Gone Baby Gone (Scene 18-21) Can we universalise our choices?

The film rests upon a decision made by the main character, played by Casey Affleck, which reflects back upon the notions of ethics and duty outlined by Kant. Kant’s categorical imperative implies that one’s decision should always be made with the understanding that you would will it to be a universal law. The choice that confronts Affleck’s character is not easy: does he allow the child to be raised by a good man (Police Chief Morgan Freeman) who provides her with all the creature comforts, as well as the love and attention she’s never had, or does he return the little girl to her mother, a drug-abuser who has on several occasions put her child’s very life in jeopardy? Will the conclusion be Kantian or utilitarian? The one inescapable truth is that if Affleck were to turn around and pretend he’d never found the girl, he would in effect be willing a universal law that makes it acceptable to steal children from their family simply because we don’t approve of the way they are being raise