It seems this Commissioner for Children has opened a real can of worms for our delectation this summer. Not content to tell us all that as she has accepted her short and chubby shape, so infertile couples should accept their fate, (or try natural methods!) we are now hearing her and her fans tell us that children conceived of IVF may have additional health risks in life, and that is partly why she is opposed to it.
Well for a country that is almost unanimously opposed to the abortion of children with disabilities, for a country that is meant to be so pro family and pro life what exactly are we saying? Did the Commissioner for Children think about how she might have further freaked out couples having hormonal fertility treatment at the moment? Did she think it was up to her or up to the specialists in the field to tell patients of these risks if these really do exist, and most important, if they are significant? Because let’s be honest, life is wonderful but it is one big, long risk.
If we were to follow Sonia’s advice, the following should not have children, because there are increased risks that something might be wrong with their children.
Smokers. The children of smokers (besides the risks while still in the womb) run a much higher risk of being smokers themselves and therefore developing all the life-threatening conditions smoking brings. That eliminates half of our young people who should not have kids.
Older mothers and fathers. Ideally and to avoid all risks kindly have your children between the age of say 15 and 30 to avoid any problems. After age 35, women or women and men have an additional risk of having children with Downs syndrome and other health problems, so no babies after 35 please.
Anyone with cancer in the family. Cancer is hereditary, and there is a strong chance that if you marry and have children with someone who has cancer in the family, there is a chance your kids could have that cancer one day too. So kindly have a genetic test before you marry and have kids, and avoid all partners with any family illnesses that might produce either less than perfect offspring, or children who could be susceptible to certain diseases.
Can we please have some sanity about life, about procreation and about man’s weaknesses. As for mental illnesses, some are hereditary too, so check out any of that in your future spouse before you contemplate children! And since we all have to be perfect these days, and can’t all accept being short and chubby, it is worth checking out the appearance of the in-laws as they age and make sure you think that is tolerable too.
IVF children may have some weaknesses or be more vulnerable. For example male infertility can be inherited I once read, so should a dad not use IVF to have a child in case there is the chance his child might be infertile too? I thought we considered life sacred here. If we do really think so and want to practise it, who of us is perfect? We may not all have a disability but close examination of most of our bodies would reveal a weakness here and there, a predisposition for one illness or another. Does that mean that life is not worthwhile; worth having and enjoying for whatever time we are granted to enjoy this planet and this life?
This country is one big moral muddle. Many people spout moral points of view and don’t think through the implications of what they are saying. When that’s the general public it’s one thing. When it’s someone in an official position representing children’s rights it’s another. Did Sonia think about what children born of IVF would make of her pronouncements? It seems not and she is unapologetic and unrepentant.
I don’t know how sustainable our pensions would be if we only had children in perfect and “natural “ circumstances that the Commissioner for Children advocates. When you consider how many millions of babies still starve to death on this crazy half overfed, half underfed planet, when you think of all the things that can and do go wrong in life both health wise and in every other way, you begin to understand that the “risk” talk of the Commissioner was at best highly subjective and at worst downright insensitive. I doubt we’ll get a public apology but we should...
Living in this dusty polluted island is a health risk too. So is it irresponsible for any of us to have children here?