Ethical Decision-Making Advice

If Bob Loney goes ahead with plans of becoming the advertising vehicle for the
Brazilian pharmacies looking to tap into the U.S. consumer market, he will face a major
ethical problem because he would potentially be putting safety and health of consumers at
risk. As the lawyers explained to him, imported drugs typically do not meet labeling
requirements of FDA. They may also not have been manufactured, stored, and distributed
under proper conditions or dispensed in accordance with valid prescription. Thus, due to
these factors, the safety of such drugs cannot be ascertained.

Granted, the legal gray areas regarding the issue may give him a loophole to go ahead
with the plans without breaking any law. In any case, as the lawyers advised, even if there is
breaking of law, the government has been lax in enforcing the law in that area. However,
even if there were no legal concerns regarding Bob Loney’s plan to work with Brazilian
pharmacies to import prescription drugs to the U.S. market, the ethical issues resulting from
such an action should be enough to prevent him from going ahead with the plans.

Based on the analysis of the ethical issues that are related with the case, I would
advise Bob not to go ahead with the plans to do business with the Brazilian pharmacies. My
arguments will be based on two ethical theories – utilitarianism and Kantian ethics.
Utilitarian ethics require one to choose options that bring the most benefits or happiness to
the largest number of people (Smart, 2020). If Bob Loney goes ahead with his plans, he
would be violating utilitarian ethics. This is because his actions will benefit him and his
company but they could potentially harm millions of Americans who may use the drugs from
Brazil that are not approved by FDA.

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Bob’s actions will also be violating Kantian ethics. Based on this ethical framework,
one is required to follow their duty when making decisions where there are ethical
considerations to be made. A key principle of Kantian ethics is categorical imperative. The
principle holds that the rules one chooses to apply should be such that they can be applied at
all times and by everyone (Stos, 2018). The question Bob should ask is: will it be appropriate
for businesses in the U.S. to import drugs from overseas that are not approved by the FDA
and which could potentially be harmful to Americans? The answer is no. Thus, if Bob went
ahead with the deal with Brazilian pharmacies, he will be violating Kantian ethics.

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References

Smart, J. J. C. (2020). Utilitarianism and its applications. In New directions in Ethics (pp. 24-
41). Routledge.

Stos, S. (2018). Utilitarianism, Deontology and Virtue Ethics: Teaching Ethical Philosophy
by Means of a Case Study. Journal of Business Ethics Education, 15, 315-322.