Octuplets mother Nadya Suleman: I longed for a huge family

Nadya Suleman, 33, a single mother who already had six children before becoming pregnant with octuplets, admitted in an interview with NBC that each of her 14 children were born through IVF and sperm donations.

She said that she had continued to seek fertility treatment to extend her family and make up for being an only child.

"That was always a dream of mine, to have a large family, a huge family. I just longed for certain connections and attachments with another person that I really lacked, I believe, growing up," Ms Suleman said.

Christian groups lose legal challenge over human and animal embryos

February 20, 2009

UK High Court has rejected challenges by Christians to halt research involving human-animal hybrid embryos.

The experiments with inter-species embryos, which involve inserting a human cell nucleus into an empty egg, are ultimately intended to create powerful laboratory models for investigating conditions such as diabetes, Parkinson's and motor neurone disease.

Professor Stephen Minger, of King's, who holds one of the licences, welcomed the ruling. He said: “It is gratifying that Mrs Justice Dobbs recognised that the science behind the creation of hybrid embryos was always about creating unique cloned human cell lines that could accelerate the development of therapies for a number of important neurodegenerative conditions.

Ethical Issues:

• creating hybrid embryos with part human and part animal DNA for research into diseases
  
• involves the destruction of life (the majority of the DNA is atill human)

Stem Cell research

The Guardian, Monday 2 February 2009

The potential of stem cell research is almost biblical in its scale. The capacity for these cells to transform into whatever the body needs to regenerate itself could, in the lifetime of the next generation, make the blind see, the crippled walk, and the deaf hear. It could cure cystic fibrosis and arrest muscular dystrophy. Yet it also raises one of the most difficult dilemmas in medical research.

Ethical Issues:

• possible cures for diseases and conditions that at present have no cure, stem cells will allow the regeneration of damaged 'body systems', etc.

• but many object because to carry out the research and harvest the stem cells involves the destruction of embryos - for those that believe life begins at conception this means the destruction of countless numbers of people
  

IVF available on NHS for Gay and Lesbian Couples

A lesbian couple have won the right to NHS treatment to help them have a baby after threatening to sue health chiefs.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC) had denied Caroline Harris and Julie McMullan IVF treatment as they were not classified as an infertile couple.

The health board said it had reviewed its position in light of regulations, including the Equality Act.