MY SISTER'S KEEPER: FAMILY, LOVE, SACRIFICE AND DESIGNER BABIES IN FOCUS

          My Sister’s Keeper brought the reality of those who have gone far beyond the boundary of creating life for the sake of saving another. It examined the issue of having a saviour sibling whereby a child is created for the purpose of acting as matched tissue donor for an existing sibling with a genetic defect. It was an eye-opening movie especially at this time where people will do everything, and in this case, the parents, just to help their child to prolong her life. However, this movie invites us to take a closer look at how we view and value life, and how compassion for the people we love can mean misery and death for another.

             

          I am never in favor of parents creating a savior-sibling. For whatever reasons there might be, the term making itself is unacceptable, for life is not made by humans but only by God. This is a manipulative act of discontent people who are trying to solve life’s mysteries and problems in their own hands. It is a selfish, unthought-of decision by parents who are supposed to be compassionate to their genetically defective child. This is a means of trying to control life and taking the answers to our troubles in our own hands even when it is beyond the boundary set forth by the Scripture.  This is very much unethical and inhumane especially for the so-called savior sibling since she was created not to enjoy life as purposed by the creation order but to be a savior of the defective child and to gratify the need of solution of the parents. Largely, this advancement in science devalues life, though at the façade, one might think it is there to reach out and help in the despair of others. 

          My take on this issue is up for challenge and is open for a lot of arguments and debate. Nonetheless, I am pro-life. I do not intend nor would I expect people to play God in circumstances as sensitive as this. Nature will take its normal course and man should never put a comma where God already placed a period. It is only but sensible for man to throw his last dime to salvage the life of his loved one. Still and all, life is a gift, and when the Giver of it demands life itself to be taken back, we should resign with our hearts open to this sovereign idea. The mystery of life will always remain a mystery no matter how we try to exhaust to cut it in the open. God is God and we are not (as the line from a famous song by one of my favorite contemporary christian singer goes). Life and death is part of the human cycle. We can only hope and pray for a miracle. But what if the miracle of life is found in dying, and life is found in death itself?

Here are a couple of questionnaires I made for my students for our movie discussion in class: 

1. Describe the main characters in the movie. Include the values and convictions embedded in the life of these characters. 5 points each (Analyze each of the characters and describe where each one is coming from in the story- their hung-ups, dreams, hopes, frustrations.)

    A. The parents:

        1. Sara Fitzgerald (the mother) 

        2. Brian Fitzgerald (the father)

    B. The children:

       1. Anna Fitzgerald (the savior child)

       2. Kate Fitzgerald (the cancer patient)

       3. Jesse Fitzgerald (the dyslexic brother)

2. If you are in the position of the parents, how would you deal with the issue presented in the movie? 5 points (Explain thoroughly why or why not you would do the same as the parents in the movie.)

3. The cinema has a redeeming value, which is to make man a better person, cultured and refined. What is the redeeming value of this movie? 5 points (How is the film helpful in redeeming our individual, familial, and social values ?)

4. The cinema is the pivot of our society. What then is this movie telling us about our society? 5 points (How is this movie reflective of what is going on in our society and our world as a whole? How does it mirror us as human beings?)

5. An ethical issue in science and in the medical field is raised in this movie. What is your view about the issue of savior siblings or engineered/designer babies? Was the parents’ choice to conceive Anna to be a genetic match for Kate morally justified? 5 points (Please make sure that you research on what designer babies are before you conscientiously answer this question. This is a question of ethics/morality)

6. Describe how this movie exemplified the joys of living and dying. 5 points (How did the movie fearlessly and joyously portray life and death? Include scenes when this became tangible in the movie.)

7. How did the movie affect your perspective about life and death? Explain.5 points (After watching the film, how did this film change or reinforce your beliefs about life and death?)