My Sister’s Keeper: Ethics Paper help

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Introduction:

My Sister’s Keeper is a novel written by Jodi Picoult, which portrays legal and medical ethical issues related to a terminally ill child. The story revolves around the life of Anna Fitzgerald and her family as Anna fights a court battle to gain medical emancipation from her parents, who seek to use her as a source of organ transplant for her sibling, Kate, who suffers from acute leukemia. This paper will address the central issues needed to base a medical opinion about any case in court and describe how each of these characteristics related back to the legal arguments and behaviors exhibited by the prosecuting and defense attorneys in this case. Further, this paper will discuss the moral, practical, and emotional complication of putting one child in unnecessary pain and danger for the well-being of another.

A. Research and define the following terms as they relate to the legal and medical ethics presented in the story My Sister’s Keeper. These are the central issues needed to base a medical opinion about any case in court.

Medical Ethics:

Autonomy: Autonomy means the right of an individual to make decisions regarding their medical treatment without any interference from others. In My Sister’s Keeper, Anna asserts her autonomy to stop being a source of organ transplant for her sister, despite her parents’ wish to use her to save Kate’s life.

Veracity: Veracity refers to the duty of medical professionals to provide accurate information regarding the patient’s condition and prognosis to the patient and their family. In the case of My Sister’s Keeper, Anna’s parents withheld medical information and manipulated their children to comply with their wishes.

Fidelity: Fidelity means the duty of medical professionals to act in the best interest of their patients and provide them with the most appropriate medical treatment. In My Sister’s Keeper, the parents’ insistence on using Anna as a source of organ transplant for Kate violates the principle of fidelity towards Anna’s health and well-being.

Beneficence: Beneficence refers to the duty of medical professionals to act in the best interest of their patients and promote their well-being. In My Sister’s Keeper, Anna’s parents seek to use her as a source of organ transplant for Kate, but this effort puts Anna’s health and well-being at risk.

Non-maleficence: Non-maleficence means the duty of medical professionals to do no harm to their patients. In the case of My Sister’s Keeper, using Anna as a source of organ transplant poses a risk of harm to Anna’s health.

Justice: Justice refers to the equitable distribution of healthcare resources. In My Sister’s Keeper, the case raises questions about the distribution of medical resources and their allocation to one child at the possible expense of the other.

B. Using these as 6 criteria, describe how each of these characteristics related back to the legal arguments and behaviors exhibited by the prosecuting and defense attorneys in this case.

The prosecuting attorney, Campbell Alexander, argued that Anna has the right to bodily autonomy and that she should not be forced to donate her kidney to Kate. He advocated for Anna’s right to self-determination and the right to refuse medical intervention. The prosecution argued that Anna’s parents had manipulated her and that she was not acting of her own free will.

The defense attorney, Julia Romano, argued that Anna’s decision to refuse organ donation was not based on her autonomy but rather influenced by her attorney. She argued that the court should not decide on the matter concerning Anna’s medical intervention, as it should be a private family decision. Romano undermined Anna’s right to autonomy by arguing that Anna was not acting independently, but rather as a result of external influence.

Romano’s defense of Anna’s parents, however, violates the principles of veracity, fidelity, and beneficence. By presenting them as responsible parents and arguing that the court should give them the discretion to decide on Anna’s medical treatment, she ignores the fact that Anna’s life is also at stake. It also disregards the fact that Anna’s parents withheld Kate’s medical condition from her and the importance of obtaining informed consent from Anna before subjecting her to medical procedures.

C. Then, in two to three paragraphs, describe the moral, practical, and emotional complication of putting one child in unnecessary pain and danger for the well-being of another?

The moral, practical, and emotional complications of the family’s situation in My Sister’s Keeper are severe. The parents face a moral dilemma regarding their responsibility to both their children. Favoring Kate’s life over Anna’s human dignity and empowerment, the parents feel guilty for not being able to address both daughters’ needs. They treat Anna like a donor vessel and subject her to medical procedures without her consent. At the same time, they suffer through Kate’s illness and grieve over her impending death.

The practical dilemma arises regarding the limited and valuable medical resources and its allocation between the two siblings. Furthermore, it is also a legal debate since the donor has the autonomy right to refuse or consent to the medical treatment. Anna wants to have her privacy and to exercise her right to make decisions about her body. Her parents want her to donate her organ to save Kate’s life since she was engineered genetically to help her sister. Nonetheless, Anna disagrees with the invasive procedure, undermining the autonomy principle.

The emotional complications of the family’s situation are profound. Every member of the family wrestles with a sense of powerlessness and profound sadness. The love between the sisters and their parents is tested by the strain of Kate’s illness and the legal battles that ensue. The parents’ differing approaches to Kate’s treatment lead to their separation, further compounding the emotional burden on the children and family.

Conclusion:

My Sister’s Keeper represents a complex narrative that raises ethical, legal, moral, and emotional issues related to medical decision-making, duties to patients, and resource allocation. Medical professionals should abide by the principles of autonomy, veracity, fidelity, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice and provide the most appropriate medical care towards the patient’s well-being. Anna’s parents’ actions may have harmed Anna and undermined her right to privacy and autonomy, contributing to a complex narrative that involves love, guilt, and the question of what it means to be a good parent. Overall, the book highlights the importance of open communication, active participation, and ethical principles in medical decision-making for families.