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Would you conceive another baby if it could save the life of your child?

post #1 of 9
8/10/08 at 7:55pm
Thread Starter 
I just started reading the book My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. In the book, a couple has a baby in order to save their other daughter's life. I don't understand it all, but I think it was like a test tube baby, with all the perfect genes to make the new baby a match for their daughter, who had leukemia.


Would you do something like this? I really don't know how I would react in this situation, I would want my child to be able to live, but what kind of life is that for the other kid, to be made specifically to keep the other alive? It also got me thinking about how there are many good things that come from medical research to keep people from dying, but this seems a little too much like playing God to me.
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post #2 of 9
8/10/08 at 7:59pm
i think I would even tho I hate being preggo, another child is always a blessing but i would def try other means first
there is a family who did this years ago
here it is
Anissa Ayala
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post #3 of 9
8/10/08 at 8:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kellyandgirls View Post

i think I would even tho I hate being preggo, another child is always a blessing but i would def try other means first
there is a family who did this years ago
here it is
Anissa Ayala


I think I'm in agreement with Kelly. I wouldn't do it only for the purpose of saving my already living child. I believe every child is a gift from God. He trusts us to care for his most precious children. My younger child would NEVER feel unwanted or unloved! They are their own unique soul and would be treated with that respect. I would look at it as that child being able to give their older sibling the gift of life. Potentially, that could create a strong bond between the siblings, right from the start.
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post #4 of 9
8/11/08 at 7:10pm
I suppose I would consider it- but not as the whole test tube option. Any baby I had would be a very welcome member of the family. Saving my other child's life would be nice but it wouldn't be my new child's reason for living. I'm not entirely sure I would try to get pregnant for this purpose. What I'm saying was that if I was thinking of having a second child anyway then I would consider it. I wouldn't let my next child suffer to save the other though. I would love both of them equally.
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post #5 of 9
8/11/08 at 7:14pm
I suppose I would consider it, but it is a moot point for me. More children are not possible.
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post #6 of 9
8/11/08 at 7:22pm
Thread Starter 
What I am thinking of, though, is having this baby specifically designed to match your other child. "Forcing" the younger child to do bone marrow transplants and organ transplants as soon as they are old enough to handle it. I don't know what age that is, but in this book, which is fiction, she is only 13 and has already given bone marrow and is about to give a kidney.
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post #7 of 9
8/11/08 at 8:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChickyHip View Post

What I am thinking of, though, is having this baby specifically designed to match your other child. "Forcing" the younger child to do bone marrow transplants and organ transplants as soon as they are old enough to handle it. I don't know what age that is, but in this book, which is fiction, she is only 13 and has already given bone marrow and is about to give a kidney.

I think there's something really unethical about doing this. It's like having the second child just to use for spare parts.

I know a family where the oldest daughter had leukemia. One or more of her younger siblings gave bone marrow transplants to help her beat the cancer. They were eager to do so. I just don't know if it is right to have a child with the intention of making him/her go through painful medical procedures and give up organs at a young age.
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post #8 of 9
8/11/08 at 8:21pm
In that case, no. I do not condone creating children knowing full well, when you're attempting conception, that they will be born purely to suffer. I think this would be terrible. Does the unborn child have a choice? Will the child get the option to say no, after his "parent" planned his birth specifically for this purpose?
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post #9 of 9
8/12/08 at 7:19am
If all other options have been exhausted, then yes, I would.

I dont think I'd be able to look my child in the eyes and tell him/her "Well, sorry, we did all we could". If there was the slightest possibility that it would work, then I dont see a problem with it.

That little baby's gift and purpose in life would be to save the life of their sibling. I think its a rather beautiful gift that baby would offer. True, the choice is made before their birth but I dont doubt that any sibling would offer more than just their bone marrow in order to save a family member.
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