Perry Hall Mother's Day Superstar: Angie McQueeney

My mom was a single mom when my brother and I were growing up. She had to work numerous jobs to make ends meet. She would always have less to make sure my brother and I had more. All while doing this, she never really let on to how tired she was. My mom is the most selfless woman I have ever known. She always makes sure her children and family are happy before herself. She taught us that having friends and memories were more important than having money.

Two years ago, my mother lost her sister and her mother exactly one month apart. My grandmother died from ALS and my aunt from Leukemia. Two of her biggest fans were gone. She could have gotten mad at the world, but instead, she made sure me, my cousins and the rest of the family only got closer. She has taken on becoming a surrogate mother to my two cousins (who were already like children to her). She has since taken on being the head of our family, all while again, putting everyone before her.

My mom has taught me honesty is the best policy, being positive and happy is much easier than being negative and when you go over the bridge into Ocean City, you roll your windows down, honk your horn and cheer! Because after all, how fun is life if you don’t stop to enjoy it once in a while?

Sources: http://patch.com/maryland/perryhall/perry-hall-mothers-day-superstar-angie-mcqueeney

Mother of two, surrogate grandma to many

Friday (May 1) was the last day for Judy Vallier and her staff at Angel Fire Resort daycare, the end of over 20 years of doctoring bumped knees, listening to tall tales and rooms full of infants to toddlers to 12-year-olds from all over the Moreno Valley.

“Judy went above and beyond,” says Amy Sime, whose son attended daycare for several years.

“She does a really good job of screening kids for signs that they need extra help. Because of her, my son got off to a really good start.” Sime’s son had speech problems and, because of Vallier’s early detection, he was able to get the help he needed through Eagle Nest’s developmentally delayed program.  “I am sure many other kids were helped in the same way by Judy,” said Sime.

“I will miss all the stories the kids tell,” says Vallier. “One boy kept telling us, ‘My mom’s pregnant! My mom’s pregnant!’ This went on for several months. And one day his mom came into the center and we said, ‘Oh congratulations! You’re pregnant?’ And she wasn’t.” Vallier laughs. “I wish I had written their stories down.”

There was always a bulletin-board in the daycare center, which Vallier made into a giant collage of children’s photographs taken during many different field trips.

“They went to the Alpaca Ranch in Mora, the Trout Hatchery... It was a daycare. They don’t have to take the kids on field trips at a daycare, but Judy would,” says Sime. “I didn’t want to put my kids in daycare, but if I had to it was going to be Judy’s program. She was the best second mom I could ask for.”

Vallier has helped raise two generations of Moreno Valley children as well as her own two daughters Robyn, now 40, and Katherine, now 30. “Kimberly Eppler and her brother came to the daycare and now Kim’s kids,” she says.

Watching the community’s children grow up has been a treat for Vallier, “It doesn’t feel like that much time has gone by,” admits Vallier. “But it’s really special to see kids grow up and move, and see what they have done. Some are engineers, etc.”

The closing of the center also means the free summer breakfast and lunch program that Vallier started also goes, “We were feeding about 50 kids,” said Vallier. She partnered with Taos public schools to bring the food up every week.

Though there is sadness behind the center closing, Vallier looks forward to spending time with her grandchildren and giving her family the attention they have lacked in the past. “I would get to the daycare at 5:30 a.m. and leave when it was dark. A lot of times my job came before my family and they have always been understanding.”

Judy’s dedicated staff would come from as far away as Guadalupita and Mora, towing each other’s cars over the pass when there were bad road conditions.

“I will miss my amazing staff, we are a great team,” said Vallier. The staff will be disbanded now for the winter and will continue looking for work around the area, possibly re-applying at the resort in the winter time. Parents in the community are looking to fill the void left by the closure. Several in the community have talked about starting their own daycare, and the resort has a lot of qualified staff according to Director of Human Resources, Christy Germscheid.

 “If someone does start a program we have a several superstars!” Germscheid wrote in an email correspondence with the Chronicle. “We hope to find them other opportunity within the resort but given the option of working with the children, they would choose that over anything else any day of the week.”

Sources: http://sangrechronicle.com/news/article_e6808c90-f43c-11e4-965a-0727c743e1bc.html

On Mother's Day, Actress Twinkle Khanna Raises A Very Valuable Question About Surrogates

As the world celebrates mothers today, actress Twinkle Khanna, known for her humorous and evocative blogs on contentious issues, has asked a question that Indian society often forgets to address — the women who rent their wombs so that a childless couple can experience parenthood.

In a blog for the Times of India titled 'A Bun In A Rented Oven', Khanna, who tweets from her handle @mrsfunnybones, said there should be laws to protect a surrogate.

Khanna recalled her own painful experience of childbirth and how while on a postpartum checkup at a doctor's clinic she ran into a surrogate mother which got her thinking about the merits of surrogacy.

"She may conceive triplets due to the large number of embryos put inside her but she has to proceed with this high-risk pregnancy anyway. If she miscarries at any point, she is usually paid nothing. If all goes well, one fine day, she is cut open, the child is removed and she is never seen again," she wrote.

The first Indian surrogate baby was delivered on June 23, 1994.

"There is at present no law governing surrogacy in India, eventually the activity including renting a womb (commercial surrogacy) is considered legitimate. In the absence of any law the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in 2005 issued guidelines for accreditation, supervision and regulation of ART clinics in India. But the need for legislation became pressing with ICMR guidelines being often violated and reportedly rampant exploitation of surrogate mothers and even cases of extortion," writer ML Dhar wrote in an article published on the government website of the Press Information Bureau.

"India has become a booming centre of a fertility market, partly surreptitiously, and today there are an estimated 200,000 clinics across the country offering artificial insemination, IVF and surrogacy. They call it Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)", wrote ML Dhar.

Khanna argued that a surrogate mother's body would obviously undergo enormous changes during pregnancy and there should be adequate physical, legal and emotional support for her.

"I left the clinic but the image of rooms filled with scores of pregnant women cooped up together till it was harvesting day, did not leave me," she concluded.

Sources: http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2015/05/10/mothers-day-twinkle-khann_n_7250258.html

Bay Area Couple Stranded In Mexico With Surrogate Baby Arrive Home In Time For Mother’s Day

Christy and Haseeb Amireh and their baby Grayson were greeted by family and loved ones at San Francisco International when they arrived home to the Bay Area.

This was the first time family got a chance to meet 3-week-old baby Grayson. He was immediately scooped into the loving arms of family members.

“He was so good on the plane,” said his mom. “I’m just so happy to be on American soil. I love the Bay Area.”

One day Grayson will learn about his parents quest to have a baby and their journey to bring him home — a journey that started in Tabasco, Mexico with a surrogate.

It was a wonderful experience up until the couple was denied a birth certifcate to bring Grayson home after he was born. The couple spent weeks stuck in Mexico.

We first met the Amireh family when they were Skyping from their hotel room in Mexico City. KPIX 5’s story brought attention to the couples desperate plea for help. Family members were worried there was no end in sight.

“I was very apprehensive about seeing them,” one relative told reporter Juliette Goodrich. “I truly thought they were going to be stuck longer than this.”

Surrogacy is legal in Tabasco but a change in the current government administration put a sudden halt to birth certificates for surrogate babies like Grayson.

When we finally met up with the couple in Mexico they showed us Grayson’s ticket to come home: his birth certificate and his passport.

This was the best gift Grayson’s mom could ask for this Mother’s Day – to be home, with her baby and her family.

Sources: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/05/10/bay-area-couple-stranded-in-mexico-with-surrogate-baby-arrive-home-in-time-for-mothers-day/

Israel’s double game on the surrogacy issue

On the one hand, [the surrogacy law] offers a smile and open arms to people interested in surrogacy and projects an image of enlightenment, while at the same time it pacifies opponents.

The disastrous earthquake in Nepal has reopened the surrogacy dilemma: Whether the right to have children applies to Israeli couples who can’t have children naturally, including same-sex couples, and if so, how much responsibility the state and society have to enable them to do so.

The Nepalese earthquake illustrates the need to simplify the law, to ease restrictions and fulfill the public’s needs for surrogacy services – instead of making their lives harder. The surrogates in Nepal who bore the children for Israeli couples were Indian women, brought to the country because Nepal does not allow its own citizens to be surrogates.

Despite the hardship of high financial costs, the issue of conversion for newborns when they arrive in Israel and the welfare of the surrogate, surrogacy abroad remains the only option for certain segments of Israeli society wishing to have children.

Therefore, as it stands today, regulatory procedures for surrogacy in Israel and abroad are out of touch with reality.

The current Israeli surrogacy law, officially called “The Law for Carrying Fetuses,” enables only a minuscule number of surrogate pregnancies. The surrogacy law enables a heterosexual couple to have a child through a surrogate in Israel only when proven that they cannot have children naturally and when both partners are younger than 50. The surrogate mother must be the same religion as both parents, unmarried, yet having already given birth to a child, but not delivered through cesarean section, together with a number of other restrictions.

Few couples are able to find a surrogate under the conditions set by the law. Even when the requirements are met, the couples must appear before an approval committee that does not easily give the go-ahead for surrogacy arrangements.

Additionally, surrogacy proceedings overseas can only be carried out following the procedure established by the attorney-general, which also has serious flaws.

Legislation that does not accommodate the reality we live in does not serve the public. Reality proves the need to use a surrogate to have children is increasing.

