Quote Originally Posted by English assassin
A maniac has kidnapped two children. One is your own child, the other the child of a stranger. He tells you that he will kill one child and release the other, but that you can choose which is killed and which goes free. If you refuse to choose within an hour, he will kill both.

I don't think any parent would find it all that difficult to choose to save their own child in that case. (I'm not saying that you would be remotely happy to be in the scenario, or pleased the other child would die, simply that deciding to favour your own child would, I think, be obvious). Obviously, though, on any objective measure your child has no greater claim to survival than the other child, and the equal option is to toss a coin.
Well, a thought I had was about the maniac. Ok, in a clear cut case I really don't know but I'd likely choose my own, the parents of the other kid appearing could make me change my opinion. But there are even other factors I would consider.
For example the maniac could have put up a trap and kill both if you choose yours because he thinks you're selfish in that case. So you'd have to know whether he knows the situation and analyze whatever you can about why he did that. I might consider to sacrifice my kid if there was an obejctive point that would suggest doing so, but then again I don't have kids and don't really qualify, but I do know that I try not to be selfish in such situations, I might not be able to face the family of the other kid if I chose my kid, I might feel selfish.
Now that doesn't necessarily have to do with what you're up to, but I think isolated cases without any circumstances never happen in reality and that's why the circumstances are important.