Essay On Behaviour Siblings

2282 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay On Ivf Method

Saviour Siblings: A Medical Miracle or a Tool of Exploitation?

The issue of allowing parents to select embryos to become savior siblings has brought about a lot of controversy and dispute. On one hand there are those who claim that it is a medical miracle that has prevented the deaths of a number of children1, whereas others disagree and say that it is unethical to create a child for the sole purpose of saving another. They are concerned with the physical and psychological welfare of the child and feel that there is a possible risk of the child being exploited into undergoing procedures that are not necessarily in their best interests2.

I have divided my essay into two main topic areas:
- Preimplantation Tissue Typing
- Bone marrow/Organ Donation
I will focus solely on the welfare and best interests of the savior sibling. I will also discuss the effect of saviour siblings on society.
I aim to cover the main ethical issues surrounding each of these topics with regards to saviour siblings and then discuss whether saviour siblings is a medical miracle or a tool of exploitation.

Preimplantation Tissue Typing:

What is PTT?

The creation of a savior sibling occurs via Preimplantation Tissue Typing (PTT). This involves three techniques IVF, Pre implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) and HLA tissue typing3.

At the early stage, embryos created by a couple are tested as for a tissue match for their existing child suffering from an extremely rare disorder. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is also used in conjunction with Tissue typing when the rare disorder is genetically inherited to ensure that the embryo does not also carry the defective gene4. PTT offers parents the chance of conceiving a child who is an exact tissue match f...

... middle of paper ...

...omfortable subjecting another human being to such a fate.

To conclude, although the intention behind the creation of saviour siblings is good and the procedure itself is impressive, it is unwise and irresponsible to not think about how easily the saviour siblings could be exploited physically or psychologically even if by a minority. Despite the amount of regulation conducted by the HFEA and HTA to allow this procedure to occur, extra measures must be taken to minimize the chances of Saviour siblings being exploited. Firstly the law must write down the conditions under which the creation of saviour siblings is permissible. Secondly, the parents must be assessed thoroughly by the clinicians, with regards to their intentions and their expectations. I also feel that further research is needed to assess the psychological impact of growing up as a ‘saviour sibling’.

Show More
Related

  • Peg Kehret

    410 Words  | 1 Pages

    The comparison between siblings has become a universal problem over the past several decades, as implied in Peg Kehret’s elementary monologue, I’m NOT My Brother; I’m Me. Through Jonathan, Kehret expresses the valuable message to never judge people based on the characteristics of their siblings. As the oldest child in my family, I support Kehret’s message and additionally believe that every individual is different and hence, should not be judged or compared with their siblings, family members or friends.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Paul And Faul

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    When two siblings are born together, and are close in age, many people wonder whether they will be the same or different altogether. A “River Runs through it” shows two brothers who grew up in the same household, and grew up loving to do the same activity fly fishing. Both brothers were raised in a very strict presbyterian household. Norman is the older brother, and he is much more responsible and family orientated. Paul is the irresponsible younger brother; Paul as an adult was not at home much anymore. Both brothers were loved equally as children, but how they view and use love is what separates them. Paul and Norman differ in behavior and character.

    Read More

  • Is it Ethical to Have a Child for the Purpose of Saving another Child´s Life?

    1010 Words  | 3 Pages

    Recent high profile cases, films and books all around the world including the UK, Australia and the United States have brought to the public’s attention a new type of IVF. ‘Embryo Selection’ meaning ‘Embryos are fertilised outside the body and only those with certain genes are selected and implanted in the womb.’ Henceforth meaning that doctors are now able to select specific embryo’s and implant them into the mother of who may have another sick child in order to gain genetic material such as bone marrow which will match the ill-fated child and therefore hopefully be able to save their life. Creating a ‘saviour sibling’. ‘A child conceived through selective in vitro fertilization as a potential source of donor organs or cells for an existing brother or sister with a life-threatening medical condition’ a definition given by Oxford Dictionaries (1.0). Cases of this are happening all around the globe and many are highly documented about. The most famous case could be noted as in the fictional book of ‘My Sisters Keeper’ By Jodi Picoult. I will further discuss this throughout my dissertation and how books and films can affect the view on certain ethical subjects. Furthermore, I am also going to discuss a range of factors such as certain religious beliefs and the physical creation of saviour siblings compared to the creation of designer babies. Strong views are held by many both for and against the creation of saviour siblings.

    Read More

  • Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas

    754 Words  | 2 Pages

        Mimetic Desire and scapegoats plays a huge role in the nature of humans. Two children that are brothers are

    Read More

  • Wrongful Conception

    2025 Words  | 5 Pages

    Our culture has a stringent belief that creating new life if a beautiful process which should be cherished. Most often, the birth process is without complications and the results are a healthy active child. In retrospect, many individuals feel that there are circumstances that make it morally wrong to bring a child into the world. This is most often the case when reproduction results in the existence of another human being with a considerably reduced chance at a quality life. To delve even further into the topic, there are individuals that feel they have been morally wronged by the conception in itself. Wrongful conception is a topic of debate among many who question the ethical principles involved with the sanctity of human life. This paper will analyze the ethical dilemmas of human dignity, compassion, non-malfeasance, and social justice, as well the legal issues associated with wrongful conception.

    Read More

  • IVF and the New Eugenics

    1509 Words  | 4 Pages

    The addition of a child into a family’s home is a happy occasion. Unfortunately, some families are unable to have a child due to unforeseen problems, and they must pursue other means than natural pregnancy. Some couples adopt and other couples follow a different path; they utilize in vitro fertilization or surrogate motherhood. The process is complicated, unreliable, but ultimately can give the parents the gift of a child they otherwise could not have had. At the same time, as the process becomes more and more advanced and scientists are able to predict the outcome of the technique, the choice of what child is born is placed in the hands of the parents. Instead of waiting to see if the child had the mother’s eyes, the father’s hair or Grandma’s heart problem, the parents and doctors can select the best eggs and the best sperm to create the perfect child. Many see the rise of in vitro fertilization as the second coming of the Eugenics movement of the 19th and early 20th century. A process that is able to bring joy to so many parents is also seen as deciding who is able to reproduce and what child is worthy of birthing.

