Lesbian gives birth to brother's baby
July 13, 2001 6:17 AM Subscribe
Lesbian gives birth to brother's baby
Wait, wait, it gets better.
51-year-old lesbian has given birth to her brother's baby after IVF treatment.
Wait, wait, it gets better.
51-year-old lesbian has given birth to her brother's baby after IVF treatment.
So what that it was her brother? So what that it was IVF? So what that she was 51-years-old? So, what's your point about the lesbian thing?
posted by nonharmful at 6:31 AM on July 13, 2001
posted by nonharmful at 6:31 AM on July 13, 2001
Clearly you are not viewing this with clear, unbiased eyes, it's top-notch reportage that would make Stosell himself proud, it's on the declining morals of the world where dykes and communists have taken over France and kill babies daily while spitting at crucified baby Jesus and reciting spells, ohh, and taxes are too high. Aparantly, it's hard to loose this bottle of blues. Film at 11.
posted by tiaka at 6:45 AM on July 13, 2001
posted by tiaka at 6:45 AM on July 13, 2001
When Melissa Ethridge and her partner were trying to start a family, there were quite a few articles about lesbians and IVF. In one article I read that some pairs prefer that a male relative of one of the partner's provide the sperm, (usually the brother of the woman who will not carry the child) so that both women can claim a real relationship to the baby. (One will be the birth mother, while the other being a legitimate aunt.)
Sensationalizing a woman's motherhood based on her sexual preference, or age or the process undermines the pregnancies of millions of other women who are going through the same journey, but without much hoopla. By nonharmful's enthusiasm, I am guessing s/he has never seen a pregnant woman before.
posted by tamim at 6:48 AM on July 13, 2001
Sensationalizing a woman's motherhood based on her sexual preference, or age or the process undermines the pregnancies of millions of other women who are going through the same journey, but without much hoopla. By nonharmful's enthusiasm, I am guessing s/he has never seen a pregnant woman before.
posted by tamim at 6:48 AM on July 13, 2001
By nonharmful's enthusiasm, I am guessing s/he has never seen a pregnant woman before.
Dear tamin, you just won an award. You just made me LOL. As a pediatric resident in the neonatology department, I deal with pregnant woman on a daily basis (and a lot of preterms are the result of IVF). My point is, why focus on the lesbian thing in the headline and not the fact that a 51-year-old is getting pregnant, ....the fact that they are related (genetic considerations), ......the fact that IVF was used to do this? I mean, what's so important about the fact that they mentioned that the woman was a lesbian? Why leave this fact out the headline?
posted by nonharmful at 7:01 AM on July 13, 2001
Dear tamin, you just won an award. You just made me LOL. As a pediatric resident in the neonatology department, I deal with pregnant woman on a daily basis (and a lot of preterms are the result of IVF). My point is, why focus on the lesbian thing in the headline and not the fact that a 51-year-old is getting pregnant, ....the fact that they are related (genetic considerations), ......the fact that IVF was used to do this? I mean, what's so important about the fact that they mentioned that the woman was a lesbian? Why leave this fact out the headline?
posted by nonharmful at 7:01 AM on July 13, 2001
Somebody just got told (tamim).
posted by prototype_octavius at 7:13 AM on July 13, 2001
posted by prototype_octavius at 7:13 AM on July 13, 2001
but her OWN brother. Hell i ran into this before.my sister is lesbian(any wise cracks and she WILL find you) She is married to a gay man(for benefits, for companionship and because hes a hoot, basically-LOVE) Sis wants a bambino but cant use brother-in-laws(fellers) her ex-part then suggested SHE have a baby and eyes where cast towards me(big laughter, me running out the house screaming "mea culpa"(sic, sp) But I see why-the-lesbian reference. perhaps using familiy genes has some connotation to lesbians but even i am reaching by going there. But by the article one could deduce-lesbian-own brothers baby-inbreed-bad-etc. love that BBC.
posted by clavdivs at 7:39 AM on July 13, 2001
posted by clavdivs at 7:39 AM on July 13, 2001
Isnt it illegal to have children within the family for health reasons?
posted by stbalbach at 7:49 AM on July 13, 2001
posted by stbalbach at 7:49 AM on July 13, 2001
Isnt it illegal to have children within the family for health reasons?
The egg was not hers; it was a donor egg. Of course, they buried that fact a ways down in the story, since knowing that makes the story much less sensational.
posted by anapestic at 7:58 AM on July 13, 2001
The egg was not hers; it was a donor egg. Of course, they buried that fact a ways down in the story, since knowing that makes the story much less sensational.
posted by anapestic at 7:58 AM on July 13, 2001
as far as I know yes, so the inbred reference(hint if you will) does seem, well, relevant
posted by clavdivs at 7:59 AM on July 13, 2001
posted by clavdivs at 7:59 AM on July 13, 2001
nonharmful, you know, she is still a woman, like any other. She is biologically capable of bearing a child even at age 51; which I suspect was tremendously aided by modern medicine and scientific advancements. Being a lesbian did not disable her biological systems from such womanly features as pregnancy or PMS or ....
I think we all (especially the media) should walk past the artificial sensation of lesbians of elderly women becoming pregnant.
