Anna would constantly give blood to Kate in order to save her life. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. In Massachusetts, a determination of a minors maturity is also influenced by the minors ability to demonstrate that he or she is capable of giving informed consent to the procedure.34 This legal standard also exists in Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Nevada, Tennessee, and West Virginia.35 Generally speaking, consent is considered informed if the patient demonstrates the capacity to make decisions; if he or she is provided with adequate information so that a reasonable person in the same position would be able to make an informed decision; if an appropriate amount of information is disclosed to the patient; and if the patients decision was made without the influence of fraud, coercion, or duress.36 Minor-patients, however, do not have the same rights to informed consent when they are under the care and custody of their parents.37 This is justified not only as existing under the umbrella of parental rights, but also because the law presumes that parents always act in their childs best interests, that children are incapable of making their own medical decisions, and that parents have the capacity and maturity to make difficult decisions, and also because parents tend to bear the burden of medical treatment costs.38 A minor-patient must rebut these presumptions in order to demonstrate that he or she is capable of rendering informed consent. "Most babies are accidents, not me. Do you think it would work? I asked. Dont do it, she repeated, and it wasnt until I heard her a second time that I understood what she was really saying. In American jurisprudence generally, the best interests of the child are often intertwined with familial and paternal interests, which is exemplified by Massachusettss mature minor doctrine.132 Instead, the standard for best interest of the child should focus primarily and perhaps solely on the child, especially when the child is experiencing profound physical suffering. For some, such genetic engineering would raise both moral and ethical ques-tions; for the Fitzgeralds, Sara in particular, there is no choice but to do whatever it takes to keep Kate alive. If one of them gets severely sick, I would absolutely do whatever I can to bring them back to their normal health. This essay will focus on three events in Annas life, and discuss how each event in the characters life had an affect on her physical, psychosocial and cognitive development. There were many sleepless nights and tears. Connolly v. Bd. Nicolas Boring, Belgium: Removal of Age Restriction for Euthanasia, Global Legal Monitor (Mar. It is revealed to us in chapter one (Monday) that Anna is an allogeneic donor, meaning she is a perfect donor for her sister Kate who has acute promyelocytic leukemia. Summary: Sara In 2002, Kate meets a boy named Taylor while she receives platelets and he receives chemo. Sisters Empower. Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey,95 which interpreted its groundbreaking predecessor Roe v. Wade96 as a rule . Campbell has a crazy family life of his own, so he agrees to help her. They're tearjerkers, but never inThe Notebook sense. 34. The moral agent, Ana, faces moral obligations to save her sister by serving as an organ bank. God, knowing full well what has happened asks Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?". She also gave her a bone marrow. 20. Is the ending of My Sister's Keeperhappy or sad? Cain was jealous of Abel at how the Lord was pleased with his brother. My Sister's Keeper Multiple Choice Test Questions. Kate's leukemia (APL) has affected every single one of her family members in that way. Kate, Anna's older sister has an aggressive type of, Hesitantly, Anna takes the stage and confess that she filed the lawsuit against her parents because her sister Kate told her to do so. This means one sister owns an item (i.e. My Sister's Keeper. Is it ethical to create a child with specific genetic factors? MY SISTER'S KEEPER (Movie Review) Conceived by means of in vitro fertilization, Anna Fitzgerald (Abigail Breslin) was brought into the world to be a genetic match for her older sister, Kate (Sofia Vassilieva), who suffers from acute promyelocytic leukemia. Casey is considered the case that fixed the legal recognition of abortion rights. The right of a patient to refuse lifesaving medical treatment, which is often characterized as a patients right to die,98 has also been recognized as tangential to the right of bodily integrity. The Biblical solution; and 3. The court was asked to consider statements that a patient in a persistent vegetative state had made prior to a life-threatening accident, which occurred when he was seventeen-and-a-half years old.60 Coincidentally, the patient had a tangential connection to the case controlling this decision, In re Gardner,61 and in light of the publicity surrounding it, had made a statement to his mother that, were he to become comatose, he would want his mother to let [him] go to sleep.62 While accompanying his brother on a hospital visit for a comatose friend, the patient again made similar remarks, stating, I dont ever want to get like that . "my sister's keeper"). 90-21.8(e)(2) (West 2017). 