Today in Israel, one in four couples cannot have children for reasons of infertility, accident, illness, disability or being in a partnership that isn’t eligible for surrogacy, such as spouses over age 50, interfaith and same-sex couples, alongside tens of thousands of single women and men who want a child but have no partners at all. The surrogacy law was created to serve citizens who are unable to bring children into the world naturally.

While it helps heterosexual couples, the law does not make accommodations for other sectors of society. The circumstances indicate that the situation will not improve – the very people who are in need of a surrogacy law are not being helped. Only a smattering of Israeli couples meet the criteria set by the law, and thus, over the 18 years since it was passed, very few people have benefited from this law.

The question arises: Why did the Israeli legislature pass this law if it is so adverse to the very people who need its support? To be sure, people who can have children naturally have no need for such a law.

The answer is simple: The legislature is playing a double game. On the one hand, it offers a smile and open arms to people interested in surrogacy and projects an image of enlightenment, while at the same time it pacifies opponents by including so many limitations that few people can actually fulfill the requirements and qualify for surrogacy. In this way, the politicians have maintained a clear conscience.

Today, spouses who don’t meet the definition in the law, older couples, interfaith couples, the disabled, singles and same-sex couples who want to bring a child into the world through surrogacy must travel abroad. Unfortunately, the current imbroglio in Nepal is the third crisis I’ve personally been involved in, and it is absolutely scandalous how problematic present-day procedures are for bringing surrogate babies back to Israel.

The Knesset legislated a politically correct law to show how we are an enlightened state that devotes himself to the weak. Now there is a law, but it is virtually impossible to meet its requirements. This is the double-game.

The writer is founder and executive director of New Family Organization, and an expert on family law and fertility.

Sources: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Israels-double-game-on-the-surrogacy-issue-402477

The many names of ‘Mother’

There was only one Mom, but others willingly stood in her place in times of need, J.P. Devine writes.

My real mother was as good a mother as one could hope for. Addicted to shopping, card parties and lengthy phone conversations with her friends, she was the hit of every gathering. “Here comes Vern,” they would say. “Now we’ll have some laughs.” The daughter of a successful Irish immigrant father, she had the gift of gab. Listening was another matter.

Having for 30 years written ad nauseam of my crazy, wonderful birth mother, I thought perhaps this Mother’s Day, I should give some space to those women who came in times of need to fill the empty gaps, when she wasn’t available. I’m sure many of you had one or two. It’s time to remember them. They also serve who simply stand and listen.

SISTER ROSANNA

At the convent across the street from my house, I discovered my first surrogate mothers. After school and all summer long, a failure at sports, I raked leaves with them in the convent yard, planted flowers and helped them hang their laundry out on the lines. I don’t remember all of their names, but for one.

Rosanna, a tall woman with a Gioconda smile.

At morning Mass and at Friday confessions, Sister Rosanna, who helped me with altar boy Latin, would pluck me out of the line to straighten my tie, fix my collar and most annoyingly, brush my unruly hair out of my eyes.

“Now,” Sister would say, pushing me back in line, “You’re a young gentleman.” I miss Rosanna.

After Mom walked into the brick wall of widowhood and menopause at the same time, followed by the war that emptied her life of five other sons, the gaiety that she was famous for, faded.

Life after that was a grand tour of small apartments. I went to three schools in that time, and there was at each, a loving, receptive teacher to fuss over the little boy with hair in his eyes.

MISS GORMAN

Miss Gorman of the Virginia Avenue School. Young and single, with curly red hair, bright green eyes, horn-rimmed glasses and knee-length stockings. I suspect that after a few years, Miss Gorman went into the convent, because during the schoolyard recess periods, she immediately took to straightening my collar, tying my loose shoelaces, and yes, brushing the hair out of my eyes.

She was my first redhead and set that template forever.

RITA

Rita was my favorite sister. She married young to get out of the house and away from fights with my father, who called her “a bird in a gilded cage.”

She was so like my mother. Rita married Arthur, who owned three gas stations. It was an unhappy marriage. I didn’t find out until after her death that she had been a lifelong alcoholic, just like our father.

On hot summer days, I’d sit in her air-cooled basement drinking Pepsi-Cola and telling her stories while she listened to Peggy Lee records and sipped something silvery that I thought was ice water.

EILEEN

Eileen was my oldest sister, a champion swimmer and gifted painter who developed crippling arthritis at age 40 and had to rubber-band the brush to her hand. “Renoir had to do that, you know,” she said. She was right.

I’d visit her often after school and share the family gossip while she painted. Eileen was the very best listener and giver of sage and priceless advice. She died at 55 of breast cancer. Eileen, I miss her.

MARY THE AGENT

Mary wasn’t very good at agenting, but she liked the business and she loved actors. She made me come to her office before I met with casting people, and checked me out, brushed my jacket, inspected my fingernails and handed me a comb.

“You have so much hair; keep it combed.” When she discovered I could write, she set me up with a typewriter and desk in her office. I sold my first script option through her. Thank you, Mary.

SHE

“When I saw you, I fell in love and you smiled, because you knew,” Arrigo Boito wrote.

And so it came to be that I met She who I thought would be my lover and confidant, partner and co-star. One day, backstage before we went on, she straightened my tie, adjusted my collar, wiped the lipstick from my cheek and yes, brushed my hair back from my eyes.

And the beat goes on.

Happy Mother’s Day to you all.

Sources: http://www.centralmaine.com/2015/05/08/the-many-names-of-mother/

Surrogacy & Adoption: Two Baby Girls Join Blended Family of Four

A Castle Rock mom will celebrate her first Mother’s Day with not one, but two baby girls brought to her in very different ways.

Anita and Blake always knew they wanted children but also knew they were going to have to find an alternative way to create their family. They never expected a friend was going to be the answer.

The couple; married seven years; said all in the last year, their dreams have come true. Kaitlyn was adopted nine months ago, and Jillian was born via surrogate in April thanks to their friends, Shelby and Jeff.

“It`s every dream come true,” Anita said.  “As a little girl I remember people saying, what do you want to be when you grow up? Well, I wanted to be a mom. I wanted to be a mom.”

Those dreams were smashed when Anita was just 21 years old. Her doctor told her it was unlikely she’d be able to have children, so she and Blake found another way; through Shelby.

“To me a child is a gift, and to be able to give that to somebody was something I wanted to do,” Shelby said.

But it certainly hasn’t been an easy road. Aside from the financial strain and pressure, Blake and Anita encountered a little resistance to their blended family. “Obviously I say miracle, but at the same time, it is science that`s helped us achieve this goal,” Anita said. “Surrogacy is not approved by the Catholic Church. We have faced some opposition in some ways.”

But, with friends at their side, this family of four is looking to the future and chuckling about the perils of raising two baby girls. They said they hope they can repay Shelby for carrying the best gift they ever received. But Shelby and Jeff said their thanks is found in friendship. “Just seeing Blake and Anita’s face,” Shelby said, “it was well worth it.”

Anita said someday when the time comes both little Kaitlyn and Jillian will know just how special they really are. “Different women gave us amazing gifts and help us become parents and I think that`s exactly how I`ll explain it to them.”

The Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine said they’re seeing an increase in the number of couples seeking a gestational carrier; or surrogate. It’s costly however, between the fertility clinic, compensation for the surrogate and lawyer fees, it can run between $80,000-$100,000.

Sources: http://kdvr.com/2015/05/08/surrogacy-adoption-two-baby-girls-join-blended-family-of-four/

PLATELL'S PEOPLE: Mother, 59, who needs help with grief - not an IVF baby

The death of a child — whatever their age — is a sorrow that no parent should have to endure.

I understand that more than most, having watched my own parents weep at the graveside of their first-born son, my brother Michael, who died of cancer aged 40.

So I feel enormous compassion for the 59-year-old woman who lost her beloved daughter to bowel cancer aged 28, and who made the headlines this week after launching a remarkable legal battle.

The mother — who cannot be named — is fighting for the right to use her dead daughter's eggs, which were frozen and placed in storage before she started chemotherapy.

The woman wants them fertilised and implanted in her own womb so that she can act as a surrogate mother to her own grandchild.

While I have the greatest sympathy for her loss, and understand her desire to bring a part of her daughter back to life, her campaign is surely so very wrong.

Set aside for a moment that, at the age of 59, the chances of her even being able to carry a healthy child to full term are remote.

Forget, too, that British clinics have refused to carry out the procedure, forcing her to seek permission through the courts to have the eggs shipped to America, where doctors have agreed to help.

Surely the greatest barrier to her proceeding is the confusion it would create in any child that resulted — a child that was the offspring of a dead mother and an anonymous sperm donor, carried in its grand-mother's womb.

Modern science facilitates such lunacy without a thought for the consequences and too many doctors are willing to go along with it.

But behind this particular case there also lies the sad story of a parent who is simply unable to come to terms with her grief.

As we celebrate the anniversary of VE Day, we should all be reminded of the stoicism of that generation who were able to cope with death and grief with a dignity that often eludes us today. They lost husbands, wives, sons and daughters, but they carried on.

And in a strange way their losses made them love those who remained all the more; in their sorrow for the dead, they learned to hold the living even tighter. And we were a better society because of it.

Yes, I feel for this mother's heartache. But I hope she can find a way to cherish the memories of the child she lost instead of trying to create a new one in the laboratory.

