Human dignity is a vital component of human life. It is a type of human right that everyone is born with equally but can be lost or acquired based on how we and society see ourselves and based on our actions throughout life. This essay will go into detail concerning human dignity and its presence in regards to saviour siblings. Advances on genetics in recent years has enabled parents to reproduce children who are dubbed “saviour siblings”. These saviour siblings are conceived for the sole purpose of aiding their elder sibling who is suffering from a life- threatening illness. This is done using reproductive technology called preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) in combination with in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and Human Leukocyte Antigen
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Human dignity can be explained using 2 categories and four quadrants (ACU, 2016, section 2.1.3). Category one is dignity that we have simply because we are human beings. 1b goes into detail about how human beings have capacities and capabilities such as rational thinking and morality which sets humans apart from other animals. Category two is more about how human dignity can be lost or acquired from either a 2a view: how we see ourselves and our self- worth or 2b point of view: how society sees us and how our behaviour and our actions throughout life are judged (ACU, 2016, section 2.1.3). Perspective one maintains the upholding of human dignity and reflects a category 1 and a 2b human dignity way of thinking. Richard F. Storrow embraces literature in his article about therapeutic reproduction (Storrow, 2009) to explain human dignity. Jodi Picoult’s “My Sister’s Keeper” and Kazuo Ishiguro’s ” Never Let Me Go” are the two works of literature that are used to enhance the understanding of saviour siblings and using technology to increase health in society. Piccoult’s novel is …show more content…
PhD students and research assistants for GLEUBE Project, Emma Neale- Edwards and Natasha Burns discuss in the podcast (ACU, 2016, Program Transcript) whether it is ethical to have saviour siblings or will it just lead to parents having positive eugenics simply for wanting the perfect child. (ACU, 2016, Program Transcript) This is pointed out later again in the article and it is a good point to make. Whether the saviour sibling is just a slave of the parents to use when the elder child need it or is in its own right- a human being. (ACU, 2016, Program Transcript) A 1b and 2b concept of understanding can be derived from the discussion between Neale- Edwards and Burns. If the saviour siblings are thought of as a commodity, then they lose their capacity as fulfilled human beings and are in addition seen by society as less than equal and therefore having no dignity. Contrastingly, saviour siblings can be seen by society as being unique and special and conceived for a good reason and can acquire dignity in that sense. From a parent’s point of view, they have spent a lot of time and money to be pregnant with another child and if they happen to help the sick child as has happened in many cases, they are perceived as just as important and loved as the ill child. When the process is
Human dignity can be explained using 2 categories and four quadrants (ACU, 2016, section 2.1.3). Category one is dignity that we have simply because we are human beings. 1b goes into detail about how human beings have capacities and capabilities such as rational thinking and morality which sets humans apart from other animals. Category two is more about how human dignity can be lost or acquired from either a 2a view: how we see ourselves and our self- worth or 2b point of view: how society sees us and how our behaviour and our actions throughout life are judged (ACU, 2016, section 2.1.3). Perspective one maintains the upholding of human dignity and reflects a category 1 and a 2b human dignity way of thinking. Richard F. Storrow embraces literature in his article about therapeutic reproduction (Storrow, 2009) to explain human dignity. Jodi Picoult’s “My Sister’s Keeper” and Kazuo Ishiguro’s ” Never Let Me Go” are the two works of literature that are used to enhance the understanding of saviour siblings and using technology to increase health in society. Piccoult’s novel is …show more content…
PhD students and research assistants for GLEUBE Project, Emma Neale- Edwards and Natasha Burns discuss in the podcast (ACU, 2016, Program Transcript) whether it is ethical to have saviour siblings or will it just lead to parents having positive eugenics simply for wanting the perfect child. (ACU, 2016, Program Transcript) This is pointed out later again in the article and it is a good point to make. Whether the saviour sibling is just a slave of the parents to use when the elder child need it or is in its own right- a human being. (ACU, 2016, Program Transcript) A 1b and 2b concept of understanding can be derived from the discussion between Neale- Edwards and Burns. If the saviour siblings are thought of as a commodity, then they lose their capacity as fulfilled human beings and are in addition seen by society as less than equal and therefore having no dignity. Contrastingly, saviour siblings can be seen by society as being unique and special and conceived for a good reason and can acquire dignity in that sense. From a parent’s point of view, they have spent a lot of time and money to be pregnant with another child and if they happen to help the sick child as has happened in many cases, they are perceived as just as important and loved as the ill child. When the process is