Onesection of the book focuses on Anna suing her parents for medical emancipationand finds herself in need of a lawyer in order to make this a possibility. Shehires Campbell Alexander to fight for her case in court but there are timeswhen it appears that the lawyer is taking advantage of her to only benefithimself. He states himself that the “case is a lock”, that he won’t “have to doany legal research” and that the “case will generate a ton of publicity” forhim and will “jack up my pro-bono for the whole damn decade”. Another characterin the novel states that “not necessarily because it’s in Anna’s bestinterests…but because it’s in yours” when Campbell is talking about protectingAnna’s legal rights. Using Anna to make his public image look better is inviolation of Article 36 of the UNCRC which clearly states that “children shouldbe protected from any activity that takes advantage of them or could harm theirwelfare and development” (UNICEF).
Taking advantage of Anna because of her ageseems to be a recurring theme in the book. Not only does her lawyer see her asnothing but an easy court case win but her parents, particularly her mother,immediately assume she’ll go through with a risky operation without asking herfirst. They also believe that due to Anna’s age they will be able to over rideany decisions in order to benefit themselves and Kate. This conflict ofinterest is what drives Sara to exploit her child by only considering her asbody parts to be donated to Kate. Sara voices that “I have thought of thisdaughter only in terms of what she will be able to do for the daughter Ialready have…Then again, my dreams for her are no less exalted; I plan for herto save her sister’s life.
” These words suggest Anna is being exploited forpersonal gain as she is no longer considered a child but solely the person whowill save her sister’s life.