Socialite Poppy Delevingne, big sister of model Cara, wore a dress festooned with huge red poppies to the Met Gala in New York.

'I'm going as opium,' she quipped. Stupid girl. As the daughter of a former heroin addict mother, you'd have thought even an airhead like her would have known better.

Charles is as bad as Carole

Prince Charles may have lost the race to be the first doting grandparent to meet Princess Charlotte — Carole Middleton beat him again — but he was the first to capitalise on her birth.

Within days, he was cashing in by offering such items as a Happy & Glorious baby blanket for £94.95 through his Highgrove website.

If Carole's Party Pieces business had done that, she'd have been branded a shameless opportunist — and rightly so. It's no different for Grandpa Charles, even if the money does help his charities.

Groping around for rating

Phillip Schofield has defended This Morning's latest headline-grabbing stunt — a topless model filmed, in gratuitous detail, being examined for breast cancer by a male doctor.

'The thing that makes me most proud . . . are the moments when you feel you've genuinely made a difference,' said Schofield.

OK then, Phillip, how about volunteering to be checked for prostate and testicular cancer while the cameras roll?
On second thoughts, don't.

Cameron must take axe to biased Beeb

Just before the polls closed on Thursday night, the BBC delivered its verdict on the three main party leaders' performance. Ed Miliband, they said, had 'exceeded all expectations' and 'grown in stature'.

No such tributes for Cameron, the man who really exceeded expectations.

It was a typically biased and wrong-headed conclusion to weeks of spectacularly one-sided election coverage from the Beeb.

Throughout the campaign, its airwaves and website were even more blatantly Left-wing than usual, with each day's bulletins almost always leading with Labour's latest initiative, or Red Ed's rebuttals to Tory proposals.

Read More Here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-3074330/Mother-59-needs-help-grief-not-IVF-baby.html

Sharing the love: My egg and her tummy for their baby

AFTER going through two IVF cycles, experiencing the trauma of two miscarriages with a surrogate and then her surrogate pulling out, Jill Spears and her fiance Alex were ready to let go of their dream of having a child together.

Then Fernvale mother of three and friend Christine Fraser stepped in and offered to be a surrogate mother for their baby.

Jill was introduced to her egg donor Sarah Cutts through not-for-profit Australian organisation Egg Donation Australia and after some anxious moments in the following months, their baby girl is due any day now.

Five years ago, Jill had moved up to Queensland after meeting her partner, fireman Alex, who she marries in April.

Jill has a daughter, 15, from a previous marriage, but as Alex had no biological children, their dream was to have a child together.

A natural birth was not medically possible for Jill, now 42, who had a hysterectomy due to illness when she was 36.

The couple tried for children through IVF, which proved an expensive exercise.

"Once we had the two miscarriages and our surrogate said she was unable to continue, I just said to Alex this is it, if you want to move on and meet someone that can give you a baby, you need to go," she said.

"I was heartbroken but I thought, no I can't hold him back. And he said, no, I'm with you thick or thin, baby or no baby.

"He said it will be OK, he is the eternal optimist."

One month later her former workmate Christine offered to be her surrogate.

For Christine and her husband, it was the ultimate gift for a friend.

"We've got friends that have had to go through IVF," she said. "Seeing the struggles of our friends and us being so lucky to have been able to have children naturally, we wanted to help."

It was not an easy nine months, with Christine admitting it was a difficult decision for her husband, and going through a scare at 11 weeks, but an experience she has savoured.

"I love a belly full of arms and legs," she said.

"I love feeling the baby move and all of that.

"That's part of the reason why I did it."

Christine, 35, has three girls, 13, 8 and 6.

"All I want to do is give a gift. Even when I was pregnant with my youngest, Caitlin, I said I didn't want any more kids.

"I adore my own children and I have nephews. I am at that stage where I am happy to just have a cuddle.

"My husband would have loved to have had another one. We struggled when we first fell pregnant, he was a little bit out of sorts with it all but he eventually saw too where we are in our lives."

Jill said the three mums would have a special connection for life.

"We've never tried to hide the fact that we are using a surrogate, we've never shied away from it, we're not embarrassed, it's not taboo, it's not a bad thing. This child will be loved just as much as any child that comes into the world naturally. We're pretty lucky," she said.

"Our egg donor Sarah will be a part of our lives forever as well. There's no hiding from our baby, how she was created and where she came from."

Sources: http://www.qt.com.au/news/gift-of-life-a-special-celebration-for-mums/2632881/

This was my girl's dying wish, says mother who wants to give birth to her own daughter's baby

• 59-year-old is attempting to use her daughter's eggs to become pregnant
• She says that her cancer-stricken daughter begged her to 'carry her babies'
• Her daughter froze her eggs when she was diagnosed with cancer aged 23
• Died aged 28 in 2011 but told parents: 'I want you and dad to bring them up'

A woman attempting to use her dead daughter's eggs to become pregnant with her own grandchild told yesterday how the surrogacy was her child's dying wish.

The 59-year-old said her cancer-stricken daughter begged her to 'carry my babies' when she knew she had no hope of surviving the illness.

The bowel cancer victim, described as a 'very intelligent young woman', was desperate to have children and froze her eggs after she was diagnosed with cancer aged just 23.

She asked her mother to act as her surrogate, initially in the hope she would survive, but finally in the understanding she would not live to see her own baby. She died in 2011 aged 28.

In a landmark court case, the mother and her husband, 58, are fighting a decision from the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to stop them from using the eggs because their daughter did not give full written consent.

The woman, who can only be referred to as Mrs M, said her dying daughter told her: 'I want you to carry my babies. I didn't go through the IVF to save my eggs for nothing.

'I want you and dad to bring them up. They will be safe with you. I couldn't have asked for better parents, I couldn't have done this without you.'

If she succeeds it is believed Mrs M would be the first woman in the world to become pregnant using her dead daughter's eggs.

No clinic in the UK has agreed to treat her but a fertility centre in New York is ready to use donor sperm to fertilise the eggs and implant them into Mrs M's womb.

After she was diagnosed in 2005, the daughter, named only as A, was said to have asked doctors if surgery would affect her ability to have children.

Jenni Richards QC for the family, said: 'A had always wanted to have a family, this was incredibly important to her. She told staff [in hospital] that if her womb was affected she wouldn't want to be woken up from surgery.'

Gravely ill, she went through fertility treatment at IVF Hammersmith, West London, to harvest and store her eggs.

In 2011 Miss A realised she would not survive her cancer battle and begged her mother to go ahead with pregnancy, even after her death.

In a statement to the High Court, Mrs M said her daughter told her: 'They're never going to let me leave this hospital, mum. The only way I will get out of here will be in a body bag.

I want you to carry my babies.'

Mrs M said: 'I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that as far as A was concerned, her eggs were ... waiting to be born ... She had suffered terribly and this was the one constant in her remaining years from which she never wavered.'

Miss A signed paperwork in 2008 saying she wanted her eggs to be stored for ten years and to be used for treatment, not research.

Her family said they thought she had signed all the necessary consent forms so her wishes could be carried out.

But Catherine Callaghan, for the HFEA, said: 'The courts should be very reluctant to assume that because this course is what the claimants want, it's what their daughter also wanted.'

Miss A was an only child, meaning her frozen eggs represent her parents' only chance to become grandparents. A ruling is expected later this year.

Sources: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3074323/This-girl-s-dying-wish-says-mother-wants-birth-grandchild.html

Sister-in-law gives gift of life as surrogate mum

Natasha Banks says "words can't describe" the gift her Blenheim sister-in-law has given her by being the surrogate mother of her child.

Natasha, 28, was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2007.

After a hysterectomy, chemotherapy, radiation treatment and brachytherapy, Natasha was told that she would not be able to have children.

On Monday morning her sister-in-law Pam Banks will be induced at Wairau Hospital and give birth to the daughter of Natasha and her husband Marcus Porter.

An embryo was created with an ovum from an egg donor and Porter's sperm.

Natasha, who lives in Cromwell, said had always wanted to have children.

"Pam's doing me a huge, huge favour. It's emotional and words can't really describe what she's doing for me.

"Someone pretty much giving you a life - it's amazing."

Natasha said on Sunday she was feeling a little nervous ahead of the birth.

"I'm not feeling nervous to be a mum or anything - it's just for Pam, to make sure that she's OK."

Pam would be a "very special auntie" to her daughter, Natasha said.

Pam offered to become a surrogate when Natasha was first diagnosed with cancer, and she offered again when Natasha had a hysterectomy.

But it was not until Pam was seven months' pregnant with her youngest child that Natasha decided she wanted to take Pam up on her offer.

Pam said she offered to become a surrogate as a way of helping out Natasha and her husband Marcus.

She has known Marcus since she was 11-years-old, after he went to school with her sister.

Natasha was involved in looking after Pam's three sons and took care of them during school holidays.

"She's just a really good auntie - she's really good to my kids and they idolise her," Pam said.

Being a surrogate was a greater challenge than Pam thought it would be.

She was working part-time and looking after her three sons while dealing with the commitments of being a surrogate.

"I thought it would be a piece of cake. I thought it would be easy after having three of my own but it's very different."

Pam said she didn't feel pregnant until she was about 28 weeks and her size began to affect the way she did things.

"I didn't feel like there was something growing inside of me.

"There's no emotional attachment. It's a completely different attachment - it's not a motherly one."

