New FDA Sperm Donation Rule Excludes Gay Men

NEW YORK, May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Fertility Association (AFA) disagrees with the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) sperm donation guidelines, which take effect on May 25, 2005. Most doctors and clinics are expected to observe the new FDA donor eligibility guidelines, which could be interpreted to prohibit men who have had sex with men in the last five years from making anonymous sperm donations. The FDA says a donor's sexual orientation serves as the basis for exclusion for anonymous sperm donation, rather than engagement in high-risk sexual behavior (unprotected sex). By extension, this rule suggests that a heterosexual man who regularly has unprotected sex with multiple partners will be eligible to donate sperm, while a gay man who practices safe-sex in a monogamous relationship will not. Read Article »

Music CD hyped to help fertility

Couples struggling with infertility have a new - albeit untested - option: a "sound therapy program" that claims to enhance the odds of conception by reducing stress.

The $29.95 double CD set, called "Conceive," is made by Pharmonics, a New York-based musical therapy production company. Read Article »

Screening improves IVF success rate for older women

By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuters) - Screening embryos can increase the success rate of older women having fertility treatment, a leading fertility expert said on Thursday.

Dr Yury Verlinsky, of the Reproductive Genetics Institute in Chicago, told a medical conference that screening embryos before transferring them to the womb increased the take-home baby rate from 11.5 percent to 81.4 percent

Homosexual Foster Parents Finding Home In State System

By Steve Irsay Staff Writer

Cathy Stansell, the director of Pride Foster Family Agency, is almost all smiles when she talks about the needy children placed with individuals and couples who have realized their dream of becoming parents.

In fact, the only time her jovial mood darkens is when she recounts the occasional complaints when a child’s relatives learn that the foster parents just happen to be gay. Read Article »

Student donates eggs for a cause, and some extra cash

It was more than the money that motivated Jen Littlefield to donate her eggs. For Littlefield, a fourth-year in the College, undergoing the procedure was a way of “giving back.”

Littlefield, whose biological father was a sperm donor, did not learn that she was a child of collaborative reproduction until she was 19. She decided the summer before her fourth-year that she would opt for the surgery to give an infertile woman a means of giving birth to a child. Read Article »

Antidepressants in pregnancy can affect babies
Study: Newborns at increased risk for drug-related symptoms

Women who take Prozac or certain other antidepressants late in pregnancy raise the risk that their babies will suffer jitteriness, irritability and serious respiratory problems during their first couple of weeks, researchers say.

Babies born to women taking antidepressants in the last three months of pregnancy were three times more likely to develop drug-related symptoms... Read Article »

Lesbian Foster Mother Takes on State of Missouri, Backed by ACLU

(Kansas City, MO) — A Missouri lesbian who has devoted her life to working with children is fighting a state policy barring lesbian and gay people from serving as foster parents.

Lisa Johnston, who is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, brought a challenge to the law in state court last week after an administrative judge, who found her to be otherwise “exceptionally qualified” to be a foster parent, denied her... Read Article »

Once thought almost impossible, it's more common than ever for lesbian couples to give birth to and raise children

Welcome to the Lesbian Baby Boom.

It's a beautiful sunny day. A perfect day to see a little girl skip down the sidewalk in a tank top and cotton capris.

"It is a special day," Lily beams, stopping for a moment, her wide, brown eyes peering up at the woman beside her.

"We're going to get a Mother's Day cake."Read Article»