HD
Mr. and Mrs. Stewart are parents to a beautiful two-year-old daughter, Laura, who has Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (SCID). Children born with this condition have seriously impaired immune systems. As recently as twenty years ago, children with SCID died early in life, but the use of bone marrow transplantations to provide the child with a supply of healthy blood stem cells has greatly extended survival and, in some cases has made possible a good quality of life. In general, the earlier the transplantation is done and the closer the HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigens) tissue match of the marrow donor, the better a recipient child's chances of a good outcome.
The Stewarts are looking into methods of curing their daughter's SCID. They have heard of something called a "saviour sibling" where they would have another child that could be a potential bone marrow donor for Laura. This process would also involve a method of genetic screening called Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) where the embryos would be tested before being implanted in order to ensure that the baby being born is a match for Laura. During this screening process, doctors would have to screen for an embryo that does not contain the SCID strain but also contains an HLA tissue match.
The Scenario
Mr. Stewart, who does not follow any specific divinity, wants to pursue this procedure and is willing to do anything to help his little girl live a better life. He knows that this method would be very effective and could potentially rid Laura of her deficiency; he does not care about the potential ethical controversies involved. There are other potential methods or donors that the Stewarts can look into, but having a saviour sibling would be the most promising.
On the other hand, Mrs. Stewart, a Catholic woman, does not agree with any genetic screening and says that it is against her beliefs to conceive a child in vitro, which is what this process would involve. She loves her daughter very much and wants to help her with her condition, but she is not willing to compromise her beliefs. Having a child with SCID has deterred Mrs. Stewart from wanting to have any more children since Laura's condition is very hard for her to deal with and she doesn't want to face the possibility of having another child with this condition. Even though the couple has looked into alternative methods of curing Laura, nothing seems to be working. Mrs. Stewart is willing to compromise and have another baby the natural way but is very opposed to genetic screening; she does not believe that it is right to "play God." Like his wife, Mr. Stewart does not want to risk the possibility of having another child with SCID.