She had initially considered having a caesarean section for the birth, but decided against it because of the difficulties of the recovery process and to allow Natasha to be there for the birth.

Pam has ruled out being a surrogate again in the future, but said she had no regrets about the decision.

"Being able to give someone something they can't have - that's probably the ultimate thing.

"It's only a small part of my life and a huge part of [Natasha's]"

People's reaction to the news that Pam was a surrogate depended on what she told them.

"My husband loves telling people, 'My wife's pregnant and it's not mine'."

Some people were a little speechless and changed the subject when Pam told them she was a surrogate.

She wanted to share her story to let people know that surrogacy was a normal thing.

"I don't think of it as a huge thing - I'm doing a favour for someone and I don't want a lot of credit for it.

"I just want Tash to have a kid."

Sources: http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/parenting/pregnancy/68226823/sisterinlaw-gives-gift-of-life-as-surrogate-mum.html

Perverse results of ban show we must regulate commercial surrogacy in Australia

How much more evidence do we need that Australia's approach to commercial surrogacy is broken before our leaders act? No one wants knee-jerk reactions to horror headlines, although we cannot ignore stories such as the baby Gammy case, where a convicted sex offender fathered twins in Thailand via a surrogate and then abandoned the twin with Down syndrome. But when senior judges start publicly questioning the outcomes, as Chief Justice Diana Bryant, head of the Family Court, and John Pascoe, chief judge of the Federal Circuit Court, did again last week, surely those in positions of power need to exercise it.

Just this weekend comes further proof that existing arrangements are not working. Despite the cost, the stress and the fact that in some states, including NSW, it is illegal, Australians are among the world's highest users of international commercial surrogacy, a new study suggests. And as Australians pursue their deep desire for a family they find themselves sourcing surrogates in risky places like Nepal, where about 60 women are carrying fetuses for Australians, who are worried for their safety and that of the babies they are carrying in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Our prohibition on commercial surrogacy here and the declaration in NSW, Queensland and the ACT that it is illegal to participate in it elsewhere have failed to deter prospective parents. Though its intention, the protection of vulnerable childless people, surrogates and children is noble and must be pursued, it is failing in its aims. As Chief Justice Bryant points out, with overseas clinics sourcing their donor eggs and sperm globally, children born to surrogates overseas using donor genetic material have no guarantee of knowing about or finding their biological mother or father. Chief Judge Pascoe has spoken of the plight of the surrogates, who may be forced to deliver by caesarean to meet the timetable of the clinic and whose poverty makes their consent to surrogacy questionable. In outlawing commercial surrogacy here, it appears that Australia has kicked the can of exploitation further down in the road to some of the poorest people in the world.

State authorities have shown no appetite for enforcing the law against those who undertake commercial surrogacy overseas, and we do not advocate hounding people whose desire to have a family has driven them to those lengths, but we do ask: if we are not going to prosecute, what are we going to do to protect the vulnerable?

Should we make a criminal background check of the Australian parents a condition of issuing a passport to a child who is the product of surrogacy, or encourage it by promising a pathway to legal parenthood in Australia if they supply one? Should we, as Chief Justice Bryant suggests, refuse to allow parents to enter a country with a child born of surrogacy unless they provide information about the genetic heritage of the biological parents and the identity of the surrogate?

Should we acknowledge the only way we can hope to ensure acceptable standards is to allow properly regulated commercial surrogacy in Australia?

A Federal Parliament standing committee has called for an inquiry into surrogacy. There have been 27 inquiries in the last 30 years. Now is time for leadership.

Sources: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-editorial/perverse-results-of-ban-show-we-must-regulate-commercial-surrogacy-in-australia-20150502-1my4g9.html

Surrogate friends helps 'paralysed bride' becomes a mother

Rachelle Friedman Chapman was preparing to marry the man of her dreams when tragedy struck four years ago.

The then 28-year-old American broke her neck after being playfully pushed into a pool at her own hen's party. She then feared her dreams of starting a family would never come true.

But Rachelle and her husband Chris Chapman are celebrating the birth of their first child, thanks to a friend who acted as surrogate for the couple.

"Everyone!!! Meet Kaylee Rae Chapman born at 10:48 after under 3 hours of labor!! Laurel did amazing and is resting after some hard work. Thank you for the most beautiful gift we will ever receive!" Rachelle posted on Facebook on April 26.

College friend Laurel Humes offered to act as surrogate for the couple after the accident left Rachelle unable to safely carry a baby. The embryo was created via IVF using Rachelle's egg and Chris' sperm before being implanted in Laurel's uterus.

"My husband was a sperm donor for some of our friends, a same-sex couple, and that inspired me to think about surrogacy," Rachelle told People last year.

Laurel said that she was excited to be part of creating the new family.

"When I heard Rachelle was looking for a surrogate, I told [Chris], 'You helped a couple. I'd like to really make this offer and see if she'd be interested in me doing this for her," Laurel explained to TODAY.com.

"I remember how exciting it was to see and hear my son's heartbeat for the first time in utero. It was really special to be able to share that with Rachelle."

One of the first things Rachelle asked after the accident, which left her paralysed from the chest down, was whether or not she would be able to have children. Doctors assured her many paralysed women went on to carry their own baby.

However the couple soon learned that medication Rachelle needed to help control her blood pressure would damage any embryo she carried.

When news of the surrogate pregnancy broke last year, some questioned whether Rachelle's physical disabilities would make it too difficult for her to care for a baby.

Rachelle answered the critics saying she is more capable than people often give her credit for. Also Chris and her own mother, who lives nearby, would raise the child with her.

"No one ever questions the physical ability of a single parent, and yet there are two of us in this effort," Rachelle said. "You have Chris, who is completely able-bodied, and then there's me, who maybe can't do as much as he can - but I can do a lot more than people think.

Rachelle has a customised cot which will make it easier for her to get her baby in and out while in her wheelchair. Photo: Facebook

"It's not going to be easy and we're completely aware that it may not be 50-50. But this wasn't just my decision, it was Chris's, too.

"As a team, as a family, we'll just find a way to work this out. We all want this."

Rachelle, who has gone on to become a motivational speaker since the accident, said she and Chris originally hoped to have two children, but that the expense of IVF meant the couple would probably only have baby Kaylee.

"So my plan didn't work out exactly like it was supposed to, but I'm having a baby and that was what I always wanted," she said.

"You never know what the future holds. You never know what five years down the road our life will be like."

Sources: http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/parenting/pregnancy/birth/68211687/surrogate-friends-helps-paralysed-bride-becomes-a-mother

Religion and State: Nepal Surrogacy, Women of the Wall, and Social Media for Social Change

VOI’s Molly Livingstone is joined in-studio with Joel Katz, editor of “Religion and State in Israel,” to hear about the latest headlines making waves. The Nepal earthquake has brought the issue of surrogacy to the fore, as many male couples travel to Nepal to engage in the process, which is forbidden in Israel. What is the actual law? What does Jewish Law have to say about it?

Then, Gal Sava, CEO of Viva Surrogacy, who fathered two children by this method, details the current condition of Nepalese surrogates and babies, and explains why same-sex couples and singles go to Nepal for surrogacy.

Molly and Joel also discuss the major item about the Women of the Wall reading from the Torah on the women’s side of the partition at the Western Wall for the first time ever — and the chaos and violence that ensued.

Finally, how did social media help one woman finally get a divorce after a four-year battle?

Sources: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/38297/religion-and-state-nepal-surrogacy-women-of-the-wall-and-social-media-for-social-change-israel-radio/#YrSwbjqjKhXBv3qj.97

Reality of commercial surrogacy

Following on from the highly controversial story of Baby Gammy in 2014, a recent roundtable discussion analysed the concept of commercial surrogacy.

The event, ‘Commercial Surrogacy: What Role for Law?’ was hosted by Monash University’s Faculty of Law. Facilitating the discussion were prominent Monash academics, Dr Ronli Sifris, Dr Adiva Sifris, Dr Karinne Ludlow and Associate Professor Anne-Maree Farrell.

Baby Gammy’s story gained international media attention after his biological parents left him in Thailand due to a diagnosis of Down syndrome, while his twin sister returned to Australia.

Dr Ronli Sifris said the roundtable discussion looked at the current Australian law, which prohibits commercial surrogacy, its impact, and whether reform is needed.

“The story of Baby Gammy and the subsequent media storm that followed highlighted the need for law reform when it comes to commercial surrogacy,” Dr Sifris said.

“The group was made up of interdisciplinary scholars and commentators from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives, making the discussion lively and informative.”

The group discussed that even if a woman is not being paid, it doesn’t mean she isn’t being exploited; and conversely, the involvement of money should not lead us to think surrogates are exploited.

Also looked at was the divide between those who think commercial surrogacy should be allowed and those who don’t, and the fact that regardless of our laws many Australians still use commercial surrogates overseas, prompting improvement in our laws to respond to this practice.

Attendees included experts from many academic disciplines, the legal profession, a user support group and government and regulators. Papers from the roundtable will be published in a special edition of the Journal of Law and Medicine later this year.

The event was funded by Associate Professor Farrell’s Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship Regulating Human Tissue Principles Institutions and Politics.

