Claire has an unfortunate health condition that can be passed on to her children. She has already lost one child as a result. She and her husband want desperately to be parents but are concerned about the possibility of another child inheriting the exact same condition that took the life of her son. Enter modern science! Through some new and illegal fertility treatment, a donor mom and the help of a cutting edge fertility doctor, Claire is able to have a healthy, happy daughter. However, as the book describes better than I could, the child is first child born who is descended from not two but three genetic parents!
Most of the book is about the ramifications of this decision. There are many questions to explore here. Is it acceptable to break the law under any circumstances as Claire knowingly did. Also, who are the legal parents here? Does the donor mom have any rights? If not, why not? If so, what are those rights? Are they equal to that of the birth mother? The book doesn't really offer answers to any of these questions but places them in front of you to consider. Eventually, as genetic technology continues to advance, we may be facing these questions as a society and there are no clear cut or easy answers. The book is full of twists and turns and kept my attention the entire time. The characters are well developed and you can sympathize with the plight of many of them. Overall, a really good book that gets you thinking .......which is my favorite kind!
Most of the book is about the ramifications of this decision. There are many questions to explore here. Is it acceptable to break the law under any circumstances as Claire knowingly did. Also, who are the legal parents here? Does the donor mom have any rights? If not, why not? If so, what are those rights? Are they equal to that of the birth mother? The book doesn't really offer answers to any of these questions but places them in front of you to consider. Eventually, as genetic technology continues to advance, we may be facing these questions as a society and there are no clear cut or easy answers. The book is full of twists and turns and kept my attention the entire time. The characters are well developed and you can sympathize with the plight of many of them. Overall, a really good book that gets you thinking .......which is my favorite kind!