What would you have done if you were faced with a problem like the one in "The Cold Equations" short story?

In Tom Godwin's science fiction story "The Cold Equations," we see a familiar moral conveyed in a new way: sometimes, rules are there for a reason. The captain of the ship, Barton, knows that the reason for the "no stowaways" rule is not simply bureaucracy, but that an additional person would endanger the rest of the crew, possibly causing their deaths. As such, he decides that Marilyn must be ejected from the vehicle, sacrificing one life to save many. In this instance, however, his job is made easier by the fact that Marilyn agrees with his logic and sacrifices herself without a struggle.
In responding to the question of what you would do in a similar situation, you would need to consider the context. It is difficult to argue against sacrificing one life instead of dooming ten people to die, but might it not depend on the life that needed to be sacrificed? A great moral question explored in much science fiction is that of whether some lives are more valuable than others. Would you jettison, say, a brain surgeon to save ten manual laborers? Why, or why not? Would you find it more difficult to make the choice Barton made if the person disagreed with you and put up a fight, or expressed distress?