CASE Library
Explore The Issues that Matter.
We excitedly invite you to browse, search, and explore our newly redesigned library of over 300 case studies which render some of the most complex and controversial moral and political issues of our time. These cases were formerly used for official NHSEB competitions at the Regional, Divisional, and National Championship levels. They are freely available for public use under Creative Commons licenses.
The NHSEB Case Library is an excellent tool for competitive preparation, internal or intramural competition, or beyond the context of the Ethics Bowl activity completely—as a classroom resource for Grades 9-12 and beyond.
Featured Cases
NAVIGATING THE LIBRARY
NHSEB’s Case Library is now fully browsable by individual case, or by Case Set—using the filters below. Or, if you already know a bit about what you’re looking for, the entire library of over 300 Ethics Bowl cases is newly indexed, referenced, and searchable by title, topic, keyword, year, and category. Each individual case entry contains the full text of the case and discussion questions as they originally appeared for competitive use, all references assembled in hyperlinked footnotes, and additional contextual resources curated by NHSEB HQ.
CASE SET COLLECTION
REGIONAL CASE SETS
2023-2024 | 2022-2023 | 2021-2022 | 2020-2021 | 2019-2020 | 2018-2019
2017-2018 | 2016-2017 | 2015-2016 | 2014-2015 | 2013-2014 | 2012-2013
National CASE SETS
2023-2024 | 2022-2023 | 2021-2022 | 2020-2021 | 2019-2020 | 2018-2019
2017-2018 | 2016-2017 | 2015-2016 | 2014-2015 | 2013-2014 | 2012-2013
FIND AN ETHICS BOWL CASE
ATTRIBUTION AND CITATION
All National High School Ethics Bowl cases are the intellectual property of the Parr Center for Ethics, and all are freely available for public use under Creative Commons licenses once retired from use in NHSEB competitions. This library represents thousands of hours of work from our Contributing Authors, Editors, and others. Please do not reproduce NHSEB cases or sets—in part or in whole—without attribution, or modify the text of individual cases or sets. If you reproduce or make reference to NHSEB cases from this library (e.g., in classroom materials, academic papers, etc.), please attribute and/or cite those materials:
National High School Ethics Bowl (Ed.), <YEAR>. “<Case Title>.” National High School Ethics Bowl Case Library. UNC Parr Center for Ethics: Chapel Hill, NC. http://nhseb.org/case-library
Browse The Library
Privatized Parenthood
Privatized adoption has long been seen as an act of selflessness, but in more recent years, issues have arisen about the ethics of how the private adoption industry operates. Many worry that these adoption agencies allow for the “shopping” of children, filtering by race, disability, sex, and age, and that agencies may take advantage of women who may struggle to care for their kids to allow them to be adopted instead. Proponents of the industry say that it is an efficient way to give kids in need families.
(Adopting) A Dog’s Purpose
Millions of animals are surrendered to shelters every year, many of whom are euthanized, and many of whom might have been kept by their families if affordable veterinary care were available. Frankie has always wanted to adopt a dog but doesn’t feel confident about having the time or money to properly care for a canine family member. Sam is the proud parent of Ellie, an adopted shelter dog. Sam doesn’t always have as much time to play with Ellie as they’d like but reasons Ellie is still better off bored living with Sam than she would be in a stressful shelter environment.
Racial and Ethnic Matching in Adoption
In recent years, several controversies have arisen over racial and ethnic matching between parents and children in adoptions. Despite the fact that laws often prohibit such racial and ethnic matching on the grounds that it is discriminatory, supporters of matching continue to argue that adopted children are better off when placed with parents from the same racial or ethnic background. What rights do would-be parents have when it comes to adopting children?
Indian Child Welfare Act
In a 2013 child custody case, the Supreme Court ruled that Veronica, a native American girl, should not have been taken away from her adoptive parents. Her biological father had previously sued for custody and won by invoking the Indian Child Welfare Act. Should Veronica be returned to her adoptive parents or remain with her biological father?