Not much to report, really, on the personal life front.

Steps walked today: 8133
Carrots eaten: four
Currently reading:
- "Mort" by Terry Pratchett
Currently listening:
- Lovely silence and the quiet humming of the computer's fan

Rant of the day (I'm too upset about it to try to rant about it myself, really, if it makes any sense):

"HFEA have published a public consultation document into my much loved Welfare of the Child Principle. I've just started reading through it, already my blood pressure is soaring (obviously not a fit mother). Interesting titbits about its background ... apparently an amendment to the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Bill (89) which would make it "unlawful to transfer an embryo into the womb of an unmarried woman" failed by just one vote - how nice.

I don't think attitudes have changed that much over the past 15 years and I can't imagine things are going to change much with this consultation - HFEA should be abolished. I would like to see the outrage if they tried to pull this eugenics crap on any other group in society. In fact why not, lets sterilise the poor, the young, the badly educated, the physically and mentally ill, anyone with a criminal conviction, anyone we don't like. Or better still - a 10 minute assessment of physical/emotional/financial/social fitness to parent at the booking appointment, if you don't meet the requirements - sorry off for a TOP; better for the child not to exist.

I will never have treatment in this country, this shite is enough to make me want to take to the hills & start stockpiling ammo.

rant rant rant rant .....

This is such bullshit - potential harms to the child:

Medical - genetic disease - and what? A fertile couple of cystic fibrosis carriers (for example) can have as many kids as the want, taking the one in four chance as many times as they want. People may disapprove but it is none of their business the decision is private. Need ART? Oh the rules change then, now it is everyone's business, after all barrenness equates to brain-dead. Fuckers. Infection - yadda, yadda. Paternalist shite.

People who seeks ART because of serious genetic disorders or infection do so to reduce the risks associated with their condition - they go for PGD, for sperm washing, for donor gametes. They should not be penalised for this. I hate the underlying idea that it isn't just the potential children that need protecting from their parents, but the parents themselves. If you're infertile & seeking treatment, then you must be desperate to the point of seeking a child at the expense of all else - your health, their health - and the kindly doctors and bureaucrats must protect us from this.

Physical - either parent has a history of child abuse or neglect. Why not go all the way sterilise anyone with a history of child abuse or neglect (and if the turn up pregnant better terminate it) - either they are 'fit' to parent or not, either it is the government's duty to decide this or not - it really shouldn't matter whether they are fertile or not. Risk from the drug or alcohol addicted parent prenatally or once they are born - same applies; this should be universal not applied only to those whose disability makes them easy to discriminate against.

Psychological - risks of growing up in a particular family structure. This is the meat of it - the principle was introduced to protect kids against all those nasty lesbians and single mum's - after all they're all feminist man haters. Oh and of course evil career women who think they can 'have it all' and get pg in their 40s - shocking, blah, blah. Damage caused due to parental addiction, mental illness, abuse. Again why is this an infertility issue? The fertile never fuck their children up after all.

Social harms - older parents (WTF?), impaired health, unstable relationship - what you mean only infertile people get divorced. Obviously more damaging than being born to an 17 year old crack whore living in a bed-sit. Lack of legal father - loss of adult male role models, this so stinks of the socialisation question.

Either the decision to reproduce (to allow reproduction) is a private one or a social one. This must apply equally to the fertile & infertile. Unless of course the assumption is that the infertile are intrinsically less fit to parent than the fertile and present a greater risk to their future children than fertile people do to theirs."

Source of rant

before & after