Sources: http://www.healthcanal.com/pregnancy-childbirth/63050-reality-of-commercial-surrogacy.html

Sofia Vergara’s Ex-Fiancé Defends His Lawsuit on Frozen Embryos

Actress Sofia Vergara’s former fiancé, businessman Nick Loeb, said that he has sued Vergara for the custody of two embryos fertilized by both as he intends to fulfill his dream of becoming a father.

Loeb was in a relationship with the Colombian actress from 2010 till May 2014.

Despite the engagement, the couple’s relationship did not culminate in a wedding though both had decided to fertilize embryos to be implanted in a surrogate womb.

Loeb had earlier confirmed to The New York Times about the possibility of him suing the ‘Modern Family’ actress over the issue.

Loeb filed the lawsuit last August in Santa Monica, California, under a pseudonym, and despite his attempts to keep the matter a secret the information was leaked, he told the Times.

Loeb says he intends to become a father, even though he has another partner now, and cannot allow the two lives that they created to “be destroyed or sit in a freezer until the end of time.” “For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed of being a parent,” insists the businessman.

Vergara’s lawyer has denied any intention of the actress to destroy the two embryos and insisted that she wants to keep them frozen.

“Vergara, who has happily moved on with her life, is content to leave the embryos frozen indefinitely as she has no desire to have children with her ex, which should be understandable given the circumstance,” said her lawyer.

The agreement signed between the couple in 2013 did not establish what would happen in case the couple separated, however Loeb insists that there are precedents in which “frozen embryos have been carried to term” against the wishes of one of the partners who fertilized them.

He also said that during their first attempt at freezing the embryos, the implantation of the first embryo failed and the second was miscarried by the surrogate mother.

According to Loeb, after fertilizing two more female embryos, plans to find another surrogate were postponed and when he gave an ultimatum to Vergara, she refused and decided to separate.

“I asked her to let me have the embryos, offering to pay for all expenses to carry our girls to term and raise them,” added Loeb.

“In my opinion, keeping them frozen forever is tantamount to killing them,” insisted Loeb.

Sources: http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2385883&CategoryId=13003

Israeli Dads Welcome Surrogate-Born Baby In Nepal On Earthquake Day

The sperm came from Israel. It was frozen and flown to Thailand, where a South African egg donor awaited. After the egg was fertilized, the embryo traveled to Nepal and was implanted in the Indian woman who agreed to serve as the surrogate mother.
And roughly nine months later, there was a big, bouncing earthquake.

The world of international surrogacy is ... pretty complicated.

The parents of the earthquake baby are Gilad Greengold and his huband, Amir Vogel Greengold. They flew from their home in Tel Aviv to Nepal when they learned that the surrogate mother carrying their son had given birth prematurely.

They arrived on April 25 and were in a cab headed to the Kathmandu hospital when they felt tremors.

"It was superstrong, superscary," Gilad Greengold says. "We're afraid, we're shocked and then we started to walk to the hospital because the driver wouldn't drive us anymore."

They found chaos. Hospital staff had moved everything they could to the open parking lot. People were injured, afraid, uncertain. Then a nurse holding their son spotted the Israeli couple.

"You couldn't understand who's against who, who's alive, who's not alive, what's going on, nothing," Greengold says. "And all of a sudden you see this miracle. And from that moment we didn't leave him, we stayed in the parking lot for four days."

The director of the hospital lent them a car and told them to turn on the heat. There were three other Israeli parents who'd arrived to pick up babies born to surrogates. For four days, the new families huddled together in the car, trying with the hospital staff to provide what the newborns needed.

At one point Gilad found the woman who had carried his new son, Yaari. He gave her chocolates and met her husband and their child. He was touched to meet the couple, but the language barrier made it impossible to communicate with the Indian mother.

Because the Greengolds are a gay couple, they are banned from using a surrogate mother in Israel. So are single parents of either sex. Greengold wishes it were different.

"It is what it is," he sighs. "It's frustrating that we have go all the way around the world to be able to be parents, which is a basic right."

His husband, Vogel Greengold, agrees. But right now he is more grateful than upset with the Israeli government.

"I don't think any other country in the world would do what they did for their citizens stuck in Nepal," Vogel Greengold says. "We are very thankful and it's very important to say that."

Israel did indeed do a lot. It sent a field hospital and search and rescue teams to help overall rescue efforts. The government also sent helicopters to remote spots in Nepal to rescue stranded Israeli hikers. It has brought scores of Israelis home, including some two dozen babies born to surrogates.

Now pressure is building to bring surrogates who are still pregnant to Israel, says Roy Youldous, marketing manager for the Israeli surrogacy company Tammouz.

"I know all parents want them here," says Youldous, although he adds that if things return to normal in Nepal, "I'm not sure what's the right thing for the surrogates."

Eighty percent of Tammouz clients are gay couples. Seventy-five percent are Israelis and the rest are from various places the U.S., Europe, Australia, China. Through Tammouz, parent or parents can chose a Chinese, Indian, Nepali or white South African egg donor countries where the laws allow egg donation and the economics make it attractive to women. Youldous says prices depend on choices parents-to-be make and how smoothly medical procedures go.

The Greengolds say they spend about $70,000 for Tammouz's services roughly half the price for surrogacy in the U.S.

The company had previously operated in Thailand. That's why the fertilization for the Greengold baby took place there. But Tammous closed its business there after several high-profile controversies around surrogacy in Thailand.

Back at the neonatal ward in a hospital just north of Tel Aviv, baby Yaari hiccups through his tiny feeding tube. Gilad Greengold says he and his husband hope to again connect with the woman who carried him. But his thoughts are turning to raising Yaari.

Yaari will go home as soon as he is able to eat on his own. His new room has curtains decorated with forest animals and owls painted on the walls. And some day, his Israeli parents will tell him the story of how his Indian surrogate mother brought him into the world in Nepal in the middle of a devastating earthquake.

Sources: http://www.gpb.org/news/2015/04/30/israeli-dads-welcome-surrogate-born-baby-nepal-on-earthquake-day

Right to life sought for actress Sofia Vergara’s frozen embryos

Actress Sofia Vergara’s former fiance says in an op-ed that he sued the “Modern Family” star to protect their frozen embryos because he longs to become a parent and doesn’t want the “two lives” they created to “be destroyed or sit in a freezer until the end of time.”

Businessman Nick Loeb wrote Wednesday on NYTimes.com that as the child of divorced parents he yearned to have the kind of family depicted in artist Norman Rockwell’s paintings.

He said when he was in his 20s, his girlfriend had an abortion and the decision was “entirely out of my hands.” Later, he married a woman with whom he tried to have children with the help of a fertility specialist. The marriage ended.

When he and Vergara became engaged, he said pushed for children,” but she insisted they use a surrogate. He said initially two fertilized embryos were created. The first one implanted didn’t take and the surrogate miscarried the second.

Two more embryos were created before their relationship ended. He said he was willing to take full parental responsibility if Vergara didn’t want to share custody, but she refused.

The two had signed a form stating that any embryos they created could only be brought to term if both of them agreed. Loeb said the form didn’t specifically say, as California law requires, what would happen to the embryos if they separated.

“A woman is entitled to bring a pregnancy to term even if the man objects,” he said. “Shouldn’t a man who is willing to take on all parental responsibilities be similarly entitled to bring his embryos to term even if the woman objects?”

Sources: http://www.pressherald.com/2015/04/30/right-to-life-sought-for-actress-sofia-vergaras-frozen-embryos/

Commercial surrogacy: Young women born of surrogate mothers share thoughts on intensifying debate

In the wake of baby Gammy, who was abandoned by his Australian parents and is now being raised in Thailand by his surrogate mother, the debate about whether to allow commercial surrogacy is hotting up.

Currently it is illegal in Australia everywhere, bar the Northern Territory, to pay a woman to carry a child for someone else.

Critics say it can exploit vulnerable women and lead to a confused identity for the children themselves.

Advocates of ‪‎commercial‬ ‪surrogacy‬ say there is such a high demand that it is better to allow it in a regulated environment like Australia than force infertile couples into "cowboy" arrangements overseas.

Three young women have told the ABC's 7.30 program how they feel about commercial surrogacy, their own identity and their relationships with their parents and the women who carried them.

Read More Here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-30/surrogacy-girls-reflect-on-commercial-surrogacy-debate/6435408

Why the Nepal earthquake has got India and Israel talking about cross-border surrogacy

Three days after Nepal crumbled under an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, 15 babies were reportedly flown out of the country to Israel. The babies had been born in Nepal to Indian women acting as surrogates for Israeli parents. The reports suggested that though the surrogate mothers had been left behind, Israel was keen to fly them out as well.

It has taken an earthquake to bring into focus an unusual phenomenon: many Israeli gay or single people who want to have children through surrogates are travelling to Nepal to have babies using Indian mothers. The practice has developed in recent months, as a result of changes in Indian Indian surrogacy regulations in 2012.

As is well known, India has been a popular destination for commercial surrogacy since the practice was made legal in 2002. Because procedures in India are fairly safe and cheap, approximately 10,000 foreign couples come to India each year to commission pregnancies.  Since Israel only allows heterosexual couples to use surrogates, many gay people and single parent-hopefuls chose to come to India, which is close enough for the long and repeated visits that surrogacy requires.

For Indian women from poor families, bearing someone else’s child brings in a substantial amount of cash in one go: a surrogate mother can earn Rs two lakhs, with the entire cost of the pregnancy being borne by the commissioning parents.

