Stage 5: Social Contract

Stage 6: Universal Ethics

A doctor working in a remote, under-resourced clinic has a limited supply of a life-saving vaccine during a deadly epidemic. According to official guidelines, the vaccine must be given to frontline workers first. However, a child in the village is critically ill and will die without the vaccine, while the available frontline workers are all currently healthy and at low immediate risk. The doctor chooses to give the last dose to the sick child, violating the official guidelines. Which of the following justifications for the doctor's action best demonstrates a moral reasoning guided by broad, self-chosen ethical principles?

A journalist uncovers evidence of significant government corruption that could destabilize the country if made public. The law in their country strictly forbids publishing such information, classifying it as treason. After careful consideration, the journalist publishes the story, arguing that the public's right to know and the universal principle of holding leaders accountable are more important than obeying a law they see as unjust. This journalist's reasoning is most characteristic of which level of moral development?