The Washington Post has a lengthy article on the child-custody case involving former partners Janet and Lisa Miller-Jenkins. (I’ve covered this case several times before.) The Post says: These lawyers . . . are debating questions so profound that the answers have the power to affect legions of families gay and straight: Who is a […]
If you’re trying to conceive, here is some new research you may want to discuss with your doctor: A study at the University of Pittsburgh found that women who conceive in summer have the lowest rate of preterm births (less than 37 weeks gestation), with the rates increasing steadily through fall, winter, and spring. Those
Two recent news items on fertility and pregnancy, for those of us creating our families that way: A new technique for screening eggs could boost IVF pregnancy rates. Using a method normally used in cancer research, researchers mapped the number of chromosomes in an unfertilised egg to predict which eggs will produce embryos least likely
An Ohio court ruled yesterday that a custody arrangement between two lesbian parents is valid despite the state’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. The couple had signed a court-approved joint custody agreement, and then split. One of the women refused to let the other have contact with their son, and claimed their agreement was invalid
Today is the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. It is also Blog for Choice Day, so I’m going to venture a little off my usual topics in this post and talk about reproductive freedom as I see it.
An article in the Mail & Guardian newspaper of South Africa asked this week, “Why are pregnant lesbians scary?” Umm . . . because we’re hormonal and know how to use power tools? The article itself is a rehash of the Mary Cheney pregnancy and why gay and lesbian parents are as good as any
Passing along another third-party announcement from my inbox: I am the lesbian mother of 4-year-old twins who were conceived using anonymous donor sperm. I am also a graduate student at Smith College School for Social Work writing my Master’s Thesis on lesbian parents who have used anonymous donor sperm to create families, and their experiences
Last fall, I reviewed the excellent new book Single by Chance, Mothers by Choice: How Women are Choosing Parenthood without Marriage and Creating the New American Family by sociologist Rosanna Hertz. Dr. Hertz will be on the Today show tomorrow, January 15, between 8 and 8:30 a.m. Eastern. If you are interested in how the
A rare legal case in Maine is shedding an interesting light on questions of same-sex relationship recognition. Olive F. Watson had legally adopted her partner, Patricia A. Spado, in 1991, in order to ensure her financial security. Watson is daughter of former IBM CEO Thomas J. Watson, Jr., and granddaughter of the company’s founder, Thomas
A few miscellaneous items of interest: Young infants should not be left alone to sleep in car seats, warn New Zealand researchers. There is a risk of breathing problems, especially for premature infants, even when restrained in a seat appropriate for their age. Women who have epidurals during labor may find it harder to breastfeed,
