Last year a 61 year old Japanese woman acted as gestational carrier for her daughter who had a uterine problem.  That, however, is not the point of this entry.  Recall that I pay  attention to ART legislation in other Countries and that Japan has a rather restrictive ART policy.  You have no idea !

Dr. Yahiro Netsu is a proponent of ART in all its forms, arguing that they should be available for all Japanese women who are infertile.

In 1998, Netsu was expelled from Japan's gynecology association for performing in-vitro fertilizations with eggs and sperm of donors who were not married to each other.   After being reinstated, he became a pioneer when he performed what is thought to be the country's first successful surrogate birth.

The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and its 15,000 members, has banned such procedures.  Interestingly, however, the Government has not deemed ART procedures to be illegal.  Thus, individual clinics are free to perform ART ? though in reality few actually do.

Dr. Netsu has had such an effect that the Japan Society of Fertilization and Implantation will for the first time address the subject of surrogate births.

Occasionally I will stick my nose into governmental affairs of other Countries.  Recently I corresponded with the Queensland Parliment, Australia.  They have appointed a "Investigation into Altruistic Surrogacy Committee" to look at the decriminalization of altruistic surrogacy.  In addition, the Committee will address:

a. The role of government in regulating surrogacy arrangements,

b. The threshold criteria commissioning parent/s and/or surrogate have to meet to qualify,

c. The legal rights and responsibilities to be imposed upon the commissioning parent/s and/or surrogate.

The report will be issued on September 30, 2008.  I cannot wait to see what they recommend!

 

 

Little girls live their lives through their head, little boys, through hands and feet. I don't think I have the energy for little boys. 

Three girls, one book smart, one street smart, one right in the middle, now all college graduates and moving their lives forward.

How would you ever know?  They love you when they're young.  They hope you die when they turn 13. They ignore you in middle school and diagnose your lobotomy at 16.  But they will rediscover you in their early twenties. And you know what?  You will rediscover them. 

Ms. Book Smart is the suburban wife updated.  Happily married, loves to cook for friends, and sets up meetings for a multinational corporation. Ms. Street Smart is Greenwich Village cool.  An assistant for a New York fashion designer and right now is probably checking her email on a Macbook in a Chelsea coffee shop.  Ms. Middle of the Road, is, well, just that.  She is the youngest personal shopper for a high end retailer, bought her own condo at 22 and figured out how not to be objectified by men. 

Three distinct personalities.  Three ways of living life.  Three ways of making their parents proud. 

Earlier this year, pundits were extolling the virtues of India as the place to obtain a gestational surrogate baby with a minimum of fuss and a savings of many thousands of dollars. As is typical, the biggest proponents will not or may not be able to explain all of the possible issues that may pop up. That, of course, leads to improper conclusions with sometimes tragic results.

So here we have a report of an ongoing surrogacy where the Intended Parents divorce prior to birth and the Intended Father is faced with the news that he may not be able to adopt the child because Indian Law prohibits single parent adoptions.

In what must be the understatement of the year, lawyer Indira Jaising told the Indian Express newspaper. "With India emerging as a destination for surrogate pregnancies, a law (to regulate surrogacy) will have to be brought into effect."

I think the proper statement is that with gestational surrogacy becoming more popular, Intended Parents need to consider more than just the dollar amount. A successful gestational surrogacy requires an experienced team of individuals, Physician, Psychologist, Agency and Attorney to move the case forward in a positive manner. This certainly includes prosecuting the birth certificate in a friendly jurisdiction of which there are many in the US and EU.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080806/ts_afp/indiajapanbabysurrogacyadoptionlaw

 The Telegraph reported that a lesbian couple each gave birth to twins. What occurred was the use of a single sperm donor, while one of the Couple donated her eggs. Apparently, at least four of the eggs were fertilized, two of which were carried by each partner.

Medically and legally this is called a shared cycle, where a donor's eggs (as well as the IVF costs) are shared between two or more women. The eggs can be shared between an intended mother and a gestational carrier, between two intended mothers who are strangers to each other or as occurred here, between partners.

From a legal perspective these were very smart women. Why? Generally the birth mother retains all parental rights, while the donor loses all parental rights. That is because donations are deemed to be absolute. So, a lesbian couple who assign donor - birth mother roles to each other, place the donor at risk of no contact with the child or children should the couple separate in the future. This is another of those inequalities faced by same sex couples while the state legislatures decide their legal status.  This issue has been before many judges and the rulings are consistently against the donor.

So, by sharing the donation, this couple also share birth mother status and escape the probability of no contact. I like it!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/2472293/Lesbian-IVF-couple-both-have-twins---on-the-same-day.html

You know those rainstorms, a proto-hurricane storm, buckets of rain, wind whipping the drops so they actually hurt.  It was one of those nites.  It was also 2:30 in the morning.  Dark.  Snug. Sleep. 

Then it changes.  You open your eyes and she is standing there staring at you.  "There is someone trying to get in my window!"   And she continues to stare, her eyes insisting that this is not a drill. 

You get up and follow her back to her room.  Her footies almost causing her to trip, but she is dedicated to sharing the fragile nature of the bedroom window with you.  Opening the drapery you see the wind moving the bush next to the house and its branches forced into the window by the steady breeze.

This little person has no tolerance for theoretical knowledge and demands a demonstration of experiential wisdom in every facet of her life.   Thus, armed with flashlight, flipflops, tee shirt and scrubs bottom you plunge into the storm.  Instant drenching and scoriation from wind tossed branches remove the last vestiges of sleep. 

A survey of the side yard with a dramatic flourish of the flashlight beam over the window and the little face peering out, brought satisfaction and relief to that most critical personality in the house.

Back through the bushes, marshalling the door so it does not get whipped out of your hands and slammed into the wall by the wind and you are back inside.  It takes 10 minutes to mop up the floor, towel off and change into dry sleeping clothes.  

Your peek in the bedroom reveals the slow, steady breathing of a sleeping child, her right hand clutching "Silky". 

You cross back to the master suite, climb in bed and hear a sleepy mumble, "everything OK?" 

"Yes, everything is fine."