Equitability
One of the basic tenets of morals is the principle of equitability. The exploitation of the
vulnerable is a particular expression of the breach of that principle. We do not admire
those who take sweets from children, who misuse monopolistic power, attempt to
negate the doctrine of the separation of political powers, or criminals who attack soft
targets (such as the aged and frail). It is the imbalance of power, the unevenness of the
contest, that offends our sense of morals.
If in doubt about a moral course of action, choosing the solution that leads to
restoration of balance of power is as good a guide as any. Interdependence demands
equality of obligations, and it makes no difference whether the obligations occur in a
commercial, governmental, or professional context. In the professional context the
consultant’s time is equalised by the payment of a fee; the confidences given by a client
are matched by an undertaking to keep such confidences. The professional consultant
must treat clients with consideration because to not do so would harm the client; it
would also harm the reputation of the practitioner and the profession. One cannot have
a situation in which one side has all the rights and the other all the duties.
In the conventional method of having children the relationship of parents to each
other and to the child is understood and balanced. In some cases of in-vitro fertilisation
the balance is upset. Consider the case of a woman who is unable to carry a child but
can supply an egg. A fertilised egg is transplanted to a host mother (the birth mother)
who, after birth, hands the child back to the biological mother. The understood
two-way relationship of mother and father parenting is unbalanced. Who is the child’s