At the risk of being politically incorrect or insensitive, I've been angered by an article in the paper today.
To summarise the article, this couple has 3 healthy boys (all concieved naturally) and had lost a girl. In their efforts to have nother girl they undertook IVF and fell pregnant with heathly twin boys which they then aborted stating that they could not have an infinite number of children. They are now applying to the victorian Civil Adminitration Tribunal (VCAT) to fight for the right to choose the sex of their child.
OK so from the perspective of one who was not able to successful have a child through IVF, I have a couple of issues with this. a) they aborted twins for no medical reason b) the issue of sex selection will open floodgates for those wanting to control other factors c) I feel for the 3 boys that they have already knowing that all their parents want is a girl.
But this is not really what upsets me. In the article, Bob Phelps (Gene Ethics Director) said "They sound like good parents and could offer a home to a child who needs one." and then suggested that they should adopt overseas.
This brings me to one of the most ignorant statements, Why dont they Adopt?
There are a number of reasons, the one that screams out to me is that she has not come to terms with the loss of her daughter. Showing that you have had councelling and have dealth with losses and hardship is one of the criteria to being approved.
Secondly, in Australia and particularly in Victoria adopting is very difficult. There are only a handful of countries which have active programs and a majority of those programs give preference to infertile couples or couples without children, so this would significantly limit their options.
Third, they may have no desire to do so
There are many other reasons, but I will stop there.
Yes, given my position and what Tee and I have been through we probably have a different view to others. But the abortion of not one but two children just because of their sex is wrong. IVF clinics can not play God and now should they.
I hope that this couple can see their blessings, they have each other and three healthy sons.
Kay
I cannot agree more, this entire story makes feel very sick, but the real issue here is that this couple need to get some help not treatment for infertility as obviously they are not infertile. They need help dealing with the loss of their daughter
ReplyDeleteTee