Dilemmas in My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
PHI 111 Final Paper: Dilemmas in My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The novel “My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult explores the medical, legal, ethical and moral issues related to long term illness and discusses some of the bioethical issues around the experimental technique known as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. The author presents many ethical dilemmas when a couple chooses to genetically engineer a baby to create a bone marrow match for their terminally ill daughter. That creation is Anna Fitzgerald, who is beginning to wonder about her place in the world and questions her on going donations in order to save her sister’s, Kate’s life. Anna feels that her existence is defined by her ability to save her sister. That type of knowledge of such form of conception must have some sort of psychological ramifications upon a growing child. If I knew that I was a test tube baby, it would make living a little less extraordinary because it takes away the romance of creating life. Anna lashes back at her parents who conceived her out of desperation by suing them for medical emancipation, which are medical rights over your own body. She wants the right to be able to say no to invasive medical procedures, even if it might mean the death of her sister. The author tackles genetic engineering by posing a question: If you use one of your children to save the life of another are you being a good or bad parent? The dilemma here is if you use your child to save the life of an older sibling then you are not being a good parent, if you do not genetically engineer a saviour sibling then the older sibling will die. Either use your child to save a life or do not. So either the older sibling lives or dies. This paper will explore this moral dilemma, using the issues presented in “My Sister’s Keeper”, by Jodi Picoult. Firstly, being a donor sibling affects relationships with other members of the family and the best interests of the child. Secondly, the welfare and consent of the
The novel “My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult explores the medical, legal, ethical and moral issues related to long term illness and discusses some of the bioethical issues around the experimental technique known as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. The author presents many ethical dilemmas when a couple chooses to genetically engineer a baby to create a bone marrow match for their terminally ill daughter. That creation is Anna Fitzgerald, who is beginning to wonder about her place in the world and questions her on going donations in order to save her sister’s, Kate’s life. Anna feels that her existence is defined by her ability to save her sister. That type of knowledge of such form of conception must have some sort of psychological ramifications upon a growing child. If I knew that I was a test tube baby, it would make living a little less extraordinary because it takes away the romance of creating life. Anna lashes back at her parents who conceived her out of desperation by suing them for medical emancipation, which are medical rights over your own body. She wants the right to be able to say no to invasive medical procedures, even if it might mean the death of her sister. The author tackles genetic engineering by posing a question: If you use one of your children to save the life of another are you being a good or bad parent? The dilemma here is if you use your child to save the life of an older sibling then you are not being a good parent, if you do not genetically engineer a saviour sibling then the older sibling will die. Either use your child to save a life or do not. So either the older sibling lives or dies. This paper will explore this moral dilemma, using the issues presented in “My Sister’s Keeper”, by Jodi Picoult. Firstly, being a donor sibling affects relationships with other members of the family and the best interests of the child. Secondly, the welfare and consent of the