The Drudge Report links to story in Times newspaper about woman age 65, who recently gave birth. The woman conceived through in-vitro fertilization. If correct, she would be the oldest woman to give birth. While I would never say that it should be illegal for a woman after a certain age to be given this sort of fertility treatment, I think doing so is morally and ethically wrong.
Udate (4pm): Serenity was curious about my views on this matter, so I thought I would provide a few reasons why I have problems with a woman who would want to give birth to a child at age 65:
1. The older a woman gets the more likely she is to suffer complications during pregnancy. This puts both the woman and child at risk.
2. Older women (even early 40s) run a higher risk of having children with genetic disorders, such as Down's syndrome.
3. At age 65, you are heading towards the end of life on earth. Oh sure, a woman could live for another 20-30 years but the chances that she'll be able to fully participate in the child's life decreases. That's not fair to the child or to the people who untimately end up raising the child.
If a woman really wants to have a child at a later stage in life, they should just adopt. There are enough children in the United States and across the world who are looking for a loving home.
I am curious as to why you feel it is morally and ethically wrong for this woman to give birth...just interested in hearing more on your views
Ursula, I'm right there with you. But maybe viewing the situation from a different angle.
Having a child at 65 years of age isn't fair to the child, flat out. When that child graduates from high school the mother will be 83!
Picture being the mother of a teenager while using a walker to try and keep up with your teen. It's not gonna happen. Most younger, able-bodied parents these days can barely keep their teens out of the streets...
Having a child at 65, you have no time to raise the child and get to know them. And you deprive your child of the chance to get to know you as an adult.
Hopefully I don't offend by being myself, but I find this type of thing to be disgusting as, being a gay man, I'm told that I'm not a fit parent simply because I love another man. Yet this woman can swallow a few fertility pills and give birth to a child she won't live to know or take full responsibility for.
It's not fair to the child. And purely selfish on the mother's part.
Should it be illegal? No. But it does leave one (at least me) wondering where our priorities are when it comes to bringing new life onto this planet.