| Tuesday, January 25, 2005 |
| FIT TO BE A MOM???? |
The birth last week, by C-Section, of a 3-lb. 3-oz.
premature baby girl to a 66-year old Romanian woman
who underwent fertility treatments for nine years
may be one for the record books, but it's also Exhibit A
in the debate over whether there should be guidelines
to govern the use of Assisted Reproductive Technologies
(ART).Not only are there no such guidelines for ART clinics
in the U.S., according to a study from the Center for
Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania School of
Medicine, thee is no agreement about how prepspective
parents should be be screened., it's a far cry, says
Penn's Art Caplan, director fo the center and co-author
of the study, from what we accept in assessing the
fitness of adoptive parents. ART candidates aren't
evaluated in any systematic way (except to determine
whether they can pay). The study reported that fewer
than 20% of ART specialists even bothered with
assessments by psychologists or social workers.
One-third of the doctors said they would have no
qualms about providing their services to a woman
addicted to marijuana. Given the actuarial odds that
she will be dead before her daughter even enters high
school, should the Romanian have received the treatments
that allowed her to have a baby? "Having a 66-year old
involved in a pregnancy that is high risk for both her
and the baby is completely unethical", says Caplan.
"Creating orphans is never a good public policy".
(Abstracted from YOURTIME/Mag by: David Bjerklie |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 10:48 AM |
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| About Me |
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Name: infraternam meam
Home: Chicago, United States
About Me: I am now at the prime of my life
and have been married for the past 25 years.
Sickly at times, but wants to see the elixir vita,
so that I will be able to see my grandchildren from my two boys.
See my complete profile
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