A lesbian couple who had conceived a child together through donor insemination at a UK clinic recently ended up in the High Court after their relationship broke down. Their dispute involved a ten-year-old child, and the issue was whether the non-birth mother (who the court had already given legal decision-making status as a parent) should be ordered to make financial provision for her child.
The story itself of course isn't that unusual - parents separate and divorce all the time and many end up in court arguing over contact or finances. What makes this case interesting is the family was created through fertility treatment and the partner pursued for maintenance was not the biological mother.
The court had to ask whether the lesbian non-birth mother was legally a 'parent' and - specifically - whether her full hands-on parenting involvement in her child's life was enough to make her financially responsible, even though she was not the biological mother.
The answer seems pretty straightforward from a moral perspective. The non-birth mother had been fully involved in her child's care and upbringing, had regular contact with her child, and had successfully (and not long before) applied to court for joint residence and parental responsibility. The law recognised her as a parent for the purposes of decision making and there was no legal father since the child was conceived with anonymous donor sperm.
The child would have only one parent (the birth mother) and considerably less financial security if the non-birth mother was not financially responsible. As the birth mother's lawyers argued in court, it would be 'grotesque' for the court to decide the non-birth mother should not have to maintain a child she had helped bring into the world and was actively parenting.
The law is not always fair. The rules on financial responsibility say explicitly only a legal 'parent' can be ordered to pay. These rules are more black and white than those on matters of contact and parental decision-making, where the family courts often have discretion to act in the best interests of a child.
To read more go to http://bit.ly/dBcOte
Saturday, 13 November 2010
Gay sperm donor fights lesbian mother over access to children
The woman in her 40s, and her civil partner, took the case to the Court of Appeal to try to overturn an earlier ruling that the children should spend almost half the year living with their father.
The mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is accusing the father of trying to “marginalise” her partner and “overpower” them both with his forceful personality.
But the father, a wealthy man in a long-term relationship, now in his 50s, claims it is his right to see his children and they should divide their time between him and their mother.
The case began in 1999 when the man placed an advert in Gay Times in the hope of finding a lesbian couple to have his children. Looking for a similar female couple who wants to have kids. I require little involvement. I have a lot to offer.”
After a long-term lesbian couple answered the advert, he twice donated sperm and a boy and girl, now aged nine and seven, were born.
Earlier this year a county court judge awarded "shared residency" orders to the mother and father and directed that the children should spend almost half the year with him.
June Venters QC, representing the mother and her partner, said the children were “aware of the difficulties between mummy and daddy” and were at risk of being emotionally harmed by the dispute.
She accepted that the youngsters had a meaningful relationship with their father and said it was in no way suggested that he should lose all contact rights.
To read more go to http://bit.ly/atdgHW
The mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is accusing the father of trying to “marginalise” her partner and “overpower” them both with his forceful personality.
But the father, a wealthy man in a long-term relationship, now in his 50s, claims it is his right to see his children and they should divide their time between him and their mother.
The case began in 1999 when the man placed an advert in Gay Times in the hope of finding a lesbian couple to have his children. Looking for a similar female couple who wants to have kids. I require little involvement. I have a lot to offer.”
After a long-term lesbian couple answered the advert, he twice donated sperm and a boy and girl, now aged nine and seven, were born.
Earlier this year a county court judge awarded "shared residency" orders to the mother and father and directed that the children should spend almost half the year with him.
June Venters QC, representing the mother and her partner, said the children were “aware of the difficulties between mummy and daddy” and were at risk of being emotionally harmed by the dispute.
She accepted that the youngsters had a meaningful relationship with their father and said it was in no way suggested that he should lose all contact rights.
To read more go to http://bit.ly/atdgHW
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
Men who use laptop computers on their knees may harm their 'sperm'
Millions of men are putting their reproductive health at risk by balancing their laptops on their knees, experts have warned.
Researchers from the State University of New York asked 29 young men to work on computers placed on their laps. They then measured the change in temperature in their genital area. Study leader, Professor Yelim Sheynkin, said: 'Millions and millions of men are using laptops now, especially those in the reproductive age range.
'Within 10 or 15 minutes their scrotal temperature is already above what we consider safe, but they don't feel it.' Around one in seven couples in the UK have trouble conceiving and male infertility plays a part in around half of these cases.
Under normal circumstances, the position of the testicles outside the body keeps them a few degrees cooler than the inside of the body, which is necessary for sperm production.
No studies have yet researched how laptops affect male fertility, but earlier research has showed that warming the scrotum even more than one degree Celsius is enough to damage sperm.
The latest study, published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, found the mens' testicle temperature had risen by up to 2.5 C after holding a laptop on their knees for an hour.
