Archive for the ‘motherhood’ tag
With Child, With Cancer #
(I tried for five minutes to come up with a better title, I couldn’t.) Pamela Paul has an interesting article in tomorrow New York Times Magazine about the difficulty of fighting cancer — which seems to be made more likely by pregnancy — while still protecting the health of the fetus. The basic dilemma:
“She was afraid not to be treated for cancer, but she was afraid to expose her fetus to drugs,” Cardonick recalled when I spoke to her recently. It was perhaps the ultimate maternal conflict: choosing between the biological imperatives for self-preservation and procreation.
The Curious Lives of Surrogates #
I’m pleased to report — as I feel is necessary in light of this recent outburst — that this week’s Newsweek cover story was actually interesting. One of the many details I hadn’t known:
It’s no wonder many conservative Christians decry the practice as tampering with the miracle of life, while far-left feminists liken gestational carriers to prostitutes who degrade themselves by renting out their bodies. Some medical ethicists describe the process of arranging surrogacy as “baby brokering,” while rumors circulate that self-obsessed, shallow New Yorkers have their babies by surrogate to avoid stretch marks. Much of Europe bans the practice, and 12 states, including New York, New Jersey and Michigan, refuse to recognize surrogacy contracts. But in the past five years, four states—Texas, Illinois, Utah and Florida—have passed laws legalizing surrogacy, and Minnesota is considering doing the same. More than a dozen states, including Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and, most notably, California, specifically legalize and regulate the practice.