Changing the rules

Though India has no law on surrogacy, the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2012 issued guidelines stating that foreign nationals would be issued a medical visa in order to commission surrogacy only if “the foreign man and woman are duly married and the marriage should have sustained for at least two years”. The MHA guidelines thus shut out single foreigners and homosexual couples.

The Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill has been hanging fire for the last five years having been first drafted in 2008, revised in 2010 and 2013 but never making it to parliament.

The shift to Nepal

In January, Nepali Times, a Kathmandu-based English weekly, reported that foreigners looking for surrogate mothers and Indian women willing to bear foreign children were trickling across the open border into the Nepal where regulations were murkier and weaker than in India. In December, Nepal’s cabinet decided to allow foreigners to have surrogate babies as long as the mother carrying the child was also a foreigner.

Women’s right and health activists in both India and Nepal say that while surrogacy is needed, the lack of regulation and ill-advised laws will encourage human trafficking. As it is surrogacy is often manages by middlemen, and surrogacy contracts are rarely signed by parties involved – commissioning parents, surrogate mothers, doctors and clinic managements.

The tightening of surrogacy laws in India and the apparent willingness of Nepal to step up to meet the foreign demand has sent the Israelis across the border for babies. But the earthquake may change the equation once again. As The Times of Israel reports, a new debate on Israel’s surrogacy laws took shape this week. Not only did Israel’s Justice Ministry lift entry restrictions on women carrying surrogate babies for Israelis, religious leaders and legal experts are voicing hopes that the disaster will force Israel to amend its laws to allow gay couples to look for surrogates within the country.

Sources: http://scroll.in/article/724077/is-telangana-chief-minister-chandrasekhar-rao-suffering-from-a-bal-thackeray-syndrome

Increasing Number Of Couples Now Using Surrogates To Have, Raise Baby

Describing it as an increasingly popular option for those seeking to start a family, a report released Wednesday by the University of Washington found that a growing number of couples are choosing to use a surrogate to have and raise their baby.

“According to our research, more and more couples are seeking out surrogates to carry their child to birth and then to continue looking after it from infancy through adolescence,” said lead researcher Megan Tooley, adding that many parents look for a non-smoking, non-drinking surrogate who is in good health and who also possesses positive values and personality traits that can be instilled in their child over the next 18 years. “Parents will often spend considerable time vetting a surrogacy candidate’s age, lifestyle, genetic predisposition to disease, complications during previous pregnancies, finances, place of residence, disciplinary style, and school district.

Once they’ve made a selection, they’ll typically check in with their surrogate at key points throughout the pregnancy, birth, and childhood until their son or daughter has grown into a young adult.” Tooley went on to note that in many cases, surrogates often become too attached to the child and have difficulties giving it up after carrying it to term, raising it, and then sending it off to college.

Sources: http://www.theonion.com/article/increasing-number-of-couples-now-using-surrogates--38509

Chief Justice Diana Bryant confident commercial surrogacy will be legalised in Australia

Thai surrogate mother Pattaramon Chanbua with baby Gammy, who has Down syndrome and was rejected by the prospective parents.

The head of the Family Court is confident Australia will legalise commercial surrogacy and this will help defeat the "dark side" of an international trade that leads to exploitation and the tragic rejection of children such baby Gammy in Thailand.

Delivering a lecture on Wednesday, Chief Justice Diana Bryant painted a picture of the 21st century family and the moral and ethical challenges posed by the technological possibilities of the era.

"In Denmark there's a huge industry in Danish sperm, which they market as Viking sperm," Chief Justice Bryant told the Affinity Intercultural Foundation audience in Sydney.

While India had egg banks, it had imported eggs from Ukraine and Georgia for would-be parents wanting a "more Caucasian-looking child".

Commercial surrogacy is outlawed in all Australian states and territories except the Northern Territory, and for residents of NSW, Queensland and the ACT it is illegal to enter such contracts overseas, but couples desperate for children persist in breaking the law.

"Twenty-five per cent of the international surrogacy arrangements in the world are contracted by Australians," Chief Justice Bryant said. This amounted to about 1000 babies last year – "because we do not allow commercial surrogacy in Australia".

It led to distressing cases: the Australian couple who wanted a girl and refused to take her twin brother from their Indian surrogate; another couple who rejected Gammy, a boy with Down syndrome, and took only his twin sister from Thailand.

Thailand outlawed surrogacy deals for foreigners in reaction to the Gammy scandal, but this only served to push the "business" deeper into the Third World and countries such Nepal and India, the judge said.

She said she was not the public face of legalising commercial surrogacy in Australia. But Chief Justice Bryant called for an urgent federal inquiry and said Australia could create a "moral and ethical underpinning" for commercial surrogacy, with legislation that protected would-be parents and surrogate mothers but, most importantly, the children born of their contracts.

"We are allowing the birth of children [overseas] who will never know their biological mother and have no means of finding out who that might be," Chief Justice Bryant said.

Their right to know their biological origins was covered by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, but Australia was being "extremely irresponsible".

The United States had good arrangements for commercial surrogacy. If Australia followed, some parents would still travel to Asia to take the cheaper option, she said, but they could be prevented from bringing the children home unless they could meet minimum requirements, including proof of the babies' genetic origins.

The overseas clinics were businesses "and they will change their business model to ensure it's compliant with what Australia requires", Chief Justice Bryant said.

 "As a nation, we haven't grappled with the problem ourselves, and these are our citizens who are causing the problems."

She was "passionate" about driving legislative change and she told Fairfax Media she believed "it will happen here and I think it will happen internationally".

"There is a very dark side to this and, if left to their own devices, people can be quite inhumane and quite unethical about what they do."

Sources: http://www.smh.com.au/national/chief-justice-diana-bryant-confident-commercial-surrogacy-will-be-legalised-in-australia-20150429-1mvzn1.html

Obama Needs a Baltimore Mother

A Baltimore mother saw her son on television news throwing rocks at the police.  She rushed to the scene, beat on her son, and demanded to know, “What the f*** is wrong with you?”  She angrily pursued her son as he fled the scene.

This mother has quickly become a national heroine.  She has become a great example of motherly concern, love, and discipline that has too often been absent from the homes and communities of our nation.  Thousands of women like her could quickly turn around many of the societal ills of our nation.

What if this mother went to the White House, demanded the same of President Obama, and disciplined Obama until he stopped trashing our nation?  It is not too late for a surrogate mother to be of some great help to Obama and a great benefit to our nation.

Sources: http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/donald-r-may/2015-04-29/obama-needs-baltimore-mother#.VUdAQo6qqko

Surrogate mum: “I feared for my baby after her new parents neglected her – but I couldn’t get her back

When Josie* made the incredible decision to become a surrogate, she could never have guessed her good deed would turn into a nightmare.

Like hundreds of women in the UK, mum-of-one Josie wanted to help other couples have children.

But sadly, her surrogacy experience ended bitterly when, just days after giving birth, she visited the new family to find the baby, Aimee*, hadn’t been fed or changed.

Worried for Aimee’s safety, Josie refused to sign a parental order – which would legally transfer her right as mother to the intended parents – and launched a bid for custody.

Shockingly, after going through the family court, Josie discovered the couple had lied about their background – they’d told her they had three children, but she discovered they’d also had another three children, now grown up, who’d been taken into care more than 20 years ago.

SURROGATE MUM: "I WAS OFFERED £6K TO ABORT DISABLED BABY - BUT I REFUSED"

Josie was horrified, but to make matters worse, the court ruled she couldn’t adopt Aimee because it would be "emotionally damaging" for her five-year-old daughter.

Aimee has since been adopted by another family.

Full-time mum Josie, 28, says: “Finding out the parents lied to me was devastating, I felt betrayed.

"I’d put my trust in them and felt it was my fault Aimee hadn’t been taken care of properly.

"I’ll never be a surrogate again, there need to be stricter regulations and laws brought in to make background checks on intended parents compulsory to ensure the child is going to be safe.”

Sources: http://www.closeronline.co.uk/2015/04/surrogate-mum-i-feared-for-my-baby-after-her-new-parents-neglected-her-but-i-couldnt-get-her-back#.VUcaOI6qqko

Dozens of Israeli Gay Couples Seeking Surrogacy in Nepal Are Evacuated Home

Two emergency flights return same-sex couples, some of whom are new parents, to Israel after a devastating earthquake near Katmandu.

Two planes from earthquake-ravaged Katmandu carrying dozens of babies, expectant mothers, and same-sex Israeli couples blocked from surrogacy at home has landed safely in Israel, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Landing in Tel Aviv, a small jet operated by Israel's national emergency-response agency carried five Nepalese-born babies to their new home, while the larger Israel Air Force Hercules aircraft landed with dozens more babies, surrogate mothers and same-sex couples who had gone to Nepal for surrogacy services.

According to the Jerusalem Post, 26 infants and their Israeli fathers were "trapped without shelter, heat, incubators (in some cases), baby formula or sanitary facilities. Heavily expectant mothers were also left without protection or provisions."

Religiously influenced law in the Jewish state forbids same-sex and non-married straight couples from using surrogacy as a means of starting a family with children. Many nations ban surrogacy altogether.

Once India was the home of Israeli surrogacy abroad. But over time, the Indian government tightened regulations and made it increasingly difficult for foreigners to work with Indian surrogate mothers inside of the country. Now, an Israeli company called Tammuz International Surrogacy frequently sends couples locked out of surrogacy in Israel to Nepal because it claims that country is the safest destination. A spokesman for the Tel Aviv-based firm told Agence Free Presse that a government minister welcomed the returnees home.