Professor Sheynkin said: 'I wouldn't say that if someone starts to use laptops they will become infertile.' However, he warned that frequent use might contribute to reproductive problems because 'the scrotum doesn't have time to cool down.'
The team found when the men sat with their legs spread wide with a large lap pad under the computer they could keep their testicles cooler. But it still took less than 30 minutes before they began overheating.
'No matter what you do, even with the legs spread wide apart, the temperature is still going to be higher than what we call safe,' Professor Sheynkin said.
To read more go to http://bit.ly/a6G765
Researchers from the State University of New York asked 29 young men to work on computers placed on their laps. They then measured the change in temperature in their genital area. Study leader, Professor Yelim Sheynkin, said: 'Millions and millions of men are using laptops now, especially those in the reproductive age range.
'Within 10 or 15 minutes their scrotal temperature is already above what we consider safe, but they don't feel it.' Around one in seven couples in the UK have trouble conceiving and male infertility plays a part in around half of these cases.
Under normal circumstances, the position of the testicles outside the body keeps them a few degrees cooler than the inside of the body, which is necessary for sperm production.
No studies have yet researched how laptops affect male fertility, but earlier research has showed that warming the scrotum even more than one degree Celsius is enough to damage sperm.
The latest study, published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, found the mens' testicle temperature had risen by up to 2.5 C after holding a laptop on their knees for an hour.
Professor Sheynkin said: 'I wouldn't say that if someone starts to use laptops they will become infertile.' However, he warned that frequent use might contribute to reproductive problems because 'the scrotum doesn't have time to cool down.'
The team found when the men sat with their legs spread wide with a large lap pad under the computer they could keep their testicles cooler. But it still took less than 30 minutes before they began overheating.
'No matter what you do, even with the legs spread wide apart, the temperature is still going to be higher than what we call safe,' Professor Sheynkin said.
To read more go to http://bit.ly/a6G765
Sunday, 7 November 2010
Fertility forced abroad as NHS cuts back on IVF treatment
Nicosia looks nice. The clinic website shows pictures of boats bobbing on blue-green Cypriot waters. Spain feels more familiar, but the Ukraine is cheaper. Or what about Mexico, where you can choose whether to have a boy or a girl?
The fertility business is global and booming. As the NHS cuts back on free treatment for the childless, lumping IVF with tattoo removal as an act of kindness rather than treatment for a disease, the competitive prices of private clinics overseas compared with their UK rivals will look ever more tempting. This weekend a number of them will be touting for business at the Fertility Show, now in its second year, at London's Olympia.
Their websites are in English, their blandishments are soothing and the success rates they advertise are eye-popping to those unversed in the complexities of such data. You can get an instant email quote (in sterling) – I was offered IVF using donor eggs (difficult to obtain in the UK) in Kiev for £5,277, in Nicosia for £3,945 (including six days in a hotel and airport transfer) and in Mexico for £4,316 – or £5,091 if I wanted to choose the sex of my child. The UK has some of the best and safest IVF clinics in the world. It is the home of the pioneers – Bob Edwards, responsible for the world's first IVF baby, Louise Brown, recently won a Nobel prize, putting reproductive medicine firmly in the category of humane treatments that have advanced us as a species. But the government's yearning towards the free market and its dislike of red tape are threatening the quango which keeps standards high and clinics safe. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), this week celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Act that set it up, is down for abolition. Its various roles are to be picked apart and handed to other bodies.
These are rocky times for the unhappy childless. North Yorkshire and York, Bury, South West Essex and West Kent have already cut back or suspended NHS fertility treatment. IVF, in a cash-strapped health service, is one of the first things to go. Funders know that desperate people will do it anyway. Houses will be re-mortgaged.
"Couples know they can't wait for the recession to be over," says Clare Lewis-Jones, chief executive of Infertility Network. "There won't be as much NHS IVF, but patients will find the money at least for one cycle. They have had to in the past and they will do it again."
To read more go to http://bit.ly/dtrGLy
The fertility business is global and booming. As the NHS cuts back on free treatment for the childless, lumping IVF with tattoo removal as an act of kindness rather than treatment for a disease, the competitive prices of private clinics overseas compared with their UK rivals will look ever more tempting. This weekend a number of them will be touting for business at the Fertility Show, now in its second year, at London's Olympia.