    Read More

  • Designer Babies: Genetic Engineering

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    For just thousands of dollars more, women going through in vitro fertilization can later choose to have a certain gender with perfect vision, a great heart, a natural ability for sports, and being able to avoid diseases (Angelle). Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis was first inaugurated in 1990. “It has become an important complement to the presently available approaches for prevention of genetic disorders and an established clinical option in reproductive medicine” (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis). This has come in handy because it gives you the opportunity to create a baby free of health risks and you are able to freeze your eggs if you miscarry or if something harmful goes wrong with the first egg. Designer babies are created using In Vitro Fertilization. Using this technique, doctors can fertilize the egg with sperm inside the laboratory using a test tube. Doing so you can reduce the chance of the child being born with a genetic disorder and the parents can actually then on choose the sex of the baby. In some cases couples have used PGD to their advantage to save one of their children. Some babies sole purpose is to be created to save the life of their own sibling. Jamie was the first “designer” baby in Britain. “He was genetically matched to his four-year-old brother, Charlie, in the hope to curing a rare type of anaemia which threatens the older boy...

    Read More

  • Abuse in Foster Care

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mosek, Atalia. "The Quality of Sibling Relations Created Through Fostering." EBSCOhost. EBSCO, Fall 2012. Web.12 Dec. 2013.

    Read More

  • Cinderella : A Story of Sibling Rivalry and Oedipal Conflicts, by Bruno Bettelheim

    1475 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most children experience agony and hope as they face the struggles of sibling rivalry throughout their childhood. This situation has been experienced by children, of whom may or may not have siblings, for hundreds of years. Several stories represent this crisis, including the Biblical story of Abel and Cain which was written over 3000 years ago. Abel of whom was forced to be Cain’s ash-brother. Cain had developed an intense feeling of jealousy of Abel when his offering to the Lord was rejected while Abel’s was accepted. This caused him great agony, but he wasn’t the only one. The fairytale “Cinderella” encompasses the ideas of sibling rivalry as well as the agonies and hopes that correspond with it.

    Read More

  • Genetic Enhancement In My Sister's Keeper By Jodi Picoult

    597 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book, “My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult, Anna Fitzgerald was conceived with a purpose. Scientists helped Anna’s parents to conceive her because she would be a perfect bone marrow match for her sister, Kate, who was afflicted with leukemia. At a young age, Anna was aware of her role. Anna says, “See, unlike the rest of the free world, I didn’t get here by accident. And if your parents have you for a reason then that reason better exist. Because once it’s gone, so are you” (Picoult). Genetically engineering a child for the benefit of another, as in “My Sister’s Keeper”, may produce good results for the sick child but bad results for the other. This happens when the endeavor to keep the sick child healthy conflicts with the best interests of the healthy child. With scientific advancements, this sort of breeding for a purpose may become a serious issue in the future. The Catholic Church endorses genetic therapy for the purpose of saving lives but does not endorse genetic enhancement for the purpose of creating a different person than what God intended (ncregister.com).

    Read More

  • Reasons for Having Children: Savior Siblings

    1413 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...sic qualities, I think that savior siblings are only permissible to the point that the savior siblings life prospects are not hindered by whatever they give to the sibling that has some debilitation. In this sense, if the family will induce some negative effect on the savior sibling that will inhibit their prospects as any other normal child, then I feel that having the savior sibling for that family is not morally permissible. This would limit the creation of savior siblings to only those families that truly would value the child for more than just his or her health and aid towards the sickly child, but would also value him or her for the person that they are.

    Read More

  • Ethics And Medicine: The Role Of Ethics In Medicine

    1675 Words  | 4 Pages

    Morality plays a huge role in the health care field. This principle of right and wrong behavior is significant to every doctor when evaluating the merits and difficulties of many medical procedures. One may find the advancement of medical technologies hard to endure, however, this increase in medical technology serves as a solution to our human imperfections. For example, using in-vitro fertilization to pick and choose embryos regarding an ideal genetic baby or human cloning. If we screen an embryo for a tissue type, we can then allow certain physical traits for the baby. We can choose their eye color, type of intelligence, athleticism, and talent that could suggest our babies nonetheless, perfect

    Read More

  • Ethics Of Saviour Siblings

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    With the positives, come the negatives, some may consider “saviour siblings” as being a cruel process for the saviour child. The child may grow up feeling like they weren’t born for themselves, that they were unwanted or that they were only born for “spare parts” for their sibling.

    Read More

  • The Rich Brother by Tobias Wolff

    1101 Words  | 3 Pages

    The short story, "The Rich Brother," by Tobias Wolff represents the same concept that everyday people all over the world encounter. This portrays how having siblings can be an enormous part of a persons life. The rivalry between siblings is often very competitive, but at the same time similar to magnets. When they are not connected it may seem they are independent and whole, but when examined closely it is obvious they are really relying on each other to function properly. Although Pete and Donald's life are separate and completely different, they are in fact very dependent on each other.

    Read More

  • The Liabilities of Homosexuality as a Genetic Trait

    1419 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fate, F. (2013, January 16). Identical twins: The truth behind their similarity. The Frozen Fate Reproductive Medicine Ethics. Retrieved November 16, 2013, from http://thefrozenfate.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/identical-twins-the-truth-behind-their-similarity/

    Read More

More about Essay On Behaviour Siblings

Open Document