The Importance Of Medical Emancipation In The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down?

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Recommended: Family values influence individual behavior

The parents played a significant role in “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down”. They ultimately wanted what was best for their daughter however their idea of what proper treatment was did not always match with the doctor’s recommendations. Initially, the parents were allowed to be the official caretakers of their child. They brought her to the hospital when she needed medical attention, and brought her back home once she received treatment. However they were deemed “noncompliant” by the doctors at the hospital, when they failed to administer the proper dosages and medications to Lia at home. In the eyes of medical professionals they were ultimately harming their daughter and custody was taken away from them. They then no longer had the In My Sister’s Keeper Anna Fitzgerald unexpectedly sued her parents for medical emancipation. Medical emancipation is granted to a minor, where they are no longer restricted to the wishes of their parents and may make their own decisions regarding medical treatment. “If a minor receives medical emancipation, they will be able to decide what treatment they receive, how often they receive it and from whom the treatment is obtained. Medical emancipation takes away authority of the parents to be involved with medical matters relating to their children even if they are under the age of majority” (Hunter). Now, the reason Anna seeks medical emancipation is because her parents expect her to give up one of her kidneys for her older sister Kate. The reason she felt that she needed to appeal for medical emancipation is because her parents would always assume command in making their daughter’s medical decisions. They never gave Anna the choice to refuse the procedures. Anna’s forced cooperation brings about the ethical issue of whether a Parent always knows best. Anna had a right, and that right is the patient’s power to direct what happens to their body. Unfortunately, Anna was never consulted by physicians or parents before giving to Kate; there was no choice for her. The reason being her parents were desperate to control Kate’s fate and were biased towards saving Kate. The parents’ choices were not aligned with the wishes of Anna, but their own. Especially Sara [mother], who was deeply invested Kate’s well-being and made clouded judgments. When Sara decided for Anna to donate her kidney to Kate, she was only thinking of saving Kate for a few more years and not how Anna’s life would be affected by losing a kidney. Therefore Sara should not be given authority over Anna’s medical treatments. When a parent, like Sara, begins to act on their own selfish desires,

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