On Designer Babies and the Concept of Children as Property Essay

On Designer Babies and the Concept of Children as Property - Essay Example The relationship between parents and children are very different between the relationship between owner and property. Whereas the owner of a property generally has real right over it, in that he can do anything he wishes to do with it, the same cannot be said in regards to children. We cannot legally dispose of them or any part of their body, either by selling them for adoption or by forcing him to undergo unnecessary surgery. Even when the parent himself is at the brink of death, the child cannot be compelled to donate his organ so as to ensure the success of any organ transplant that would save his father or mother. The child cannot be used as a means to benefit his family, his parents, or even society in general, if the act required of the child will be to his disadvantage. Even when the act required is to the child's advantage, if it is not essential and basic to his survival as a person, he cannot be forced into it. You cannot force a child to take a nap if he does not want to. You can beg him, as is often the case, but this would still entail voluntary assent on his part. Unlike property, a child has a mind and a will of his own, and is awarded specific rights as children and as individuals. Children enjoy a dual role, that of being their parents' child and that of being a separate individual. I think that it is the existence of this dual role that draws the line between what parents can and cannot do with their child. As your child, he can be scolded for not eating his green peas. As an individual, he cannot be forced to eat the green peas. All the rights of an individual are enjoyed by the child, and these are tempered only by your rights as a parent looking after the good of your ward. You are allowed certain privileges that are not enjoyed by people not his parents, but these privileges do not supersede the basic human rights that extend to all individuals. These "privileges", also, are awarded with the presumption that they will be used with the child's welfare in mind. If this presumption is violated, parental rights can be withdrawn by the sta te such as when children are withdrawn from the custody of their parents. With property, on the other hand, the owner can do whatever he wishes to do with his property for as long as his acts do not endanger the rights of other individuals. This basically means, that if you could place your house in such a location that setting fire to it would not involve the risk of harming other people and their property, then you are quite free to go ahead and burn your house. The relatively new development of "designer babies" places a unique strain on the principle of children as not being the property of their parents. Whereas we would be quick to object if a parent sets his daughter for an involuntary appointment with a plastic surgeon, we are a bit lost when the alterations are made while the child is not yet born. It's a difficult dilemma because it forces us to specify the point when a child already enjoys his rights as an individual person. Coming from a time when abortion of the fetus is generally legalized, then we could not help but say that the object that is being exposed to genetic engineering at that point does not as

Seeking Treatment In Houston Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Seeking Treatment In Houston - Essay Example The center is ranked number 1 in cancer care by the U.S. News and World report. The center is also the best ranked in the number of grants and research, having invested more than $647 million in 2002 (M.D. Anderson 1). The M.D. Anderson Cancer Center receives as many inbound patients as outbound patients in its cancer center. An independent body dealing with international patients traveling to the M.D. Anderson is necessary to deal with the issue arising from medical tourism. The hospital needs to set up a center that welcomes international patients, while offering consultancy services from skilled personnel not directly related to the center so as to not compromise advice given to patients. The center should also have interpreters and people whose main duty is to find accommodation and to explain the different types of services that can be offered. Challenges of Medical Tourism One of the main challenges of medical tourism is language barriers. According to Hodges, Turner and Kimbal l (256) most of the patients who seek medical tourism in the United States come from less developed countries that do not use English as the main language. This causes problems in interaction between the patients and medical practitioners. According to a study reported from the Center for Studying Health System Change in 2010, almost 50% of American Doctors stated that language differences can be the reason for hampering high quality care (Reschovsky and Boukus 2). Without dealing with these problem, doctors may be unable to correctly identify the problem hence introduce an inappropriate cancer treatment method. Patient may also be unable to choose between the various treatments available as they do not fully understand the advice given by healthcare practitioners. International patients may also be faced with lack of full disclosure about all the possible treatment techniques from the doctors (Stolley and Watson 46). This may not be due to malice but due to lack of understanding of the patient capabilities or want. Doctors may also decide to choose a particular course of treatment for the patient without consulting the patient fully. Patients, especially those from poor countries, may lack enough knowledge about treatment techniques available thus following the advice they received from doctors in their home countries without fully appreciating the advanced systems of M.D Anderson Cancer Center. Another problem patients from abroad face is difficulty in managing resources especially finances (Stolley and Watson 126). Due to the time taken by cancer treatment courses, patients have to live temporarily in the United States. This means they have to find housing, food, utilities and other needs in a country that is foreign to them. Patients also have to contend with medical bills that range from treatment courses to medicine during this time. While the patient may have saved some money for the treatment, it is usually very likely that they undermine other expense s involved in living in a foreign country. A suitable solution for this problem has to be availed so as to ensure that the patient is able to smoothly maneuver during the cancer treatment period. With help in the management of finances, patients may drop