Their websites are in English, their blandishments are soothing and the success rates they advertise are eye-popping to those unversed in the complexities of such data. You can get an instant email quote (in sterling) – I was offered IVF using donor eggs (difficult to obtain in the UK) in Kiev for £5,277, in Nicosia for £3,945 (including six days in a hotel and airport transfer) and in Mexico for £4,316 – or £5,091 if I wanted to choose the sex of my child. The UK has some of the best and safest IVF clinics in the world. It is the home of the pioneers – Bob Edwards, responsible for the world's first IVF baby, Louise Brown, recently won a Nobel prize, putting reproductive medicine firmly in the category of humane treatments that have advanced us as a species. But the government's yearning towards the free market and its dislike of red tape are threatening the quango which keeps standards high and clinics safe. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), this week celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Act that set it up, is down for abolition. Its various roles are to be picked apart and handed to other bodies.
These are rocky times for the unhappy childless. North Yorkshire and York, Bury, South West Essex and West Kent have already cut back or suspended NHS fertility treatment. IVF, in a cash-strapped health service, is one of the first things to go. Funders know that desperate people will do it anyway. Houses will be re-mortgaged.
"Couples know they can't wait for the recession to be over," says Clare Lewis-Jones, chief executive of Infertility Network. "There won't be as much NHS IVF, but patients will find the money at least for one cycle. They have had to in the past and they will do it again."
To read more go to http://bit.ly/dtrGLy
Friday, 5 November 2010
Fertility Show London 5th-6th November, Olympia, London.
Considering IVF? Looking for some answers?
Whether you’re just thinking about starting a family or have been trying for ages, find out what you need to know at The Fertility Show.
- 100 exhibitors
- 60 talks from experts
- Medical and complementary alternatives
- Leading UK and overseas clinics
- Fertility assessments and treatments
- Advice for everyone including single women and same sex parents
- A successful and proven event, now in its 2nd year
For those just thinking of having a baby:
- Zita West on how to get pregnant
- Marilyn Glenville on fertility-boosting nutrition
- Dr Zhai on Chinese medicine
- Charles Kingsland on preparing for pregnancy
For people finding it difficult to get pregnant:
- Carole Gilling-Smith on testing your ovarian reserve
- Sue Avery on the main approaches to treatment
- Paul Serhal on the fertility rollercoaster
- Allan Pacey on what men need to know about their fertility
- Raj Rai on recurrent miscarriage
For those considering IVF:
- Kate Brian on how to choose a clinic
- Natalie Gamble on treatment abroad
- Clare Lewis-Jones on what the NHS will pay for
- Anthony Rutherford on avoiding twins
- Mohamed Taranissi on immunology
Britain's leading fertility specialists:
- PCOS, endometriosis, secondary infertility
- Egg freezing, reproductive surgery, alternative medicine, mild IVF
- Specific advice for single women, older women and alternative parenting
- International surrogacy and donors abroad
- Coping strategies and managing relationships through treatment
The Fertility Show is backed by Britain's leading fertility support group, Infertility Network UK. It is a dedicated and discreet environment where you can learn about your fertility, explore your options with experienced and sympathetic professionals and find out how to give yourself the best chance of conceiving.
Looking for a sperm donor, egg donor or co-parent? visit www.prideangel.com
To read more go to http://bit.ly/cek5Wk
Whether you’re just thinking about starting a family or have been trying for ages, find out what you need to know at The Fertility Show.
- 100 exhibitors
- 60 talks from experts
- Medical and complementary alternatives
- Leading UK and overseas clinics
- Fertility assessments and treatments
- Advice for everyone including single women and same sex parents
- A successful and proven event, now in its 2nd year
For those just thinking of having a baby:
- Zita West on how to get pregnant
- Marilyn Glenville on fertility-boosting nutrition
- Dr Zhai on Chinese medicine
- Charles Kingsland on preparing for pregnancy
For people finding it difficult to get pregnant:
- Carole Gilling-Smith on testing your ovarian reserve
- Sue Avery on the main approaches to treatment
- Paul Serhal on the fertility rollercoaster
- Allan Pacey on what men need to know about their fertility
- Raj Rai on recurrent miscarriage
For those considering IVF:
- Kate Brian on how to choose a clinic
- Natalie Gamble on treatment abroad
- Clare Lewis-Jones on what the NHS will pay for
- Anthony Rutherford on avoiding twins
- Mohamed Taranissi on immunology
Britain's leading fertility specialists:
- PCOS, endometriosis, secondary infertility
- Egg freezing, reproductive surgery, alternative medicine, mild IVF
- Specific advice for single women, older women and alternative parenting
- International surrogacy and donors abroad
- Coping strategies and managing relationships through treatment
The Fertility Show is backed by Britain's leading fertility support group, Infertility Network UK. It is a dedicated and discreet environment where you can learn about your fertility, explore your options with experienced and sympathetic professionals and find out how to give yourself the best chance of conceiving.
Looking for a sperm donor, egg donor or co-parent? visit www.prideangel.com
To read more go to http://bit.ly/cek5Wk
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
IVF could double risk of 'Cerebral Palsy'
IVF could double the risk of cerebral palsy, according to a study of more than 90,000 children.