116. of personal autonomy and bodily integrity,97 characterized the newly recognized right to abortion as an extension of the powerful right of physical liberty. . With the 's ending, "sister's" is the singular possessive form. Needless to say, this doesn't go well with Sara, Anna's mother, who gets served court papers while waiting beside Kate in her hospital bed. Many of the concerns evident in the Florida courts analysis are applicable to a minors desire to refuse lifesaving medical intervention. Sara and Brian are always prepared to rush to the . While Sarah is pregnant she says, Although I am nine months pregnant, although I have had plenty of time to dream, I have not really considered the specifics of this child. . In re Doe, 973 So. Kate goes on a date with Taylor. Few cases have recognized a minors right to refusal, and the circumstances under which this refusal right is granted are limited. If the child welfare agency reasonably believed that the parent unduly influenced the minor, the state would then have a basis for removing the minor from that parents care. My Sister's Keeper Published by Admin at 19 , 2561 Meanwhile, the girls' older brother Jesse (Evan Ellingson) has almost been forgotten in all the drama. In order to explain the theory efficiently, defining the theory and then applying it to a literary work will be necessary. My Sister's Keeper clearly demonstrates how modern scientific advances have resulted in disputes between parents and children. Del. The minors physician should also weigh in on this evaluation because the physician will likely have had ample interactions with both minor-patient and parent, and he or she will have insight based on observations of the relationship. Chandrika Narayan, First Child Dies by Euthanasia in Belgium, CNN (Sept. 17, 2016), http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/17/health/belgium-minor-euthanasia/index.html. "My Sister's Keeper" is an immediate audience-grabber, as we learn that an 11-year-old girl was genetically designed as a source of spare parts for her dying 16-year-old sister. 705 N.E.2d 1155 (Mass. 17. More than that, however, is a renewed sense of thankfulness for my faith as an anchor in life's most challenging moments. See Sharon Smith, The Medical Emancipation of Minors: A California History, 11 J. Contemp. A minors beliefs and convictions should be at the forefront of the best interests of the child standard, regardless of whether these beliefs are religious or not. Some scholars consider Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth109 an early recognition of a minors constitutional right to bodily integrity in the context of these rights.110 Overall, minors do not have substantial protections from parental decision-making in the medical context in American jurisprudence. It was also based on a novel of the same name. Based in St. Paul, Minn., she also weighs in on various aspects of pop culture on her personal blog. . App. Starring: Cameron Diaz,Abigail Breslin,Alec Baldwin. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Perhaps the most important factor in assessing capacity would be a determination that a refusal of treatment was made voluntarily. veronica_saldana. Target Grade: 7th-12th Middle School and High School Length of Lesson Plan: Approximately 104 pages. [ ] . Cain's response was, "Am I my brothers keeper?" and it has become a catch phrase for the last 7000 years. She traveled to find her sister on her own. As the summary on the back of the book states, "Anna is not sick, but she might as well be.". Anna has to deal with many different people accusing her of wrong doing to benefit herself or somebody else in letting somebody die. Health L. Rev. 103. After the procedure was successful and Anna (Abigail Breslin) was born, the younger sister has served as the spare parts factory her older sister has needed along the way. Print Word PDF. Synopsis. Children, however, are not merely an extension of their parents, and if the State is able to recognize that in certain contextssuch as in termination of parental rights proceedingsthen it should also apply in the context of medical decisions. With our Essay Lab, you can create a customized outline within seconds to get started on your essay right away. 111. This would mean that in order for a minors right to refuse lifesaving treatment to be introduced into American jurisprudence, the standards that a minor has to meet must be high. The Fitzgerald's have been ethically right in the donations they have taken from Anna up until the . A healthy family in this stage is challenged with the tasks of loosening family ties, couple relationship, parent-teen communication, maintenance of family moral and ethical standards, and . Work Licensure, 791 A.2d 125, 128 n.4 (Me. Given the subject matter, how could it not be? Legal Issues 637 (1999), for an example of how these statutes may differ. Jodi Picoult 's novel My Sister's Keeper explores several different moral issues. The parents' desperate decision raises both ethical and moral questions and rips away at the foundation of . The main event is the bubonic plague which turns an entire city upside down in fear, sorrow, and hatred. Under Tennessee law, in order for a minor-patient to give valid consent to a medical procedure, he or she must demonstrate the capacity to consent to and appreciate the nature, the risks, and the consequences of the medical treatment involved.39 In the leading case addressing this issue, parents on behalf of their minor child sued an osteopath who had