CASTRO, RYEH ASHLEY JEANELLAH C.

BSIHM 1-YB-5

ETHICS

CASE STUDY: #2

In August 2000, a young woman from Gozo, an island south of Italy, discovered
that she was carrying conjoined twins. Knowing that health-care facilities on Gozo
were inadequate to deal with the complications of such a birth, she and her
husband went to St. Mary’s Hospital in Manchester, England, to have the babies
delivered. The infants, known as Mary and Jodie, were joined at the lower
abdomen. Their spines were fused, and they had one heart and one pair of lungs
between them. Jodie, the stronger one, was providing blood for her sister.

No one knows how many sets of conjoined twins are born each year, but the
number has been estimated at 200. Most die shortly after birth, but some conjoined
twins do well. They grow to adulthood and marry and have children themselves.
But the outlook for Mary and Jodie was grim. The doctors said that without
intervention the girls would die within six months. The only hope was an operation
to separate them. This would save Jodie, but Mary would die immediately.

The parents, who were devout Catholics, refused permission for the operation on
the grounds that it would hasten Mary’s death. “We believe that nature should take
its course,” they said. “if it is God’s will that both our children should not survive,
then so be it.” The hospital, hoping to save at least of the infant, petitioned the
courts for permission to separate them over the parent’s objections. The court
granted permission, and the operation was performed. As expected, Jodie lived
and Mary died.

Questions:

1. Who should make the decision from the question of what the
decision should be?
 In this situation making a decision is the hardest part because it matters
about the life and death of an innocent human being. In my point of view, it
is really difficult to choose who should decide in these very tough
circumstances but when we will dig into the condition, those innocent
 children belong to their parents and they have responsibility what is the best
for their children because they are the one who appointed to their growth as
well as their welfare. While the doctors have right to say in their decision in
the fact of the view that one of doctor’s goal or purpose is to give the best
among the best health-related welfare to a certain patient and they have
knowledge and skills about this matter. I understand each other points of
view and thoughts because both parties are aims is to get what is best for
the babies, but the decision in this situation should always be to the parents
of the twins because they are the guardian and that twins are their children
as well as the parents always think about what is the best for their children
they want to give the best life to their twins and they want to show to them
the beauty in this world even in such a short period, they want to cherish
every moment with their twins and they have strong faith that along the way
the Lord will send miracle and the Lord will work mysteriously. Their trust in
the Lord is a big word that everything that happens is according to his plans
and will, they will accept whatever happens.

2. Would it be right or wrong, in these circumstances, to separate

the twins?
 We need to consider a lot of side in this setting. In doctor’s/lawyers
perspective they want to give the right to give Jodie a chance and to live
normally as well as see the beauty in this world, they still considered Mary’s
life but when the lawyers and doctors do not take an action the twins will
have limited time and the professional think that they will denied the right of
human to live so they need to decide what is the best solution even the worst
part is sacrificing one person to gain one. When we look at to the twin’s
parents who have faith in God believe in the law of the Lord it is not right to
take away their right to their children welfare and kill an innocent life who
want to be born and have life because doing that can cause big downfall of
faith as well as they believe that the Lord holds our destination/path so if
that is the plans of the Lord then let it be. In my view everyone has a right to
live but sometimes the tough situation holds us to do so and we need to
decide what the best solution is. Separating the twins will lead to end of
one’s person to experience life and gain of one person to experience the
world scenery, Jodie has right to live and experience adulthood but the
wrong here is that they do that with the objection of parents. They invalidate
the emotion and decision of loving parents who wants to spend their short
time with their twins. They forgot the will of parents to their children but I
hope that whenever they look at to their child Jodie they didn’t feel guilty and
they will not be a walking burden parents.