Analysis of Baby Theresa Case - Essay Example

As for me, it was not an easy decision, but I support the decision of not allowing parents to donate organs before the natural death of a child because it undermines the sanctity of human life that has various negative implications.

In my opinion, no one can have a moral right to make decisions about the death and life of other people, regardless of whether they are ill or are not capable of making decisions. However, the following point of view implies that this is up to people to decide who should live and who should be used as a means to achieving an aim.

Permission to kill anencephalic babies for their organs immediately makes such children inferior to others and means that someone has a right to evaluate the importance and relevance of somebody’s life. It appears that approach that regards the possibility of taking one life to save another undermines the value of human life as a whole. Here arises the problem of deciding who can be considered alive and who is not. Immediately, one can question the relevance of the existence of people in a coma and regard them as inferior and less important than conscious people.

Similarly, could it touch severely retarded children, who are not capable of making decisions or leading a conscious and reasonable dialogue? I believe yes. The main issue here is that no one should have a right to make evaluations of whose life is more important and who is merely a means and to take responsibility for talking about the common good and beneficence. In addition, allowing the donation of organs for a child with anencephaly can serve as a precedent and further lead to the widening of the law.

The following can, eventually, result in permission to transplant organs without the patient’s consent in various contexts. For instance, it would give more freedom for medical workers to decide whom to consider eligible for donation. It could happen that soon people in a coma or severely ill patients would be used as donors of organs without their permission or will be forced to give such permission. In any case, I do not feel that any human can be exploited and used as merely an object. The solution to current bioethical dilemmas is quite a challenging task that presupposes a reconsideration of moral principles, personal values, and legal aspects.

With the development of various kinds of technologies and tools that are now widely used in medicine, the number of dilemmas continues to grow and, often, there could not be a single right answer to the questions that were put forward. It seems that people’s opportunities outstrip the ability to comprehend their implications. Thereof, what once seems to be good can soon become a disaster.