treated for subluxation of the spine and bilateral sacroiliac slip.40 The minor-plaintiff sought treatment with the defendant by herself after informing her parents of her intent to see him so that he could treat her back pain.41 The court determined that, under the rule of sevens,42 the minor-plaintiff was presumed to have the capacity to consent to the defendants treatment.43 Additionally, the court stated that a minors capacity to consent is also contingent upon the minors abilities, experiences, education, training, and degree of maturity, as well as upon the minors ability to understand the risks and consequences of treatment.44 The court also elected to consider the totality of the circumstances, as well as the actual nature, risks, and probable consequences of the treatment sought.45. Because court involvement in a minors end-of-life decision is inevitable, it should be required that a psychologist make a determination of the minors capacity. Because religious beliefs implicate a fundamental right that is enumerated in the First Amendment to the Constitution, it is understandable that these beliefs are capable of supporting a minors decision to refuse lifesaving treatment. It is a story about a family almost torn apart by illness of one daughter and the intended medical emancipation of another daughter who is tired of being a donor to her sick sister. Name a treatment Kate has, and tell me some of the side effects she has to deal with. The Maine Supreme Court discussed its approach to the mature minor doctrine in In re Swan,59 a case involving a nonreligious refusal of lifesaving (or, more accurately, life-preserving) treatment. It made me wonder, though, what would have happened if Kate had been healthy. Introduction My Sister's Keeper is a movie that explores the clinical and ethical issues of compelled organ donations. Doriane Lambelet Coleman & Philip M. Rosoff, The Legal Authority of Mature Minors to Consent to General Medical Treatment, 131 Pediatrics 786, 79091 tbl.1 (2013). 1981). Casey, 505 U.S. at 857. 63 terms. 76. "What moral themes are present in My Sister's Keeper?" It's time to renew your membership and keep access to free CLE, valuable publications and more. My Sister's Keeper was a drama film released in 2009, which touched numerous amounts of ethical issues that caused a dilemma between the family and their kids. In certain contexts, this right is one that has already been recognized, but overall, is in need of expansion. Massachusetts and Oregon were introduced to the issue of a minor refusing lifesaving treatment in the context of religious freedom in In re Rena53 and In re Connor.54 Massachusetts best interests standard takes into consideration a minors expressed religious preferences as part of its balancing test,55 and, in In re Rena, the Massachusetts Appeals Court found that the lower court had erred in ordering the petitioner to receive the blood transfusions without weighing her religious objections as a component of the mature minor doctrine.56 However, the respondent-minor had turned eighteen by the time this issue reached the appellate court, and it vacated the final order because the issue had become moot,57 thereby declining to hold definitively whether the respondent-minor was a mature minor or whether her constitutional rights had been violated. Running Head: MY SISTER'S KEEPER: EXPLORATION OF ETHICAL ISSUES . This book therefore presents several ethical dilemmas. 26. The moral lesson of the Two Brothers is that blood is thicker than water. A minors right to refuse lifesaving treatment is limited, even when that minor can otherwise demonstrate his or her maturity. Christa Banister is a full-time freelancer writer, specializing in music, movies and books-related reviews and interviews and is the author of two novels,Around the World in 80 Dates and Blessed Are the Meddlers. How does it affect the kidney donation issue? This new novel is by far her best achievement and a leap forward in her literary oeuvre. Minors should have the right to refuse lifesaving treatment based on their right to bodily integrity if they can show that it is in their best interests. As the Illinois Supreme Court pointed out, the age of majority is not an impenetrable barrier that magically precludes a minor from possessing and exercising certain rights normally associated with adulthood.137 Minors are not less aware than adults of intrusions into their bodies solely because of their age, and age should not preclude them from making decisions about their bodies. dominant kinds of moral values found in the film My Sister's Keeper by Nick Cassavetes is Bravery. It is not the first time that Belgium had considered legalizing the voluntary euthanasia of minors; in fact, when the Euthanasia Act of 2002 was first proposed, minors were included in the bill but were later removed to ease opposition.117 The original act defines euthanasia as intentionally terminating life by someone other than the person concerned, at the latters request.118 While voluntariness is a crucial element in both acts,119 the new legislation extending this right to minors differs significantly from the 2002 Act. Demonstrate his or her maturity, how could it not be an extension of the Brothers. Ethical to create a customized outline within seconds to get started on your Essay right away to renew membership... 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