An op-ed published by the editorial board of the Jerusalem Post says now is the time for Israel to change its policies preventing same-sex and unmarried couples from using surrogacy at home. USA Today reports that a bill proposing just such a change is progressing through Israel's legislative process.

Sources: http://www.advocate.com/world/2015/04/28/dozens-israeli-gay-couples-seeking-surrogacy-nepal-are-evacuated-home

IAML Surrogacy Symposium

The IAML has gathered 20 of the leading professionals from around the world to present and facilitate in-depth discussions regarding the current status of the law and ethics surrounding Assisted Reproductive Technology Services. Over the course of this 1.5 day conference, representatives from throughout Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Argentina and the United States will provide points of view from attorneys, academics, the judiciary and public offices.

A pre-symposium reception has been arranged at Charles Russell Speechlys, London on Sunday, 17 May from 6:00-8:00 pm. The symposium runs from 9:00-5:30 on Monday and 9:00-12:30 on Tuesday. Monday’s lunch will be provided onsite and cost is included in the registration fee of $150 USD. Registration fee increases to $175 USD after April 15, 2015.

Sources: http://www.familylaw.co.uk/news_and_comment/iaml-surrogacy-symposium#.VUcSgo6qqko

Marriage referendum

A chara, – Carol Coulter writes: “At the moment surrogacy is not legal in Ireland” (“Why surrogacy has nothing to do with same-sex marriage”, Opinion & Analysis, April 27th). This is incorrect. Surrogacy is neither forbidden nor regulated by Irish law. There is no Irish legislation to cover the legal issues arising from surrogacy, which is perhaps the meaning she intended.

She also writes: “[Surrogacy] has nothing to do with the right of same-sex couples to marry.” This is true, if we set our standard as stated in the referendum proposal, “Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex.” Then it is just as true to say that conception and birth of a child have nothing to do with the right of a man and woman to marry.

In the proposed scenario, one or more persons without distinction as to their sex may avail of surrogacy or adoption to acquire a child. A married man and woman usually have an extra possibility, to conceive a child just between themselves. This inequality arises from human nature. In this, equality cannot be provided by any positive human law. Childlessness may bring deep sorrow. Acquisition of a child, however, is not a right that anybody has.

Ms Coulter writes: “However, there is no evidence to link surrogacy to gay marriage.” On the contrary, apart from adoption or fostering, a gay couple has no option other than surrogacy in order to acquire a child.

Ms Coulter rightly says of a number of European countries which ban surrogacy: “There are good reasons for their concern about the use of surrogacy in family formation, particularly in relation to the possible exploitation of the surrogate mothers and inattention to the rights of children to their identity.”

I would add also concern about possible creeping commodification of human procreation. It is vital that our Government keeps those good reasons to the fore as they consider the matter. – Is mise,

PÁDRAIG McCARTHY,

Dublin 16.

Sir, – The Constitution is a living instrument, designed to evolve the societal norms of the day. Society has not remained the same since 1937.

If we were to stick to the society envisaged in 1937, we would still have Magdalene laundries for single mothers, no separation or divorce, no protection of women’s rights against domestic violence in the home, women would have to leave public service employment when they got married, and it would be illegal to be a homosexual. While I agree with Hugh Gibney (April 28th) that civil rights for LGBTI people were not envisaged in 1937, that cannot be taken to mean that LGBTI people were not deserving of them in 1937 and are not deserving of them today. – Yours, etc,

JEFF WALSH, LLB

Dublin 15.

Sir, – The notion is around that some in favour of traditional marriage have an outdated, idealised vision to recover a golden age of traditional marriage and the family. I doubt it. What is more likely is that not a few are struggling to hold on to what we believe is the God-given nature of marriage, but that those who oppose this are looking for a golden age of freedom from all religious or moral inhibition and restraint. – Yours, etc,

MICHAEL AUSTIN,

Gorey, Co Wexford.

Sir, – Having been in a different-sex marriage for 35 years I propose that the marriage referendum be referred to as the marriage equality referendum. All this emphasis on one aspect of a relationship is driving some of the No campaigners into a frenzy of misplaced piety. – Yours, etc,

LIZ CADDEN,

Monea,

Co Fermanagh.

Sir, – As an Irish citizen viewing the upcoming same-sex marriage referendum from the distance of continental Europe, I feel obliged to point out that no matter what the outcome of the referendum, there will be great disappointment on the losing side. For that reason I would hope that the rhetoric which will follow the result will be neither triumphalist nor go as far as to imply that voters lacked the intelligence to make the “correct” decision.

Whatever the outcome on the day, it will have been the decision made by the majority of those who actively engaged with the issue as citizens by entering the polling booth.

Campaigns on issues as divisive as same-sex marriage have the tendency to often bring out the worst on both sides; for the sake of our nation’s future let it be hoped that the validity of the referendum’s outcome be accepted by one and all and not be the cause for further disconnect between the various strata of Irish society. – Yours, etc,

STEPHEN HEFFERNAN,

Potsdam,

Germany.

Sir, – Through the miasma of conflicting words in the marriage referendum debate comes clarity in John Donne’s words – “For God’s sake hold thy tongue and let me love”. – Yours, etc,

NORA SCOTT,

Dublin 14.

Sir, – I share Sarah Bailey’s anger (April 28th) at the referendum posters of the “A child needs a mother AND a father” ilk. As a widowed single parent these posters make me extremely angry at those who paid for them and put them up.

I believe the referendum is about marriage equality and that issues like this are completely irrelevant to the real issue. But I shall revel in a resounding Yes vote, not just for the correct reason, but also to tell these terrible people that they are wasting their time demeaning families like mine. Single parents and their children are equal already and the vast majority of the country accepted that long ago.

Maybe we should put some of these posters in our museums to remind ourselves how far we have come. – Yours, etc,

ANDREW DOYLE,

Bandon,

Co Cork.

Sources: http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/marriage-referendum-1.2192272

Israel Evacuating Babies Born to Surrogate Mothers in Nepal

Israel has begun evacuating surrogate children and their Israeli parents from Nepal in the wake of the earthquake which has killed almost 4,000 people.

Families of 26 babies born to Nepalese women on behalf of Israeli parents appealed to Jerusalem for assistance, with the first three families arriving in Israel yesterday night.

Israeli law only allows for heterosexual partners to pursue surrogate pregnancy in the country, forcing single people and same-sex partners to go abroad to find surrogate parents.

The Times of Israel reported that the Israeli justice ministry also approved a request to receive four Nepalese surrogate mothers carrying babies for Israeli couples.

Approximately 100 surrogate mothers in Nepal are pregnant with Israeli children, according to the Jerusalem Post. Tel Aviv-based company Tammuz Surrogacy International said its 52 Israeli clients were awaiting evacuation in hotels or the Israeli embassy in Nepal's capital Kathmandu.

The Israel Defence Forces said an 80-member humanitarian aid delegation would travel to Nepal today and would be joined by around 170 military personnel who will set up field hospitals for those injured in the earthquake. Some 150 Israeli travellers are also believed to be missing.

A bill to allow gay couples to go through surrogacy passed its first reading in the Knesset in October but has yet to be adopted into law.

Surrogacy is illegal for domiciles in Nepal but the country remains a popular destination for foreigners seeking to have babies. The process can cost as little as $6,000 in Nepal compared to up to $150,000 in western countries.

All forms of surrogacy are illegal in many European countries including France, Germany and Italy, while others such as the UK prohibit commercial surrogacy, where the mother is paid for bearing the intended parents' child.

The death toll from the earthquake currently stands at more than 3,700 and is expected to continue rising. More than 6,500 people were injured by the 7.9 magnitude earthquake which struck about 50 miles outside Kathmandu on Saturday and prompted avalanches on Mount Everest.

Sources: http://europe.newsweek.com/israel-begins-evacuating-surrogate-families-nepal-325491

Israelis visiting Nepal to adopt babies from surrogate mothers wait patiently for assistance.

Yossi Filiba is stuck in Nepal.

He is a single father from Tel Aviv who was in Nepal for the birth of his three-week-old surrogate daughter, Na’ama Filiba, along with his brother. They are staying in a hotel in Patan, located in the south-central part of the Kathmandu Valley.

Filiba says Saturday was peaceful until about noon, when his third floor hotel room started violently shaking.

“Instinctively I ran, grabbed my baby, and ran down the three flights of stairs and ran out to the open area,” he described. “What happened – it kept moving, it was strong.

Very strong. It was scary.”

Filiba says there were walls falling down around them and they could see cracks forming in the buildings.

“There was uncertainty, there was a lot of chaos, and there was fear,” he said. The hotel occupants stayed outside for five hours, afraid to go back into the building while the aftershocks were still going on.

Two days after the earthquake, he says, there are still aftershocks and it’s difficult to go outside – it’s cold out and he’s with a baby. They spend most of the day sitting on the ground floor and running in and out of the building when they feel shaking.

The hotel is running on a generator and has sporadic electricity. Filiba says he watches Israeli news when he can and they are waiting to come home. He hopes they will be able to come home on Monday, when more planes are scheduled to come. As he mentions the planes being sent over from Israel, he notes that the feeling of unity when disaster strikes fills him with pride.