I think only incestuous marriages are illegal. I have no clue about the illegality of incestuous pregnancies. Given the high rate of such cases in the Bible Belt, I wonder how the police might enforce any law banning incestuous pregnancies..
posted by tamim at 8:08 AM on July 13, 2001
I think we all (especially the media) should walk past the artificial sensation of lesbians of elderly women becoming pregnant.
I think only incestuous marriages are illegal. I have no clue about the illegality of incestuous pregnancies. Given the high rate of such cases in the Bible Belt, I wonder how the police might enforce any law banning incestuous pregnancies.
posted by tamim at 8:08 AM on July 13, 2001
> Isnt it illegal to have children within the family for
> health reasons?
Kids are horrible and they'll take years off your life, but, no, I don't think they're illegal yet.
(Genetically, the kid in this story is half the woman's brother, half some other woman, right? If that's the case, it's not incest, not the way you're apparently thinking.)
posted by pracowity at 8:10 AM on July 13, 2001
> health reasons?
Kids are horrible and they'll take years off your life, but, no, I don't think they're illegal yet.
(Genetically, the kid in this story is half the woman's brother, half some other woman, right? If that's the case, it's not incest, not the way you're apparently thinking.)
posted by pracowity at 8:10 AM on July 13, 2001
So what that she was 51-years-old?
Increased risk of Down's Syndrome, anyone?
posted by darukaru at 8:22 AM on July 13, 2001
Increased risk of Down's Syndrome, anyone?
posted by darukaru at 8:22 AM on July 13, 2001
So what that she was 51-years-old?
Increased risk of Down's Syndrome, anyone?
Listen up, people:
It wasn't her egg, ok?
As far as I know, the risk of Down's Syndrome increases with the age of the egg, not the age of the womb.
posted by anapestic at 8:25 AM on July 13, 2001
Increased risk of Down's Syndrome, anyone?
Listen up, people:
It wasn't her egg, ok?
As far as I know, the risk of Down's Syndrome increases with the age of the egg, not the age of the womb.
posted by anapestic at 8:25 AM on July 13, 2001
Tamin, I do agree that every woman has the right to try to get pregnant. But I do think there should be a maximum age for IVF treatment (costs, medical risks, waiting lists, shortage of donor eggs, and so on). Furthermore, is it ethical to fertilize a donor egg with your brothers sperm (and not a sperm donor)? Are there any genetic implications? Is there a higher risk of pregnancy complications? I just don't know.....
Do we all have the right to have children at any cost or should a society define limits and decide what's reasonable?
posted by nonharmful at 8:32 AM on July 13, 2001
Do we all have the right to have children at any cost or should a society define limits and decide what's reasonable?
posted by nonharmful at 8:32 AM on July 13, 2001
Yes, Down syndrome risk is related to the age of the egg. But, pregnancy complications (e.g. uterus rupture, cesarian section, general health implications of the mother) do increase with increasing age.
posted by nonharmful at 8:37 AM on July 13, 2001
posted by nonharmful at 8:37 AM on July 13, 2001
I was (am still, actually) offended by the sensationalism in the headline; to me, the story is in the woman's age, and not her sexual preference or the father of the baby, since the egg wasn't hers -- it's easy to understand how someone who can't have their own children would still want to have one that would be a blood relation.
I do wonder about someone choosing to have a child at that age, male or female. It isn't just about the possible health complications, but a question of responsibility towards raising a child. The woman in this case is going to be in her late 60s to early 70s when her child is in high school and college! And then you have, say, Michael Douglas or Tony Randall.
posted by lia at 8:58 AM on July 13, 2001
I do wonder about someone choosing to have a child at that age, male or female. It isn't just about the possible health complications, but a question of responsibility towards raising a child. The woman in this case is going to be in her late 60s to early 70s when her child is in high school and college! And then you have, say, Michael Douglas or Tony Randall.
posted by lia at 8:58 AM on July 13, 2001
-- "it's easy to understand how someone who can't have their own children would still want to have one that would be a blood relation." yes. so true. and what breaks my heart is i see how badly my sister wants a child. Then enter society, ahhh. I'm getting more and more pissed at this article for its pandering. i think that was intention. tp pander to the anti-gay crowd. (that my sound, you know kooky, but to me, it is evident by the headline and using the word lesbian.) Query?, does this happen alot within BBC.
posted by clavdivs at 9:09 AM on July 13, 2001
posted by clavdivs at 9:09 AM on July 13, 2001
... The American woman, who is in a long term lesbian relationship had "long desired to be pregnant", according to doctors.
At least she didn't decide to do this lickity split.
posted by darren at 10:42 AM on July 13, 2001
At least she didn't decide to do this lickity split.
posted by darren at 10:42 AM on July 13, 2001
You're wrong in a way, lia - the story WAS about all those things: the fact that she was a lesbian DID make it more newsworthy, the brother is thrown in for people too dull to realize that at 51 the likelihood of it being her egg isn't that great, and that the likelihood an IVF program would condone an incestuous pregnancy is pretty much nil. It *shouldn't* be about those things (that's where you're 100% bang on), but it is, because that's what the idiot masses eat up.
posted by DiplomaticImmunity at 10:44 AM on July 13, 2001
posted by DiplomaticImmunity at 10:44 AM on July 13, 2001
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posted by lia at 6:24 AM on July 13, 2001