Monday, June 1, 2009

Welcome!

We are two Physician Assistant students who elected to do our Master's degree tracks in bioethics. We did not know what we were getting into when we chose bioethics, but we both wanted to challenge ourselves to step outside our comfort zones and learn about something that we knew very little about. With the same philosophy of doing something "different" and "out of the box" in mind, we decided to explore a bioethics topic that was interesting, controversial, and something we were passionate about. In our search for a topic, we came upon the subject of savior siblings. Savior siblings are children who are scientifically conceived to be a donor to their sibling who is ill. Specifically, the Katie Trebing story captured our hearts and has propelled us to want to learn more. Don't worry, we will share more than you want to know about the Trebing case in our next post, so stay tuned. We hope that as we uncover information regarding the Trebing story, savior siblings, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), and the ethical issues surrounding this topic, you may be engaged and that you may share your thoughts with us.

Also, check out this movie coming out June 26th. It is based on the novel, My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. The movie deals with the trials and tribulations dealing with savior siblings. We are excited that this movie is premiering during our blog! Hopefully, the movie trailer will serve as a teaser to possible topics we will discuss and make you want to come back for more :)

My Sister's Keeper - 2009 Movie Trailer


3 comments:

  1. Great start guys. I'm excited to watch your site and its information and views unfold. Nice work.

    Greg

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  2. Yes...I love Jodi Picoult and have read My Sister's Keeper. It is a great story and she is a genius as far as writing about real life issues and making you examine it from all perspectives. She really makes you think! ~ Sarah G.

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  3. 'Never Let Me Go' by Kazuo Ishiguro (Faber & Faber)
    The children of Hailsham have no parents and are destined to have no children of their own. The sinister truth is that they have been bred as "donors", eventually to surrender their vital organs. The story is narrated by one of the pupils, Kathy, who has become a carer, who spends her time between "recovery centres", where she helps donors not to die, but to "complete".

    its literally about this school for children who are bred, well you get the synopsis above. its both sad, and crazy, and hopeful and hopless all at the same time. you have to accept when you start reading it that all the moral issues with doing this have been dealt with legally and socially. so, at the point you start reading the book, this is entirely "normal." but it constantly questinos the morality of the issue.
    i cant' wait to hear and follow along with the your guys' blog! this is totally something i've been really interested in, and have obviously as ascertained above been following along fictionally with the topic. :) and i'm sure tons of newer articles and whatnot will be following the release of the new movie based on jodi's book. :)

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