Filiba is with two other Israeli families in the hotel: one is still waiting for their baby to be born, the other family is with newborn twins.

The surrogate mothers are not with them in their hotel but he stresses that he would be very happy to see the pregnant women brought over to Israel. “The hospital didn’t collapse but the inside is damaged and not fit for giving birth,” he says.

Despite the magnitude of the quake, Doron Mamet- Meged, CEO of Tammuz International Surrogacy, reported that he is in touch with all of his clients, 52 Israelis, including Filiba, who are currently staying in hotels or at the embassy. As of Sunday evening, some of the new families are on their way home, others are awaiting flights back to Israel.

Tammuz International Surrogacy is a Tel Aviv-based company that assists Israeli couples, both homosexual and heterosexual, and single parents in fulfilling their dreams to become a family with the help of surrogate mothers from Nepal. The recent earthquake, ranking 7.8 on the Richter scale, put those families, their newborn children and the pregnant women at risk.

Of the approximately 100 pregnant surrogate mothers to Israeli children in Nepal, some 20 of them are towards the end of their pregnancies and their fate is still unclear.

According to Mamet-Meged, the Nepalese infrastructure is not functioning properly and if the women go into labor and have any complications, they and the unborn children will be at risk.

The Justice Ministry announced Sunday afternoon that they have not ruled against the option of allowing the pregnant mothers passage into Israel to give birth in a safe environment. The ministry noted that there are policy, health and legal hurdles to overcome and they are assisting the various ministries in dealing with the issues so as to allow those women who seek passage entry into Israel.

The Interior Ministry, also announced on Sunday afternoon that the Justice Ministry supports minister Gilad Erdan’s position to allow the heavily pregnant women into Israel, allowing them access to a safe birthing environment.

As of Sunday evening, there are reports that some of these women will be allowed into Israel to give birth. Mamet- Meged says he is still unable to bring over the approximately 20 surrogate mothers in his employ who are due to give birth very soon.

Sources: http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/There-was-uncertainty-there-was-a-lot-of-chaos-and-there-was-fear-399295

Amazing Shelter Cat Becomes Surrogate Mom to 4 Abandoned Newborn Chihuahua Puppies

When a woman found a box of puppies on the hood of her car with a note that explained they were born a few days prior and that their mother had died, she immediately rushed the pups to the Humane Society of Utah. Puppies this young rely on their mothers not only for meals, but also for the warmth and care that they need to thrive. Without these three things, the poor pups were doomed to an untimely end.

Thankfully, the kind people at the Humane Society knew exactly how to care for these newborns and placed them in the care of a surrogate cat mom.

While it might sound a little strange that these vet professionals intentionally placed puppies with a cat, as you can see in this video, when it comes to motherly instinct, species is hardly a dealbreaker.

Kit the tabby cat recently gave birth to a litter of kittens and was able to nurse the pups and happily nuzzles and grooms them as if they were her own! Thanks to the team of compassionate people and this wonder-cat-mom, these little puppies are sure to grow up nice and strong!

Sources: http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/amazing-shelter-cat-becomes-surrogate-mom-to-puppies/

Kim Kardashian’s Fertility Struggles: Will She Be Using A Surrogate?

If you think you know more about Kim’s reproductive issues than you should, well, you aren’t the only one! The reality star opened up to Matt Lauer in a new interview and discussed her struggle to give North West a sibling, and that surrogacy is on the table.

Kim Kardashian, 34, is over the moon when it comes to being a mother, but she isn’t satisfied with just parenting one child. The reality star sat down in an interview for the Today show on April 27 and told host Matt Lauer that doctors recommend that she use a surrogate.

Kim’s uterus is the talk of the town these days. The reality star has been an open book when it comes to her fertility issues, I mean she’s even let cameras witness her gynecologist appointment! That being said, she’s getting candid again about her struggle to conceive.

“They say if you’ve been trying [to have a baby] for a year, then you usually need a little bit of help,” Kim told Matt. “I had a tough delivery, so I understand what my challenges are. I mean, I’m seeing the best doctors and I’m trying to do everything I can to make that happen.”

Kim Kardashian: How Bruce Jenner Walked Us Through His Transition
North’s mom isn’t ready to give up on the dream of expanding her brood.

She went on to say, “They have recommended to me to get a surrogate, and I would like to hold out a little bit longer, and still try. I still have hope, so I’m just going to keep on trying. Never say never. I mean, we haven’t talked about adopting.”

Kim Admits Baby Making Sex Is Exhausting
Just to refresh your memory, Kim and Kanye have been tirelessly having sex in order to conceive a sibling for Nori. “I’ve been having sex 500 times a day,” Mrs. West revealed on an episode for season 10  of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

It didn’t stop there, we also saw Kanye visit Kim on one of her photo shoots, so the pair could have sex in a bathroom because the time was right! Well, hopefully one of these days all their hard work pays off!

Sources: http://hollywoodlife.com/2015/04/27/kim-kardashian-surrogate-fertility-struggles-interview/

Clydesdale foal 'Wee Fighter' saved by surrogate mum Nanny McPhee

A Clydesdale foal has earned the name Wee Fighter after being saved from an uncertain future by surrogate mum Nanny Mcphee.

The foal was born to mare Mischief on March 25 at Blackstone Farm in Cumnock, Ayrshire.

However, after a few days it became clear that mare wasn't producing enough milk - putting her foal at risk of starvation.

Owner Mags Duncan attempted to bottle-feed the youngster but her attempts were unsuccessful with Wee Fighter rejecting all alternative methods of feeding.

Keen to protect such a rare breed, Mrs Duncan launched a facebook appeal asking for help in finding a surrogate for the starving foal.

After what Mrs Duncan described as an "overwhelming" response three possible surrogates were located.

The first two mares proved an unsuccessful match but undeterred by the lack of success Mrs Duncan's husband John travelled seven hours to Gloucestershire to collect the aptly named Nanny Mcphee in the hopes of finally finding a surrogate.

The pair met last Saturday and despite the horses being of different breeds the match was successful with the filly feeding almost immediately.

Since then the pair have been inseparable with Nanny Mcphee embracing her role as surrogate mother to Wee Fighter.

Mrs Duncan added: "If we hadn't got Nanny Mcphee on Friday the foal would have been dead by the Monday. We're very lucky"

Sources: http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/clydesdales-a-wee-fighter-204780n.124402685

Woman Paralyzed at Bachelorette Party Becomes a Mom Thanks to Surrogate

Rachelle Friedman Chapman was paralyzed when a bridesmaid playfully pushed her into a pool at her bachelorette party five years ago, causing irreversible damage to her spinal cord.

But today, thanks to a surrogate, she's a new mom. Kaylee Rae Chapman was born at 10:48 a.m. Sunday, weighing 7 pounds, 11 ounces, Chapman told ABC News.

Even though Chapman knew the baby was on its way, because she wasn't the one who was pregnant, the birth was a bit of a shock, Chapman told ABC News, adding that she'd been up since 4 a.m. "Then, all of the sudden, boom. There's a baby."

Chapman, 29, injured her sixth vertebrae in the accident in 2010, making her a quadriplegic. She said she still has the use of her shoulders and arms, but she lacks dexterity in her fingers. So, Chapman will be able to hold Kaylee, but changing her diapers and clothing her will be a learning experience.

"Not a matter of if, it's a matter of when," Chapman said.

Chapman met Laurel Humes, who carried Kaylee for nine months, back in 2004 at East Carolina University, where she also met her husband, Chris. The two clicked, but didn't stay in touch.

Then, Humes saw Chapman's blog post about wanting to have a baby through a surrogate because her spinal cord injury left her with low blood pressure. The blood pressure medication could hurt a developing fetus, but forgoing the medicine could be dangerous, too. Then, "out of the blue" Humes sent Chapman a message that she'd been thinking about surrogacy.

Humes lives a few hours away, but the Chapmans visited her for milestone doctors' appointments, like hearing the baby's heartbeat for the first time. On Sunday morning, she went into labor. Three hours later, Kaylee was born.

"Laurel did amazing and is resting after some hard work," Chapman told her Facebook followers. "Thank you for the most beautiful gift we will ever receive!"

And Chapman said they wouldn't have Kaylee without the organization Surrogacy Together, a group that works to make surrogate pregnancies more affordable, and donations from their GoFundMe page.

They will probably head home to Knightdale, North Carolina, on Tuesday, where Kaylee can meet her furry siblings, dogs Peedee and Roger.

Sources: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/woman-paralyzed-bachelorette-party-mom-surrogate/story?id=30624955

Sperm Policy For Ghana Soon

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, MGCSP, is to develop a policy to regulate the sale of sperms and fertilisation of eggs.

The move is to help bring sanity into the Assisted Reproductive Technologies, ART and Surrogacy industry in the country.

A Deputy Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Mrs. Dela Sowah said this at the opening of the 2nd National Conference on Infertility in Accra.

Mrs. Sowah encouraged Ghanaians to consider adopting abandoned children as an option to finding a lasting solution to their infertility needs.

The chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Dr. Opoku Onyinah observed that infertility has not been given the needed attention it deserves despite the numerous challenges confronting childless people in the country.

He appealed to government not to delay in its intention to develop a policy to regulate the ART industry saying, this is the key thing to do as a nation to help people living with infertility.

Sources: http://www.gbcghana.com/1.3237013