Designer Babies and Saviour Siblings: Bioethical Dilemmas in Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper

Abstract

My thesis is based on Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper in which we meet the Fitzgerald family, originally a family of four. At age 2 Kate - the daughter- is diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia (APL). The family is trying to find solutions to Kate's sickness and the only thing they can turn to is saviour siblings. After IVF and PGD, Anna Fitzgerald is created. A saviour baby designed to be the perfect match for whatever her big sister needs. At the age of thirteen Anna realizes that her life is completely connected to her sister. Although she wants to help her sister heal, she also wants to live. With these thoughts, she sues her own parents for medical emancipation. My thesis analyses the story of the Fitzgerald from ethical, medical, legal and psychological perspectives.