The Strange Tale of Three Identical Strangers: Cinematic Lessons in Bioethics.

Creator(s)

Bryanna Moore, Children's Mercy Hospital
Jeremy R. Garrett, Children's Mercy HospitalFollow
Leslie Ann McNolty
Maria Cristina Murano, Children's Mercy Hospital

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2019

Identifier

DOI: 10.1002/hast.974

Abstract

Tim Wardle's 2018 documentary film Three Identical Strangers is an exploration of identity, family, and loss. It's also about nature versus nurture and the boundaries of ethically permissible research, particularly research involving children. The film tells the story of identical triplets who were separated soon after birth in 1961. A different family adopted each boy, without being told that their son had two identical brothers. The adoption agency responsible for finding the families was collaborating with a group of researchers working on a study about … something. Three Identical Strangers details the boys' fight to obtain information about the study and for closure. But while the film may have received rave reviews, it left us feeling uneasy. We came away with two sets of questions, one having to do with the story that the film documents and the second with the ethics of filmmaking itself.

Journal Title

The Hastings Center report

Volume

49

Issue

1

First Page

21

Last Page

23

Comments

Erratum in

• Erratum. Hastings Cent Rep. 2019 Mar;49(2):8. doi: 10.1002/hast.982. Epub 2019 Mar 29.PMID: 30998285

Recommended Citation

Moore B, Garrett JR, McNolty LA, Murano MC. The Strange Tale of Three Identical Strangers: Cinematic Lessons in Bioethics [published correction appears in Hastings Cent Rep. 2019 Mar;49(2):8]. Hastings Cent Rep. 2019;49(1):21-23. doi:10.1002/hast.974