There’s a deadly virus - would you sacrifice yours or your child’s life to create a vaccine?

Absolutely no chance 😂

Yes, I can understand the drive a parent has to protect their child. In a situation where there's two children hanging off a cliff and I only have time to save one, I can only imagine I'd prioritise my own child. In a situation where there is a choice, I do think I'd accept nature taking it's course. Children will live or die by chance alone, and I think I'd rather leave it to nature than make decisions about sacrificing anyone's children deliberately.

If it came to choosing one member of my family to survive some sort of pandemic, I'd choose myself, just so no-one else has to go through the pain of surviving the loss of the entire family. Dying all together in an extinction event, I can accept as natures way, because that way no-one is left behind to suffer.

My DD, no.

Me - yes, in exchange for the *promise the world would end vivisection. No animal should be experimented on for humans.

Obvs it would have to be more iron clad than a mere promise!

Ellie herself was furious with Joel for taking such a decision on her behalf (and murdering all the hospital staff in the process). She felt he should have sacrificed her for the cure. Of course, that is a child’s perspective, and it does evolve as she grows older, loses Joel, and her partner becomes pregnant too.

Personally, I could never sacrifice a child of mine, or any child. Myself, yes.

I'm so sorry, thereisnomeaning. That would definitely vastly change how you view these sorts of silly hypotheticals.

For me, I would understand someone else wanting to sacrifice my child to save their children and the world. I couldn't accept it emotionally as a parent, but logically it makes sense, and I couldn't blame them for trying - of course, I'd also do my best to stop them from succeeding.

My own life yes; now that my children are older (young adults and teen).

My child. No never. In fact I can say I would do the opposite - give up all of humanity just for the life of my child.

My beloved oldest daughter died aged 24 last October. I’ve been having therapy and exploring some of the thoughts that make me no longer a “nice” person. I said (and meant) that if I could bring my daughter back to live out the rest of her natural life with her siblings I’d give up myself, my husband, parents, all those dearest to me other than my remaining children and even the rest of mankind.

I think for most of us the desire to protect our children is foremost. I’d have burned alive to save my daughter.

Even if you knew everyone would die including your child, most people probably wouldn't be able to actively say yes, kill my child.

Most people would probably just let the natural events unfold.

It's like that dilemma with the train on the tracks heading for a group of people, and you can steer it onto another track to only kill one person - do you do it to save more lives? - But if you do, you have essentially got blood on your hands and have chosen to murder that one person. The other people would have died anyway without your involvement.

It's about the agency - if you choose to sacrifice your child then you have done it. If you don't then events unfold and happen.

Of course, in a way, no choice is still a choice, but in our irrational human minds it feels less like you actively did it.

No, it's simple instinct, we have an extremely strong imperative to protect our children at all costs even if it is completely irrational.

There aren't many, if any, people who could override that, even if it was the logical thing to do.

Nope

I tend to think that if something isn't good enough for my child, it's not good enough for anyone else's either. I wouldn't sacrifice my child and I wouldn't accept anyone having to sacrifice their child either. Even if that means my entire family dies in the extinction event. Having already lost a child though, I think I have perhaps come to terms with death in a different way than some might have.

Agree. But then I'd be willing to kill billions of people to ensure my children were able to have a future, so one child seems like a bargain.

No, I wouldn't give up my child's life to provide the cure. If my child is immune, I'd expect there will be others who are. Those are the people who will survive and can repopulate the world later. Extinction events happen. Then nature will take it's course and survival of the fittest, and all that.

I wouldn't support the forcible removal of a child to save my own. That child's life is valuable too. It's bad luck if my child doesn't have immunity, like most of the population. I couldn't kill another child to save my own (excepting situations like self-defence, which this wouldn't really be).

Nope. I wouldnt expect a willing sacrifice from any parent.

Lets up the stakes. Would you support the forcible removal and death of someone else's child for this vaccine if it meant yours would live.

My answer is Yes.

It’s human nature that people would expect others to sacrifice themselves or their child for the good of the world but wouldn’t do it themselves. Humans are inherently selfish beings

I think id have to sacrifice my child wouldnt i or else we would all likely die anyway??
Definately wiuld sacrifice myself.
If i did have to sacrifice my child id probably have to kill myself because i dont think id be able to live with that.
What a horrible 'sophies choice' scenario.
God that film haunts me i still cry any time that pops in my mind.
But yeah what can you do? Theres bo choice that isnt awful

As someone points out, it wasn’t his daughter but rather a random girl he’d been travelling with for less than a year, having been hired/tasked to escort her to a location. She’s not his adopted daughter, she’s a job, basically. In that case, yes, I’d sacrifice one child in order to save the remainder of humanity. It’s the logical, utilitarian choice, and anything else would actually be unethical, imo.

But my own child? No. Logic doesn’t come into it with my own children. I’m happy to be massively unethical and hypocritical when it comes to them.

Would I sacrifice myself? Yes, but only if it vastly increased the chances that my children would live safe, happy, long lives, and I knew they would be looked after.

Great thread OP. We are obsessed with this show and the game but this question hasn't come up! I'll have to ask my family what they think.

To answer your question, my life yes I would. And my child's life - I would ask them. Mainly because the life they are living in TLOU is scary and not destined to be long anyway, so maybe it would be better for them to avoid all the fear and pain and have their death be painless and mean something.
Regarding the state of the hospital, you aren't going to find anything better and you have to start somewhere. I felt for Joel but I really empathized with the staff who were desperately trying to find a cure.

I wouldn't sacrifice either.

If you look at it logically, the odds of surviving a post apocalyptic world are pretty slim anyway. And that’s just making it out alive, never mind various traumas and violence of all kinds.

Totally pointless case scenario but ultimately why would anyone sacrifice themselves? Who decides that their and their children lives are worth less than others?

No - sorry everyone

DD? Nope!

Me? Depends how old she was and what guarantees there would be she would be well looked after if I’m gone.

Yup. I’m pretty selfish.

Yeah I don’t think you’d ever find a parent who would sacrifice their kid in that situation, regardless of the hurt they would be inflicting on the rest of society.

But what makes Joel’s decision even more interesting and heartbreaking is that Ellie isn’t his daughter. His daughter died. He’d been travelling with Ellie for less than a year when he made that decision.

As a mother, would you sacrifice a vaccine and the rest of society for a foster child you’d been with for a year? An impossible hypothetical I suppose, but is it an easy an answer as your own child?