Question

your friend has an ethical dilemma with the use of tree bark from pacific yew trees for a cancer drug. which statement best describes the cause of her ethical dilemma?
a the drug is harmful to humans, and the process is harmful to the trees.
b the drug could save human lives, but the process is harmful to the trees.
c the drug could save human lives, and the process has no effect on the trees.
d the drug isnt very effective, and it doesnt affect the trees either.

Explanation:

To determine the cause of the ethical dilemma, we analyze each option:

• Option a: If the drug is harmful to humans, there's no ethical dilemma in using it (as it's harmful), so this is incorrect.
• Option b: The drug can save human lives (a positive outcome) but the process of obtaining the tree bark harms the trees (a negative environmental impact). This creates a conflict between human benefit and environmental harm, which is an ethical dilemma.
• Option c: If the process has no effect on the trees, there's no ethical conflict related to the trees, so this is incorrect.
• Option d: If the drug is ineffective and doesn't affect the trees, there's no ethical dilemma here.

Answer:

b. The drug could save human lives, but the process is harmful to the trees.