Hugh Davis and the Dalkon Shield

Paper Summary:

This paper is based on an article by Michael Ollove about Hugh Davis, the inventor of the Dalkon Shield and surgical devices in the field of women's health and family planning that went wrong. It applies concepts and theories in order to understand the Dalkon Shield debacle.

From the Paper:

"Kohlberg's moral reasoning theory is a cognitive development theory that focuses on how individuals decide what course of action is morally right. Once the decision is made, the individual must choose the morally right path (good or bad). I believe in the case of Hugh Davis, the significant focus should be on the statement how individuals decide what course of action is morally right?. Davis consciously decided to conduct minimal testing on the product and disconnect himself as the inventor. His intentions were to market the product as quickly as possible and gain recognition from its success. Certainly, I'm sure his actions were not designed to be at the expense of human life and society as a whole. I believe his irrational behavior and denial was typical of his arrogance. He considered himself to be a premier inventor and believed the product to be superior. As more women began having complications due to the Shield, he quickly suggested misuse and refused to modify the design. This type of behavior is described in stage one of Kohlberg's theory where the individual makes decisions based upon avoidance of potential punishment."

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