Autonomy In My Sister's Keeper

The book My Sister's Keeper holds a variety of characters. Many of which deal with daily struggles and disturbances. I feel the most sympathetic for Jessie(Kate's brother). Reason being, his family seems to disregard his presence. Of course he is still a part of the family, but his parents don't pay sufficient attention to him. Due to to the lack of attention, Jessie began lashing out in catastrophic ways. His actions were enormous, yet discreet. The common weapon of choice was fire; After taking the last drag, he "toss[ed] the cigarette into the sawdust"(95). I believe this was the way he tried to be heard. On the contrary, I feel the least sympathetic for Sarah(Kate's mom). She is intrusive, in-comprehensive, selfish, and biased. She had conceived Anna for one sole purpose, and stated that "I have thought of this daughter only in terms of what she will be able to do for the daughter
However, after reading My Sister's Keeper my views on the topic have changed. One ethical principle that reoccurred in the novel was autonomy. It is where people have control of their own body and have the ability to refuse/accept medical treatment. Autonomy is important in regards to Kate and Anna. Both the sisters are against further medical treatment. Anna says she doesn't want to donate an organ and she is informed that she has a choice in the matter. In reality Anna is aware that she isn't in control of anything because,"the first time I gave something to my sister was cord blood, and I was a newborn"(21). There has never been proper consent to support autonomy. Kate is similar. She no longer wants to suffer but her mother is very persistent on keeping her alive. The previous ethical principle was what caused me to change my mind— solely because now I understand why Anna feels used. Although I am a supporter of the stem cell situation, I can't help but feel sadness towards