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A court battle between a divorced couple over the future of their frozen embryos began Monday with an attorney for the former husband accusing the woman of using the dispute to get money.
Dr. Mimi Lee, 46, a pianist and part-time anesthesiologist, married Stephen Findley, a wealthy executive, five years ago. Shortly before the wedding, Lee learned she had breast cancer.
Unsure whether the disease would make it impossible for her to have children, the couple went to a fertility center, where Lee's eggs and Findley's sperm created five embryos, now frozen.
Findley filed for divorce two years ago and wants the embryos destroyed. Lee, now infertile, wants to implant the embryos into a surrogate and have a baby. Without the embryos, she will never have a child who shares her genes.
If the embryos are implanted and carry to term, the ex-husband becomes a father without consent. If the embryos are destroyed, the ex-wife is denied the deep need to procreate. The embryos themselves have issues either way. Modern biomedical ethics are complex.
Original Submission
(Score: 4, Insightful) by bob_super on Wednesday July 15 2015, @11:33PM
> So now she can't have children
She's 46 !!!!!
Most women can't have (statistically healthy) children at 46. She's got not grounds for pleading that it's a terrible unforseen ordeal.
She'd be retired before her kids go to college, too. just because you could, doesn't mean that you should...
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday July 16 2015, @01:42AM
How this bears any relevance? Anthony Quinn fathered his last child at the age of 81, 5 years before his death [wikipedia.org].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Insightful) by cubancigar11 on Thursday July 16 2015, @06:27AM
Anthony Quinn had money. This woman has none or will have none left after paying the attorney fee. Then she will demand maintenance and alimony and there is no legal precedent to deny that. It really is the problem with the law that maintains that a woman must be paid in all circumstances and a man must be made to pay in all circumstances.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday July 16 2015, @02:14AM
There are more risks associated with older mothers, but modern medicine can manage most of those. But there has been a lot of research lately that says older parents make better parents [livescience.com]. The gist of it is that older parents are more emotionally mature and have more, relevant life experience to guide their kids.
That feels right to me. My wife and I had our first in our late 30's. I know I wouldn't have been emotionally ready before then. Had I had kids in my 20's, I'd be dealing with some messed up children now because I would have made lots of rookie mistakes. And that's not terribly incongruent with what my parents' generation would say about having kids (they were all married by their early 20's), in that they'd have to screw up the first couple of kids before they figured out what they were doing.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by choose another one on Thursday July 16 2015, @09:00AM
We're all rookies with kids, even having had three I don't think I'm not - every kid is different, the more you think you've learned from the others the more likely you are to get stuff 'wrong' through dogmatic insistence in following what worked for older siblings. If you've had nine kids your still a rookie with the tenth.
I am 46 now, had kids early 30's and if I have any regret, it's not doing it earlier. Starting out with another one now would be scary. By school age you're going to be 50s and probably mistaken for grandparents at school gate. By time they are 10 and wanting to do exciting active things you are going to be acting like grandparents, while the actual grandparents are probably in a care home, or dead.
Having kids is what makes you mature, younger parents just have to learn it a lot faster - IMO.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 16 2015, @04:31PM
Having kids is what makes you mature
"mature" is a subjective term in this case. And I'd say having kids is far from the only thing that makes you "mature". Not everyone wants children, and they are not any worse than you because of it.
(Score: 2) by penguinoid on Thursday July 16 2015, @02:49AM
She's 46 !!!!!
Most women can't have (statistically healthy) children at 46. She's got not grounds for pleading that it's a terrible unforseen ordeal.
It wasn't unforeseen -- she got frozen embryos for exactly that eventuality. What she didn't foresee was that she'd divorce her fiance before having children, so didn't mind checking the box that says "sure, destroy the embryos in case of divorce, that'll never happen anyways."
RIP Slashdot. Killed by greedy bastards.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 16 2015, @01:51PM
Unforeseen? If she can't foresee even that will she be a good parent?
With 7+ billion on this planet already are we really desperate for more children to be born? Especially from parents like her?
Yes I know there are plenty of worse parents around, but the point is will she be such a great parent with such great genes that its worth allowing the contract to be broken for her? So far the evidence is no.