INFERTILITY
Before knowing the joys of motherhood, Lenore Goldfarb endured the heartache of eight miscarriages, which it turned out were caused by an untreatable medical condition.
Today, Goldfarb and her husband Robert make no secret they owe the birth of their two biological sons to two women, known as gestational surrogates, who agreed to carry their babies to term.
They also make no secret of the fact they paid the women as part of the agreement. The Goldfarbs argue that rather than money, the primary motivation of most gestational carriers is a desire to help infertile couples create a family.
Anxious to tell their story, the Montreal couple is participating in a last-ditch e-mail and letter writing campaign aimed at persuading a key Senate committee to amend proposed legislation outlawing compensation to surrogates beyond receipted expenses.
Advocates for infertile Canadians also are urging the committee to change provisions prohibiting payments to egg and sperm donors, arguing the supply will dry up.
In a letter to the senators, the Goldfarbs warn passage of the legislation will force prospective parents and surrogates underground, or force Canadians to go to the United States where surrogacy is more commonplace.
"Indeed, it might foster a climate where women will be forced to carry babies for siblings, where gestational carriers and intended parents will be vulnerable to emotional and possibly even financial blackmail," the Goldfarbs wrote. "This bill will tear families apart and create the very climate it is intended to prevent."
The campaign is an uphill venture, given the Martin government's apparent determination to get the legislation enacted into law before the next federal election, expected as early as May. More than a decade in the making, the so-called assisted human reproduction legislation prohibits human cloning, the creation of human embryos for research and establishes rules for the operation of fertility clinics. One amendment would effectively kill the legislation for the foreseeable future because it would force it back to the Commons where a speedy re-approval is unlikely. The legislation won only narrow approval in the Commons where MPs were deeply divided over its provision to allow stem cell research on human embryos left over from fertility treatments.
Liberal MP Paul Szabo, a leading critic of the legislation, says he's praying the Senate forces a rethink of the bill. "If they find one comma they have to change in the bill, it has to go back to the House of Commons," he said in an interview. "Just give me a comma, any comma. And then we'll do this properly.
Several senators on the committee have said since hearings began last week that even though the legislation is not perfect, they are ready to approve it to end the regulatory vacuum for human cloning and related activities in Canada. The provisions affecting surrogacy and egg and sperm donors have attracted little public attention compared to the pitched battles over embryonic stem cell research.
Opponents decry the research as an assault on the sanctity of life because the embryo is destroyed in the process of harvesting stem cells. Proponents counter embryonic stem cells hold great promise as therapeutic agents for the regeneration and repair of tissues and organs damaged by everything from spinal cord injury to Parkinson's disease, muscular dystrophy and heart disease.
The Senate committee on social affairs, science and technology resumes hearings Wednesday on the legislation. Among the witnesses will be Canadians who have struggled with infertility and their advocates.If enacted as written, the legislation will dramatically change the current practice of paying gestational surrogates and egg and sperm donors.
Surrogates get upwards of $20,000, while the going rate for eggs is about $2,500. Sperm donors get between $50 and $75. Senator Michael Kirby, the Liberal chairman of the committee, said he has read the letters and e-mails and looks forward to hearing testimony on the issues. But he also stressed senators are keenly aware that if they change the bill, they will likely kill it. "That's the dilemma we'll face," he said.
Ottawa Citizen
back • next
close this window to return to the site
If you value this service, kindly consider a donation to the Canadian Breastfeeding Foundation (registered charity) and earmark the donation for the Newman Breastfeeding Clinic and Institute and/or the Goldfarb Breastfeeding Program.
You can donate through their website, canadianbreastfeedingfoundation.org, or by mail to Canadian Breastfeeding Foundation, 5764 Monkland Ave, Suite 424, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H4A 1E9.
Disclaimer: All material provided in asklenore.info is provided for educational purposes only. Consult your physician regarding the advisability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your individual situation.