Maintaining Ethical Standards
BSHS 335
Maintaining Ethical Standards
This paper will be on Emily and Louis. Emily and Louis are a same-sex couple who was married in San Francisco where it was legal, and then moved to a state that does not recognize same-sex marriage. Once moved to their new location, they became victims of discrimination and threats of violence from their new neighbors. Emily and Louis are parenting a child together that they conceived through In Vitro Fertilization. Emily’s parents filed a petition with the courts stating that the two women are unfit to raise a child because of their sexual orientation and their lifestyle choice. Since Emily and Louis are not receiving any support from those closest to them, they have decided to seek help through therapy (Corey, Corey, & Callahan, 2011).
The ethical issues that I would face as the counselor would be my bias towards the family members not supporting the couple because of their lifestyle choice. Another problem I would face is being unsure of if I could help the couple because of my lack of knowledge and experience working with the population. I know that in the state of California same-sex marriage is legal, but other than that I have little education on this issue. I do know that some people are still opposed to this type of lifestyle. This could be very challenging for the family as they most likely have little understanding of the lifestyle as well. I would inform the couple that even though same-sex marriage is recognized in the state of California, they are still going to be exposed to those who have their own worldviews and moral judgments of what is right and wrong. Discrimination will be a major barrier that they will always face.
First I would make sure they understand that often, for reasons not of their own making, sexual minorities are often disengaged (or even disowned) by their families (Ritter, n.d.). I would want to make sure that they are emotionally stable and...