tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12625691.post3646059912132141373..comments2024-02-29T01:43:23.900-05:00Comments on Women's Bioethics Blog: Bioethics & Television - Private PracticeLinda MacDonald Glennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02378544626277000243noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12625691.post-34116433278255742912007-12-18T06:26:00.000-05:002007-12-18T06:26:00.000-05:00Linda,Like most people who are not involved in eit...Linda,<BR/><BR/>Like most people who are not involved in either IF or adoption on a day to day basis, you are likely unaware of the reality of the situation.<BR/><BR/>Adoption is incredibly invasive to one's privacy - and this is a much greater deal to many people than bodily invasion. <BR/><BR/>I suggest you read around the actual IF and Adoption blogospheres to see the REAL experiences people are having - not the media's sugar-coated and ignorant representations.<BR/><BR/>The reality is, that there are 3 couples (usually infertile) for every healthy infant born. And, no, infertile couples should not be expected to adopt unhealthy children just because they are infertile - that is extremely unethical in my mind.<BR/><BR/>This has become a very real hot button issue for me because the majority of "experts" know nothing about the reality. Most are living in the late 1960s not the 2000s in their conception of adoption. They only contribute to the pain the IF and adoptive parents feel with their paths.<BR/><BR/>Many - not all - adoption agencies are less than ethical in their dealings with potential parents and birthmothers, and they are not very well-regulated either. On the international front, the competition for children has gotten to the point where many things will preclude parents even when they do not reflect on the person's ability to parent. <BR/><BR/>Your comment really only shows a great deal of ignorance. Hopefully, instead of arguing with what I said, you will actually educate yourself.<BR/><BR/>I posted a synopsis of the real issues here: http://www.mloknitting.com/?p=252<BR/><BR/>Pax,<BR/><BR/>MLOMLOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01779450983499873776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12625691.post-18761025293269524752007-12-15T17:39:00.000-05:002007-12-15T17:39:00.000-05:00ML0, maybe more expensive (although I do question)...ML0, maybe more expensive (although I do question), but more invasive? IVF is physically invasive, but I'm having a hard time seeing how adoption might be...Linda MacDonald Glennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02378544626277000243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12625691.post-25297926857044851882007-12-11T06:53:00.000-05:002007-12-11T06:53:00.000-05:00SabrinaW - adoption is both more expensive and mor...SabrinaW - adoption is both more expensive and more invasive than even complete donor IVF. There are at least 3 potential adoptive parents for every 1 baby. And, having worked with disturbed children, most new parents do not have the skills to adopt a child with mental issues stemming from abuse.<BR/><BR/>I have never seen any medical procedure accurately portrayed on television - ever. I suffer from allergies and it the danger is always minimized for comic effect. People die from reactions.<BR/><BR/>Not for one minute do I believe anything on TV is sound medically. I have too many relatives and friends in the medical field who cannot watch any medical shows (outside of General Hospital - who knows?) without having a hissy fit about the medicine.<BR/><BR/>No one, unless they have long known about azoospermia or such, would move immediately to IVF. And NO way would any clinic allow someone to move to IVF without a thorough exam. The sperm tests are usually ready way before all of the exams a woman has to undergo.<BR/><BR/>And, as Bea said, it is terribly irresponsible toward all the infertile couples who are actually trying to have a child. The process is long, boring, and hard. (And only a handful of clinics in the world will do single egg retrieval without having done a stimmed cycle.)<BR/><BR/>You see, in order for there to be an egg retrieval, there has to be stimming with some sort of drugs unless you have opted to go with a clinic that specializes in Natural Cycle IVF which is frowned upon in the US in general.<BR/><BR/>Pax,<BR/><BR/>MLOMLOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01779450983499873776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12625691.post-30891645806593120852007-12-08T09:26:00.000-05:002007-12-08T09:26:00.000-05:00I think it's highly irresponsible. Infertile coup...I think it's highly irresponsible. Infertile couples go through a long and detailed decision-making process before deciding on a course of action - be it IVF, adoption, donors, or choosing against children altogether - and this type of storyline reinforces the idea that (to use Sabrina's words) "IVF is all about the thrill of having your own child". (Aside - adoption is also about the thrill of having your own child.)<BR/><BR/>The same can be said for the oversimplified portrayal of the practical, medical side of the process. The whole thing is belitting of what infertile couples actually go through. <BR/><BR/>BeaBeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11877513815828460269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12625691.post-65475422577438570372007-12-07T17:24:00.000-05:002007-12-07T17:24:00.000-05:00Actually, and in the show's favour, they did, in a...Actually, and in the show's favour, they did, in a digression, spend a significant amount of time addressing why a biological child was so important to both of them. Backstory on the patient was that she was adopted, and he wanted her to have one person in the world that looked like her.<BR/><BR/>While I find it hard to understand that mentality, because I don't really have any desire to have children, I know several adopted adults for whom creating a biological family so that they had the blood, and the genetic inheritance and looks (the whole package), was very important. It wasn't necessarily a commentary on their own adoption, as it was they had always grown up wishing they had their grandfather's unruly hair, or someone else was as uncoordinated as they are - small things that indicate relation.<BR/><BR/>The show did cover that admirably, why the desire... it was just a shoddy rush job on the rest of it!Kelly Hillshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15027400439081662699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12625691.post-83471153576168067642007-12-07T12:00:00.000-05:002007-12-07T12:00:00.000-05:00This type of storytelling bothers me because it re...This type of storytelling bothers me because it reinforces many societal conceptions - adoption is a poor second choice to undergoing a complicated (and risky) fertility procedure; the decisionmaking process for fertility treatments is driven primarily by how much the patient wants it; the medical and congenital risks of using ICSI pale in comparison to the thrill of "having your own" child.<BR/><BR/>But I guess choosing to adopt a child doesn't make for good medical drama.SabrinaWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18273102123975115696noreply@blogger.com