Cochlear Implants

Ever since science advanced to the point of being able to correct "imperfections" in the human body, man has debated amongst itself the morality of changing God's creation, even if it is to improve it. In recent years, science and medicine has discovered a way to give hearing to those who have been born without it. Sound and Fury explores two different situations in order to determine the ethical issues involved with changing the human body. Two children, cousins, both born deaf, are faced with the issue of whether or not to go through a cochlear implant. The documentary focuses on the different occasions when it is appropriate to do the procedure, and when it is inappropriate. Just as all ethics must, it comes down to individual situations.

Discourse is a huge part of many viewpoints on this issue. I feel that as an outsider, with no experience one way or the other, I can provide an unbiased assessment of the morality of a cochlear implant. I am not a part of the deaf Discourse, but I don't have a deaf relative or friend. I am able to speak as a person who can view both sides; because, I have no emotional attachment to either.

Peter and Nita Artinian were both born deaf. They haven't known the "hearing world" as they refer to it, and that was not their choice. In Heather's case, I feel that it should be up to Heather. It is only natural that Heather, being a five year old, would ask her parents for help deciding one way or the other. Her parents decided that an implant was not right for Heather. I agree. Heather was born into a deaf family, as a member of a deaf society, and deeply entrenched in "deaf culture." If she would have had the implant, she would be an outcast, just as Peter was when he was a child. Peter's mom, unfortunately, is wrong. She is also being very selfish, very selfish. She wants to be able to converse with her granddaughter, but that is not the whole story. She is afraid that other people will look at her family and condemn them for the choice they made. She wants Heather to have the implant for her own reasons, not in Heather's best interest, as she claims. Peter and Nita made the right choice for Heather. They gave her acceptance into the culture of which she was born, they did not strip it away.

Now if Heather had wanted the implant, even at that young age, it would be wrong for the parents to deny her. But she didn't want it. She may have had an infatuation with the thought of being able to hear, but in the end she really didn't want to change the way God made her. So it was right for the parents not to force it on her.

Chris and Mari Artinian are hearing, their first born is hearing. When they had twins, one was hearing and one wasn't. This situation is much easier to assess than the last one. Peter, the deaf twin, would be an outcast from the family. Maybe not a direct outcast, but he would be different. He would have had to wait a long, long, long time to come up with a reason that he was born deaf and his twin brother wasn't. He was determined to be an ideal candidate for the implant, but he definitely wasn't old enough to decide for himself. His parents decided that he should have an implant. It is unclear in the documentary if it is for selfish reasons, but it is irrelevant. He will now be accepted into the culture that he was born into, instead of being different. If he was born deaf, his opportunities would have been limited; because, both of his parents were hearing, and his school is hearing. His parents don't know the best way to teach a deaf child, they won't be able to teach him fluent sign language right from the start. This is not because they aren't intelligent, it is because they are not a part of the deaf Discourse. Peter will now have just as much opportunity as his brother to succeed.

Now if Peter had been born into a completely deaf family, it would have been right for the family to leave him the way he was, unless he wanted it when he was older. If the parents felt that they could afford to give him the best speech education available and send him to the best schools, and both the parents were deaf, then it would have been appropriate to give him the implant.

It all comes down to Discourse.