Olivia Pratten succesfully sued the B.C. government to force changes in the B.C. Adoption Act to allow the offspring of sperm, egg and embryo donors to find out who their donors are. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)The B.C. Supreme Court has struck down provincial legislation that protected the identity of sperm donors. The court also prohibited the future destruction of any records and ordered the province to draw up new legislation in line with the Charter of Rights.
Lawyers for Olivia Pratten had argued that the existing rules discriminated against the children of sperm donors. The court ruled in her favour on Thursday.
"It is a total win for us. No more anonymity. Donor offspring have been recognized as having the same rights as adoptees in B.C.," said Pratten after the ruling was released.
In the decision, Justice Elaine Adair wrote that the rights of the child must be protected in sperm donation, much like they are protected in cases of adoption in B.C.
"I conclude, based on the whole of the evidence, that assisted reproduction using an anonymous gamete donor is harmful to the child, and it is not in the best interests of donor offspring," wrote Adair.
"I grant a permanent injunction, in accordance with these reasons, prohibiting the destruction, disposal, redaction or transfer out of B.C. of gamete donor records in British Columbia," she wrote.
The ruling gives the province 15 months to enact conforming changes to the B.C. Adoption Act that are in line with the Charter of Rights.
Pratten was conceived through sperm donation. The 28-year-old journalist fought for years to learn her biological father's identity, but was eventually told the doctor legally destroyed the records in the 1990s.
She then decided to sue the B.C. government on behalf of other children who still have hopes of learning their parentage and to ensure donor records are preserved indefinitely and that children can have access to the records when they turn 19.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Sperm donor anonymity overturned by B.C. court
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Stress During Pregnancy can Affect a Child's Health
Vijai P. Sharma, Ph.D"Seeds of health are planted even before you draw your first breath, and that the nine short months of life in the womb shape your health as long as you live." These words of Sharon Begley and William Underhill in a Newsweek article Shaped By Life In The Womb eloquently describe the importance of the gestational period on an individual for his or her life-time.
Some scientists now believe that the effect of the life in the womb on emotional and physical health may be greater than that of the genes we inherit. The conditions in the uterus, ranging from mother's hormones to the nutrients supplied through the placenta, may significantly determine how a baby's liver, heart, kidneys, brain and mind will function during the adulthood.
In the Seventies and the Eighties, we learned that if mothers during pregnancy ingested such substances as the alcohol, cocaine, caffeine, and tobacco, they could harm their babies' physical and mental health, notably, lower the birth weight, height, and head circumference, and impair attention, memory, intelligence, and temperament. Likewise, we have known for a while that if a mother experiences excessive stress or suffers from an emotional trauma, her baby may be born with certain deficiencies which may persist into adulthood and cause more complications.
In the Nineties, we are beginning to understand how the stress and mother's emotional state affects her unborn baby. Take, for example, a stress hormone called Cortisol. When we are under stress, we manufacture cortisol. If you experience occasional stress, cortisol doesn't create a problem. However, if you remain under stress for a long time, cortisol may be too much for your body to handle. Cortisol can cause high blood pressure problems. A mother's excessive Cortisol can reach the baby in the womb and raise the baby's set point for blood pressure forever. This baby, when reach adulthood, is likely to suffer from high blood pressure.
Many mothers during pregnancy face extremely stressful circumstances. They are confronted with such unhealthy situations as the break-up of their marriage, physical or emotional abuse, open infidelity or simply disinterested and uninvolved partners who prefer staying out to staying home and supporting their pregnant partners. These mothers experience constant stress, shame, loneliness and, sometimes, clinical depression during pregnancy or after giving birth.
The babies of these mothers are exposed to a variety of stress hormones, toxins and malnutrition inside the womb. Some of these babies will continue to live in the same or often worse noxious environment. No wonder some will later become hyperactive, underactive, inattentive, or temperamental and exhibit poor self-control. Many of these children are later medicated with Ritalin or antidepressants. Not everyone understands that the problems a child exhibits today may have resulted from events that occurred several years ago.
Most of the gynecologists and obstetricians I have talked with are psychologically sensitive and recognize when their patients need psychological support. However, when referred for therapy, many feel embarrassed and hardly ever show up for psychological consultation. Their partners or families may not encourage them to seek help because the problem it is not seen as a medical one. Doctors are understandably reluctant to prescribe psychiatric medications because of pregnancy or breast-feeding considerations.
Thus, a woman in such a situation suffers alone and remains isolated from her support system. She is expected to transcend all such adverse circumstances, and some do. Others don't have the emotional strengths to cope. Some have struggled with depression and anxiety all their lives. Moreover, even when they are seemingly coping with the excessive stress, they might still be constantly producing stress hormones and toxins and some will reach the baby in the womb.
Maternal stress during pregnancy is also found to cause of asymmetry in coordination of ears, fingers, feet, elbows, etc. As a result, I.Qs of such children are found to be lower. Maternal stress is also linked with imperfections in the developing nervous system which can lead to problems of perception, thinking, and memory.
All of us want happy children. Happy children grow out of happy babies. Happy babies are born to happy mothers. Therefore, partners, families and friends of expectant mothers should do their best to make an expectant mother happy and relaxed. If she is depressed, nervous, or tense, encourage her to seek help.
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Tuesday, May 17, 2011
I Rescued A Human Today
I Rescued A Human Today
by Midwest Rescue of Illinois, Inc. on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 8:27amI RESCUED A HUMAN TODAY...
Her eyes met mine as she walked down the
corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels.
I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her.
I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid.
As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view
from a little accident I had in the back of my cage.
I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today.
Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I
didn't want her to think poorly of them.
As she read my kennel card I hoped that she
wouldn't feel sad about my past. I only have
the future to look forward to and want to make
a difference in someone's life.
She got down on her knees and made little kissy
sounds at me. I shoved my shoulder and side of
my head up against the bars to comfort her.
Gentle fingertips caressed my neck;
she was desperate for companionship.
A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw
to assure her that all would be well.
Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so
bright that I instantly jumped into her arms.
I would promise to keep her safe. I would promise to always be by her side.
I would promise to do everything I could to see
that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.
I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor.
So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors.
So many more to be saved. At least I could save one.
I rescued a human today.
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Declare July 28 US Adoptee Equal Rights Day
Please sign the petition to declare July 28 National Adoptee Rights Day in the US. We hope to help draw attention to a little known civil rights violation: adopted citizens are routinely denied access to their own birth certificates in most US states.
and please pass the word...http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/declare-july-28-national-adoptee-equal-rights-day/
Thank you.
Declare July 28 US Adoptee Equal Rights Day
Please sign the petition to declare July 28 National Adoptee Rights Day in the US. We hope to help draw attention to a little known civil rights violation: adopted citizens are routinely denied access to their own birth certificates in most US states.
and please pass the word...http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/declare-july-28-national-adoptee-equal-rights-day/
Thank you.