Several studies have shown that rates of the neurological condition, which can result in speech problems, muscular stiffness and curvature of the spine, are higher in couples who have undergone in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
But this is the first to suggest that the process of IVF itself could increase the risk, rather than it being a consequence of the parents' impaired fertility
Researchers at the University of Aarhus in Denmark found that babies born by IVF were more than twice as likely to have cerebral palsy as those conceived naturally.
The result held up even after adjusting for factors like the age of the mother, if she smoked, and whether the baby was premature or a twin.
Dr Jin Lieang Zhu, an epidemiologist, and his team concluded that IVF was probably the underlying cause by looking at how rates of cerebral palsy changed depending on how long it took the mother to conceive naturally. This is considered a good measure of underlying fertility.
They found no statistically significant difference in rates between those whose mothers took less than two months to conceive, and those who took more than a year.
However, there was a much bigger difference between those who took over a year to conceive and those who only got pregnant thanks to IVF.
To read more go to http://bit.ly/aVAN51
Several studies have shown that rates of the neurological condition, which can result in speech problems, muscular stiffness and curvature of the spine, are higher in couples who have undergone in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
But this is the first to suggest that the process of IVF itself could increase the risk, rather than it being a consequence of the parents' impaired fertility
Researchers at the University of Aarhus in Denmark found that babies born by IVF were more than twice as likely to have cerebral palsy as those conceived naturally.
The result held up even after adjusting for factors like the age of the mother, if she smoked, and whether the baby was premature or a twin.
Dr Jin Lieang Zhu, an epidemiologist, and his team concluded that IVF was probably the underlying cause by looking at how rates of cerebral palsy changed depending on how long it took the mother to conceive naturally. This is considered a good measure of underlying fertility.
They found no statistically significant difference in rates between those whose mothers took less than two months to conceive, and those who took more than a year.
However, there was a much bigger difference between those who took over a year to conceive and those who only got pregnant thanks to IVF.
To read more go to http://bit.ly/aVAN51
Monday, 1 November 2010
NHS cuts back costs by suspending IVF treatment in Yorkshire
NHS North Yorkshire and York is to suspend IVF procedures in the final quarter of this financial year as part of measures to reduce costs. The trust said it would honour its current IVF waiting list but, from 1 November 2010, no new patients would be added other than in exceptional clinical circumstances. NHS North Yorkshire and York budgets £1 million for up to 250 IVF patients per year and offers one cycle to patients below its sub-fertility criteria.
Dr David Geddes, Medical Director of NHS North Yorkshire and York, said: 'We fully appreciate that infertility is a highly emotive issue but, due to considerable financial pressure, NHS North Yorkshire and York has taken the difficult decision to not routinely commission assisted conception services for the final quarter of the financial year'.
He added: 'This decision affects IVF and other assisted conception procedures. However, it does not affect couples experiencing fertility problems having access to non-surgical treatments, such as drug treatments that may result in successful conception'.
The funding cut has prompted concern from Susan Seenan from the Infertility Network UK. She told BBC Radio York: 'I don't think we can actually express how angry and let down we feel about this decision to suspend funding for IVF treatments'. She added: 'On behalf of patients in Yorkshire, it's appalling that the trust has taken this decision'.
Chief Executive of NHS North Yorkshire and York, Jayne Brown, said: 'We have a statutory obligation to achieve financial balance and our priority is to achieve significant short-term savings whilst maintaining essential services for patients in North Yorkshire and York'. She added: 'We fully appreciate that the decisions we have taken will be unpalatable'.
To read more go to
Dr David Geddes, Medical Director of NHS North Yorkshire and York, said: 'We fully appreciate that infertility is a highly emotive issue but, due to considerable financial pressure, NHS North Yorkshire and York has taken the difficult decision to not routinely commission assisted conception services for the final quarter of the financial year'.
He added: 'This decision affects IVF and other assisted conception procedures. However, it does not affect couples experiencing fertility problems having access to non-surgical treatments, such as drug treatments that may result in successful conception'.
The funding cut has prompted concern from Susan Seenan from the Infertility Network UK. She told BBC Radio York: 'I don't think we can actually express how angry and let down we feel about this decision to suspend funding for IVF treatments'. She added: 'On behalf of patients in Yorkshire, it's appalling that the trust has taken this decision'.
Chief Executive of NHS North Yorkshire and York, Jayne Brown, said: 'We have a statutory obligation to achieve financial balance and our priority is to achieve significant short-term savings whilst maintaining essential services for patients in North Yorkshire and York'. She added: 'We fully appreciate that the decisions we have taken will be unpalatable'.
To read more go to
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