Introduction
The past few decades have witnessed monumental advances in the health care industry. Through advances in areas such as transplantation and genetic engineering, physicians have been provided with the means with which to restore the health of critically ill patients.
Patients who would a few decades ago have been condemned to death due to dysfunctional vital organs in their body can have their health restored through organ transplantations. While donor organs can be obtained from various sources, the probability of successful transplantations is increased when the patient is a genetic match with the donor. This situation has led to the development of a solution known as the “savior sibling”.
In this solution, a sibling to a child afflicted by a fatal illness such as leukemia is conceived through genetic engineering. This healthy sibling assists by providing the necessary transplant organs for his/her sick sibling in the future.
While this solution increases the chances of survival for the sick sibling since the savior sibling is a healthy genetic match making him/her a perfect donor, the practice raises significant medical, ethical and moral issues. The movie “My Sister’s Keeper”, based on a novel by the same title written by Jodi Picoult, attempts to explore the issues raised by the savior sibling solution.
Case Study
The movie “My Sister’s Keeper”, directed by Nick Cassavetes, focuses on the consequences of the decision by two parents to create a savior sibling for Kate who is their sick first-born daughter. Kate suffers from leukemia and because of her condition, she is constantly sick. While at a young age, Kate’s doctors inform her parents that she will die within a few years.
However, one of Kate’s doctors suggests that Kate’s chances of survival could be greatly increased if she had a genetically compatible sibling who could donate organs and bone marrow tissue to her.
The parents are very anxious to extend Kate’s life and they therefore decide to genetically conceive a child who will act as Kate’s perpetual organ donor. Anna is the sibling who is conceived for the primary reason of providing organ or cell transplants for her older sister Kate who suffers from acute promyelocytic leukemia.
The movie reveals that Anna is genetically matched to Kate and this makes her a perfect donor. From the time she is five years of age, Anna is forced to go through major medical procedures in order to keep her big sister alive. At the Age of 11, Anna makes the decision to take her parents to court where she seeks medical emancipation.
She engages the services of a prominent Attorney, Campbell Alexander, and together they sue for Anna’s parents to be denied some of their parental rights. This would enable Anna to dictate what should be done with her body and free her from her role as Kate’s organ donor. Anna’s attorney argues that Anna should be allowed to decide on how her body is used instead of being used as a body spare part for her sister.
The film also shows how Kate’s illness affects the lives of her brother, sister, and parents. Her older brother Jesse feels overlooked since his parents are overly concerned about the sickly Kate. While Jesse is a good brother, he is neglected as his parents focus on Kate and her donor sister Anna.
Kate’s mother is overprotective and her inflated concern for her daughter almost jeopardizes her marriage. When Kate gets out of the hospital to go to the beach, her mother is furious and even threatens not to join them at the beach.
The movie later reveals that Anna’s decision to sue her parents was made after Kate requested Anna to do this. Kate has had to battle with illnesses since she was first diagnosed with leukemia during her childhood years. Her disease has affected her entire family and especially her little sister who has been forced to act as an organ donor. Kate does not think she will survive the kidney transplant and is ready to die.
However, she knows that her mother will not allow her to refuse the surgery and she therefore convinces Anna to sue for medical emancipation. In the end, Kate acts as her “sister’s keeper” by encouraging Anna to sue for medical emancipation and therefore avoid compromising her future life by donating a kidney.
Kate dies at the hospital before the court decision is announced. Her death makes it unnecessary for Anna to donate her kidney regardless of the ruling. Even so, it is revealed that Anna won her case for medical emancipation meaning her parents no longer have the right to dictate what should be done with her body.
Following Kate’s death, her family commemorates her birthday by visiting Montana and Anna declares that she will see Kate again.
The Suffering of the Little Girl
Anna is shown to suffer physically due to the savior sibling solution used by the parents. She has already spent a significant amount of time going to hospital for invasive procedures such as the bone marrow extraction in order to assist her sister. At the tender age of five, Anna was made to undergo medical procedures to provide organs or tissue to her sister.
The movie reveals that Anna has undergone the bone marrow extraction procedure a number of times for Kate. Anna’s childhood is therefore stolen from her, as she is required to visit the hospital for operations in order to save her sister.
As Kate’s leukemia advances, she suffers from renal failure and as usual, Anna’s parents expect her to donate one of her kidneys to her ailing sister. Even though this does not occur since Kate dies, Anna appears to be ready to undergo surgery to save her sister.
In addition to the physical suffering endured by Anna, she also experiences some emotional suffering. The girl suffers when she first discovers that she was conceived for the sole purpose of providing organs for her elder sister.
Anna admits that unlike most babies who were conceived for no practical reason, she was born to save her sister’s life. Anna questions her purpose in life considering that she was only conceived to provide organs for her older sister.
Anna also suffers psychologically when her relationship with her mother is damaged because of Anna’s decision to sue for medical emancipation. When it is revealed to the parents that Anna is taking them to court, her mother slaps her.
The relationship between Anna and her mother is troubled even as they engage in the court battle against each other. Anna’s mother feels that is it Anna’s obligation to provide the kidney that Kate needs to survive.
Anna is also burdened with the responsibility of keeping her sister alive. While Kate’s illness affects the entire family, Anna is affected the most since she is responsible for providing parts of her body to keep her sister alive. This additional responsibility on the little girl makes it impossible for her to enjoy a normal life.
Even after Kate has instructed Anna to file for medical emancipation, Anna still makes preparations of the Kidney transplant meaning that she is ready to give up one of her kidneys for her sister. It is morally wrong to place such a heavy burden on a child.
Conclusion
The movie “My Sister’s Keeper” analyses some significant issues that biotechnology can cause. The ethical issues that can arise from conceiving a savior sibling are addressed by looking at the case of Kate and her sister Anna. This paper shows that while the availability of a genetically matched organ donor for the sick sibling prolongs her life, it does so at a significant physical and emotional cost to the other child.
This is the situation that led to the medical emancipation lawsuit that Anna made against her parents. The court ruling was in favor of Anna, which suggests that Anna’s parents acted unethically when they created Anna through in vitro fertilization for the primary purpose of saving Kate.
That action ignored Anna’s rights over her body and overlooked her physical and emotional well-being. From the situations created in this movie, it is clear that medical advances such as genetic engineering and organ transplantation create a number of significant ethical issues that must be addressed by society.
Works Cited
Nick Cassavetes. Dir. My Sister’s Keeper. Curmudgeon Films, 2009. Film.