Is it wrong?
Doctors have earned their respect for being able to save lives and help people to achieve a healthier lifestyle and for also being one of the highest money making careers in the market today. People look up to doctors for having all the answers and for being able to know what’s right and what to do in a hard situation. When researched, there are some doctors who could actually make you change your opinion on what you would actually call a doctor.
One of the most controversial topics dealing with the medical field would be conjoined twins[1] and whether they should be separated. From the website, http://www.globalchange.com/siamese.htm, the article argued it from an emotional type of appeal but also the article gave a bit of a logical appeal as well. It starts with a story from 2004 the birth of Rebeca Martinez, who had a second head growing from the top of her own head; who shortly died after the conjoined twin head had been removed. Also there was the amazing story in 2000 in UK where the parents of newborn’s Jodie and Mary were desperately seeking help to be able to get the twins separated. Since the doctor’s at St. Mary’s hospital had no experience with separating twins they assumed that with no action taken both twins would die.
The article gives you an emotional appeal on the process of being able to separate conjoined twins simply because both parents have an interest in the children. Any women who have children and men who are fathers would sympathize with the struggle of separating conjoined twins especially if one of the children’s lives is on the line. By the article stating facts, showing examples and giving different opinions that gives it that logic appeal and it would make you look at the article from both a negative and positive point of view.
In the article from the website http://www.globalchange.com/siamese.htm , the main argument involves conjoined twins Jodie and Mary parents and the doctors who feel they have the power to separate them and possibly save if not both lives at least one life. The main problem was that Mary’s internal organs were so defective that without Jodie being attached she could not survive. With the parents being told that information they refused an operation, so the case was taken to court and the judges ruled in favor of the surgery.
When the parents arrived in UK for the final hearing, the court decided that the doctors were given the right to cut off and basically kill the weaker twin (Mary) in order to save Jodie’s life which was ultimately against the parent’s wishes. After the court battle was won by the doctors, the doctors starting having second thoughts on the separation just because of all the odds going against them such as the parents disapproval and also coming to the realization that there could be a possibility of both twins dying on the operation table, or the surviving twins of the two would be severely paralyzed. With some doctors arguing that both twins would be dead and some arguing that they both could survive longer with good care you wouldn’t know who to actually trust to save a life the article has a way to make a person really take a second look at a doctor for the simple reason of so many doctors having split decisions about the outcome of the twins.
Ultimately when the parents returned to UK hoping for good news about the twins progress, instead the parents were imprisoned in the country, weren’t allowed to take their children home, and forced to take the advice of the doctors regardless of the known disapproval. With the parents being imprisoned in the country, the twins were kidnapped by the court; even though what the parents wanted may not have been what’s best for the twins they should’ve been able to make that choice because they are the parents.
The doctors didn’t have all the answers to this dilemma and they dictated and made the final decisions for the fate of these twins, even without the parents consent. According to the article,
“My own view on balance is that doctors should tread with great care when parents are refusing certain treatments for their children, where the outcome of successful treatment is likely to be severe handicap and loss of quality of life.”
Even though their profession involves the odd’s fighting against them at any given moment, in the article, the doctors weren’t on the feet, smart, or compassionate and understanding of their unique situation and the article gave you the complete other side to the strangers that we trust the most to help save and establish a life and that’s a trust that all doctors regardless of there specific major should keep in order to be successful.
[1] Siamese Twins (Conjoined Twins) - Two babies that are born physically to each other. They are formed when a single egg partially split but remain two fetuses.