Ethical

The Ayala Case When she was only sixteen, Anissa Ayala, the daughter of Abe and Mary Ayala, was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia and was given three to five years to live. Only a bone marrow transplant could save her. Unfortunately, neither Abe nor Mary, nor their son, Aaron, had compatible bone marrow. A search conducted by the National Marrow Donor Program did not reveal a suitable candidate, and neither did several other bone marrow drives. So Abe and Mary decided to conceive another child in the hope that it would have compatible bone marrow that could be used to save Anissa. Their chance of success was very small. Abe was forty and had had a vasectomy that would need to be reversed, leaving him with only a 50% chance of fathering a child. At forty-two, Mary's chances of getting pregnant were also low. In addition, there was only a 25% chance that their offspring would have compatible bone marrow. This reduced the odds of having a child that could save Anissa's life to 6.4%. Nonetheless, Mary Ayala became pregnant and gave birth to a girl in April 1990. She was named Marissa-Eve. Miraculously, Marissa-Eve turned out to be a suitable donor for Anissa. When Marissa-Eve was just fourteen months old, her bone marrow was used in a transplant to save Anissa's life. The transplant was successful, and both sisters are alive and healthy.15 The sisters reportedly share a close bond even today, and Anissa Ayala is now the assistant director of donor recruitment for the National Marrow Donor Program in Southern California. 1. Because Abe had a vasectomy, we know that he and Mary had decided that they did not want another child. Apparently, it was Anissa's illness that changed their minds. Was Marissa-Eve conceived solely to save her sister? If so, could this have harmed Marissa-Eve's future relationships with her family? In what ways? 2. Kant says that we should never treat any person simply as a means and not also as an end. Was Marissa-Eve treated as a mere means in this case? Why or why not? 3. Do you think that Abe and Mary should have conceived Marissa-Eve to save Anissa's life? Why or why not?    

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