthanasia. You learn how natural law, proportionalism, situation ethics and utilitarianism each handle these issues, the underlying clash between the sanctity of life and the quality of life, and the meta-question of whether ethical theories can be reliably applied at all. The exam rewards explaining each theory's approach precisely (AO1) and evaluating whether the theories give reliable guidance on life and death (AO2).
The answer
The underlying clash: sanctity versus quality of life
Natural law and proportionalism
Situation ethics and utilitarianism
Can ethical theories be applied?
The theories give conflicting answers: natural law forbids, proportionalism may permit, situation ethics and utilitarianism may permit. This raises the meta-question the spec flags: can ethical theories be reliably applied to life and death? Against: the conflict yields no agreed result; consequences are hard to predict (utilitarianism); "the most loving thing" is subjective (situation ethics); absolutist rules can be inhumane in hard cases (natural law). For: the theories give clear, reasoned frameworks that structure the debate, and their disagreement reflects genuine moral complexity rather than failure.
Examples in context
Try this
Q1. Explain how proportionalism and utilitarianism would each approach abortion. [part (a), AO1, 20 marks]
- What the marker wants. Accurate account of proportionalism (death as a pre-moral evil justified by a proportionate reason) and utilitarianism (the consequences for overall happiness, act versus rule), organised and using specialist terms. AO1 band.
Q2. "Natural law is the least convincing approach to issues of life and death." Evaluate this view. [part (b), AO2, 30 marks]
- Cue. Weigh natural law's clear sanctity-of-life stance against its rigidity in hard cases, and compare it with the flexibility (and subjectivity or uncertainty) of situation ethics, proportionalism and utilitarianism, then judge. AO2 band, the larger 30-mark tariff.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas A120 2019 (style)20 marksExplain how natural law and situation ethics would each approach voluntary euthanasia. [part (a), AO1, 20 marks]Show worked answer →
A part (a) AO1 question on the five-band scheme. Explain both approaches accurately.
Natural law: the primary precept "preserve life" and the secondary precept against killing make euthanasia intrinsically wrong (intentionally taking innocent life violates the sanctity of life and the imago Dei). Double effect permits giving pain relief that foreseeably shortens life, where death is not intended, but not direct euthanasia. Situation ethics: there are no fixed rules; Fletcher asks only what agape requires in this situation, so euthanasia could be the most loving act for a particular suffering person (the loving response to unbearable pain), or wrong if it is not loving. Contrast the absolutist, sanctity-of-life natural law with the relativist, quality-of-life situationism. A top band answer explains both precisely and notes the sanctity versus quality of life contrast.
Eduqas A120 2021 (style)20 marks"Ethical theories cannot be reliably applied to issues of life and death." Evaluate this view. [part (b), AO2, the full Eduqas tariff is 30 marks; the worked answer below is scaled to a 20-mark exemplar.]Show worked answer →
A part (b) AO2 question; the top band rewards balanced argument and a justified conclusion.
For the view: the theories give conflicting answers (natural law forbids, situation ethics and utilitarianism may permit), so no agreed result follows; predicting consequences (utilitarianism) is uncertain; "the most loving thing" (situation ethics) is subjective; absolutist rules (natural law) can be inhumane in hard cases. Against: the theories give clear, reasoned frameworks that structure debate; their disagreement reflects genuine moral complexity, not failure; some (natural law) give firm guidance, others (utilitarianism) attend to real consequences. Weigh whether the conflict and uncertainty make application unreliable, or whether the theories usefully clarify the issues, and conclude.
Related dot points
- Component 3 Aquinas's natural law: the four tiers of law, the primary and secondary precepts, real and apparent goods, the doctrine of double effect, and its application to issues of life and death, with strengths and weaknesses.
An Eduqas Component 3 (Religion and Ethics) guide to Aquinas's natural law. Covers the four tiers of law (eternal, divine, natural, human), the primary and secondary precepts, real and apparent goods, the four cardinal and three theological virtues, the doctrine of double effect, and its application to abortion and euthanasia, with the strengths and weaknesses the exam asks you to evaluate.
- Component 3 Hoose's proportionalism: the distinction between moral and pre-moral (ontic) goods and evils, the idea of a proportionate reason, its relation to natural law, and its application to life and death, with strengths and weaknesses.
An Eduqas Component 3 (Religion and Ethics) guide to Bernard Hoose's proportionalism. Covers the distinction between moral and pre-moral (ontic) goods and evils, the principle that there must be a proportionate reason to permit a pre-moral evil, its relation to natural law, and the charge that it collapses into consequentialism, with the evaluation the exam rewards.
- Component 3 Fletcher's situation ethics: agape as the one absolute, the four working principles and six fundamental principles, conscience as a verb, and its application to life and death, with strengths and weaknesses.
An Eduqas Component 3 (Religion and Ethics) guide to Fletcher's situation ethics. Covers agape as the sole absolute, the four working principles, the six fundamental principles, conscience as a verb, the legalism/antinomianism contrast, and its application to issues of life and death, with the strengths and weaknesses the exam asks you to evaluate.
- Component 3 utilitarianism: Bentham's act utilitarianism (principle of utility, hedonic calculus) and Mill's rule utilitarianism (higher and lower pleasures, the harm principle), with their application to life and death and their strengths and weaknesses.
An Eduqas Component 3 (Religion and Ethics) guide to utilitarianism. Covers Bentham's act utilitarianism (the principle of utility and the hedonic calculus), Mill's rule utilitarianism (higher and lower pleasures, the harm principle), the application to issues of life and death, and the strengths and weaknesses (calculation, justice, demandingness) the exam asks you to evaluate.
- Component 1 religious identity through ethical teaching: the key moral principles of Christianity (love of neighbour, agape, forgiveness, sanctity of life, imago Dei) and how they shape Christian identity and conduct.
An Eduqas Component 1 (Christianity) guide to the moral principles that shape religious identity. Covers love of neighbour and agape, God's love as the model for human behaviour, forgiveness, the sanctity of life, humans made in the image of God (imago Dei), and the tension between grace and law, with the evaluation the exam rewards.
Sources & how we know this
- Eduqas A Level Religious Studies specification (A120QS) — WJEC Eduqas (2016)