Pregnant With 12 Babies -- Maybe Not As It Seems...

Perhaps everyone jumped the gun a little bit on this story. Earlier today I wrote about a Tunisian woman who was allegedly pregnant with 12 babies and was due sometime soon, perhaps even this month.

However, officials in the woman's home town of Gafsa are saying that the woman may not even be pregnant at all and that she has a history of psychological problems and likely made the whole thing up. Apparently, she has been interviewed by health officials and according to the health officials she does not even look pregnant, let alone being almost nine months pregnant and carrying 12 babies.

All the experts interviewed were sceptical that it was possible, and even if it were done or possible then they were all concerned about the responsibility of such a large number of fetuses being implanted at any one time. It seems that the experts were pretty much on the money on this one. I guess that is why they are experts.

It is thought that not only may the woman at the center of the claims be psychologically unwell, it seems that the story might have been concocted as a means of making money from TV and other media outlets. Perhaps the inspiration being Octomum, Nadya Suleman, who has made hundreds of thousands of dollars off her story and eight little ones. The fact that she is a single mum with 14 kids is also a pretty news worthy story for a number of reasons.

Pregnant With 12 Babies...

I am all for developments in medicine and science that help us live more fulfilled and healthier lives. However, this story gets one wondering, and wondering big time, about pushing the physical boundaries of what is humanly capable and, perhaps more importantly, what is responsible.

A Tunisian woman is reportedly pregnant with 12 babies, six boys and six girls. The 12 babies are the result, it is thought, of an IVF treatment. The woman and her husband are apparently ecstatic about the pregnancy.

I guess I am wondering what are the implications of trying to carry this many babies to term? Particularly, what are the health implications for the mother and the babies she is expected to give birth to.

The couple have been told that she will be able to give birth to all these babies naturally. However, most experts seem to think that this would be impossible. I suppose we will find out on this one when the time comes.

I truly hope that it all works out for her, her husband, and the 12 babies she is carrying.

What's Your Preference?

The miracles of modern medicine and our ability to save and prolong life are an integral part of who we have become, who we are, and who we will be. It is also a matter of some concern, at least, in a medical ethics sense.

The most obvious example of a current concern is the leaps and bounds being made in cloning technology. I am all for development of new technology. Nevertheless, new technology, particularly in medical science, is going to give rise to some interesting ethical and moral debates.

I have just finished reading this interesting story about prospective parents being able to choose not only the sex of their child, but also the child's hair colour, eye colour, and even skin colour. I guess this is like a little bit of pre-natal cosmetic surgery.

The issue here is that some individuals are exploiting advances that were made with more primary concerns involved. Scientists who have developed the ability to identify certain diseases or markers for potential health problems have also, as part of the process, discovered ways to manipulate cells and genes to ensure certain outcomes, like blue eyes.

Medical research is not cheap, so it is of no surprise that the selection of the specialized traits for your baby will also not come cheap. The current estimated cost is USD 18,000. Having had a look at my perfect little bundle of screaming joy on getting home earlier tonight, I can think of other things to put USD 18 K to, rather than a set of hazel coloured eyes or darker skin.

When it is all said and done, to each their own. However, even if I had the money or the ability to choose these traits, I would not do it and I would not have done it in this case. This, for me, is a separate issue from one such as identifying a gene for disease, such as down syndrome. But, that's just me.

IVF & Incest

A story from the Sydney Morning Herald caught my eye, surprising because after my morning swim my eyes are red and watering (that's because men don't cry their eyes just water), oh yeah, the story!

After reading the title "Unwitting incest" and the politically incorrect and morally questionable jokes of my youth such as incest being a game the whole family can play, the story really is a tragedy. It is too bad that I am not a statistician or some kind of mathematical genius in order to work out what the odds are that twins separated at birth and raised by different families would run into each other, fall in love, and get married! I would guess that this is remote.

It seems this remote case is being used to ensure that the names of biological parents in in-vitro fertilization (IVF) programs are recorded on birth certificates. One of the features of IVF has always been that the donors could be anonymous if that was what was wanted. The other issue worth considering is that many people donate because their identity is not revealed. If identities are to be revealed potential donors are going to think long and hard before donating their genetic material. This is particularly the case now where biological parents of children are being sued for material and financial support for children that they never intended supporting.

It would be possible to have a complete medical history of donors without ever having to release their names. Yet, this is lost in the emotion. The debate is no doubt going to be heated but is the remote possibility that tragedies like this will unfold in the future sufficient to see a shift in public policy from protecting the identity of the donors to making it compulsory for all donors to be named?