Reviewing the National News - 18 May 2006
Two recent articles from the press:
Mother-to-be, 63, defends decision to have a baby.
“A 63-year-old doctor is pregnant after fertility treatment. Anti-abortion groups expressed outrage at the case, but the Dr and her husband, 61, said they had thought about the consequences of becoming parents at pension age. “We wish to emphasise that this has not been an endeavour undertaken lightly or without courage, that a great deal of thought has been given to planning and providing for the child's present and future well-being, medically, socially and materially. We are very happy to have given life to an already much-loved baby and our wish now is to give him the peace and security he needs. A member of the lobby group ‘Comment on Reproductive Ethics’, said: "It is extremely difficult for a child to have a mother who is as old as a grandmother would be. She is being selfish and sometimes greater love is saying no."
Couple win right to 'saviour sibling'.
A couple from Leicester has been given permission to use fertility treatment to create a "saviour sibling" for their seriously ill 20-month-old daughter. Their daughter has a rare anaemia and her only hope is a stem cell transplant from a genetically matched donor. A licence has been issued to allow a clinic to create a "designer baby" who will be a donor for their daughter. Embryos are created through IVF treatment with her parents and when they are a few days old they are tested to find a perfect genetic match. If there is one, the embryo will be implanted in the mother. When the “designer baby” is born, stem cells will be removed and transplanted into their daughter. Anti-abortion groups are opposed to pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, claiming it could be abused. They also have concerns about the pressure on any "saviour sibling" if the treatment does not save their elder brother or sister.”
Ask for What You Need
"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. If your little boy asks for a serving of fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? If your little girl asks for an egg, do you trick her with a spider? As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing--you're at least decent to your own children. And don't you think the Father who conceived you in love will give the Holy Spirit when you ask him?" Luke 11:10-13
What is our response to this news in light of the fact that God says we are “decent to our children” and that He conceives us in love? | 