A remarkable gift: The tale of two sisters and a baby
This is an article that I read this morning in Anderosn Independent Mail, the local Anderson newspaper. I thought it would go well with our current discussion about pregnancy and women's choices.
It is about Susie Smith, who is 38 and has been diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. She is unable to conceive even after trying for 15 years. It is an ironic situation, because Susie and her husband, Brian have always been family people and they were more than upset about this.
All through Susie's countless appointments, considering many options like adoption and after a hope-ending hysterectomy, Susie finally realized that her dream might not be possible.
But there was a ray of hope. Susie's sister, Lisa, who was already a mother of 3, offered to carry the baby for her sister. She understood the Smith's desperate need for a family and discussed it with her own. After convincing Susie that this was a good choice, everyone decided to go ahead with in vitro fertilization. Although there were a lot of risks involved, the joy that they might parent a child was what kept the Smith's faith going. Now, Lisa is due the second week of August and after years of trying, the Smith's seem to finally find happiness.
They have decided to name the baby, Jake Thomas Smith and have already built and decorated his room. Here is the article -
http://www.independentmail.com/news/2008/jul/12/remarkable-gift-tale-two-sisters-and-baby/
P.S. - I just wanted to point out that for a small city like Anderson, this kind of technology and the willingness to try this is a major step.
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I just wanted to start off by saying that this was a really inspiring story. This is also one that I can relate to in a certain way. My mother god pregnant with my sister right after her wedding day. My mother had always wanted 7 children but after my sister was born she had difficulty getting pregnant. I was a miracle, after several miscarriages she had me almost 9 years after my sister. I have two foster brothers as well that she had adopted in between my sister and myself. I also have an aunt and uncle who had a lot of problems with pregnancy. They tried all these pills and one actually worked and they now have 4 beautiful children. I wish that that could have happened to Susie Smith but she is so lucky that it is her child it just happens to not be in her. Her sister as well is such a great person for allowing this child to be brought into this world through her. I wish them the very best.
I wanted to try and find something related to our class. I found the following article in The Internet Journal of Health "An insight into the ethical issues related to in vitro fertilization"
http://www.ispub.com/ostia/index.php?xmlPrinter=true&xmlFilePath=journals/ijh/vol6n1/invitro.xml
The excerpt below talks about how some religions have adjustments to accommodate ivf. The exception is the Catholic Church.
"Religion: Objection to playing God
“Biotechnology is assuming a more predominant role in the generation f human offspring at the price of diluting our notion of man as a procreating being.... Man begins to see himself more and more as an individual who stands apart from what he produces, rather than as a being who is created in the image of a Triune God whose inner life is dynamically procreative,”
Technologies of assisted reproduction such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) have been controversial on religious grounds since their inception, but nonetheless, within Islam, Judaism, Confucianism, Hinduism, and most forms of Christianity, adjustments have been made to facilitate the fertility of their adherents [ 24 ]. catholicism remains the only major world religion that unequivocally condemns the use of ivf. the vatican argues that the research, development, and practice of ivf involve the destruction of embryos, i.e., the ‘‘destruction of human life,’‘ and by engaging in assisted reproduction, humans are technologically interfering with a process that should remain under god's dominion (ratzinger 1987). to the catholic church, surrogacy; artificial insemination by husband or donor; and ivf are not allowed, because procreation without sexual union in considered unnatural, and the church has been quite vocal about its criticism. church considers in vitro fertilization wrong because it separates human procreation from conjugal union. In the process, couples make themselves the masters of human life instead of its stewards. The strongest protest is on the use of these supernumerary embryos in research which hamper the divinity and dignity of human life."
I am not Catholic but have found some women of the Catholic faith are having moral and spiritual issues with the church's ideas. They are questioning their faith and if they are good Catholics. How do they find answers for themselves when they can't even talk about this issue with their family or priest?
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