EquityFeminism » Spain

Will Fertility Tourism Increase as the UK Adopts New Fertility Treatment Regulations?

Brian Carnell — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 06:00:00 +0000

An article in The Scotsman suggests that new regulations the United Kingdom is imposing on fertility treatments there are likely to force couples to travel abroad for fertility treatments, which would have the unintended consequences of diminishing the availability of fertility treatments for less wealthy women and couples.

Beginning in April 2005, fertility clinics are required to permanently retain the identity of all sperm and egg donors. When the children produced from donated eggs and sperm reach 18, they will legally be able to force fertility clinics to divulge the identity of the egg or sperm donor.

The likely result, not surprisingly, will be a severe downturn in donors. Already, according to The Scotsman, many clinics are “reporting severe shortages of donors” ahead of implementation of the regulations. Dr. Gillian Lockwood, medical director at Midland Fertility Services, tells the newspaper,

The waiting list for donor eggs has gone in my clinic from about six months to 18 months to two years. If you’re 39 and you know that your only chance of having a baby is by using donor eggs, what are you going to do? Wait two years or go to Spain?

Spain, which protects donor anonymity, is likely to be one of a number of popular destinations for “fertility tourism,” where women can travel and obtain treatment quickly and then return to the UK. In essence, if these fears pan out, there will still be donor anonymity, it will just be very expensive for patients.

Something similar happened in Sweden which abandoned donor anonymity in 1985. Many Swedish couples simply travel to Denmark as sperm and egg donors fell after the end of anonymity. The trend is driven, in party, by the parent(s)-to-be’s preference that the sperm or egg donor remain permanently anonymous. In recent years, more Swedish women have conceived through artificial insemination carried out in Denmark than in Sweden.

Source:

Couples turn to ‘fertility tourism’ as crisis hits IVF. Rhiannon Edward, The Scotsman, December 31, 2004.

Sperm donors ‘want to keep anonymity’. Matthew Hill, The BBC, October 15, 2002.

Will Fertility Tourism Increase as the UK Adopts New Fertility Treatment Regulations? is a post from: EquityFeminism

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Imam Sentenced in Spain for Book with Wife Beating Advice

Brian Carnell — Wed, 11 Feb 2004 06:00:00 +0000

The BBC reports that Muslim cleric Mohamed Kamal Mustafa was sentenced to 15 months in jail by a Spanish court for writing a book that included advice on the proper way to beat one’s wife. Under Spanish law, however, the sentence will be suspended and Mustafa will not serve any time in jail provided he doesn’t commit another similar offense.

The book in question, Women in Islam, was published in Spain in 2000 and offered advice for men on how to assault their wives without landing in trouble with Spanish legal authorities. For example, Mustafa advised that when men physically discipline their wives,

The blows should be concentrated on the hands and feet using a rod that is thin and light so that it does not leave scars or bruises on the body.

Women’s groups in Spain were outraged by the publication of the book, and the state agreed, charging Mustafa with inciting violence against women. This was the first successful prosecution of inciting violence against women in Spain.

Muslim groups in Spain were quick to distance themselves from Mustafa’s claims that he was simply interpreting the Koran. Mohamed Halhoul, director of the Islamic Council of Catalonia, told the New York Times,

We respect the sentence. In Islam, there does not exist any type of call for aggression, either towards men or women.

Sources:

Imam rapped for wife-beating book. The BBC, January 14, 2004.

Spain Sentences Imam for Book Offering Advice on Wife-Beating. Dale Fuchs, The New York Times, January 15, 2004.

Imam Sentenced in Spain for Book with Wife Beating Advice is a post from: EquityFeminism

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Spanish Court Rewards Rapist for Being Drunk

Brian Carnell — Mon, 17 Dec 2001 06:00:00 +0000

In what it Women’s eNews right calls its “Outrage of the Week,” Spain’s Supreme Court recently reduced the sentence of a man convicted of raping a mentally retarded girl. The sentence for the 18-year-old rapist was reduced from 13.5 years to 8 years on the grounds that the man was drunk at the time. Two co-defendants who helped pin the girl down also had their sentences reduced. The Supreme Court ruled,

Having ingested alcoholic beverages throughout the night, the three accused manifested an intellectual capacity that was slightly below average. Taken together, these may be considered to have keenly affected their volitional faculties.

Since the men were drunk, they had a limited capacity to choose not to commit rape! This is absurd. The only thing these men have a limited capacity for is living within the rules of society. What a stupid decision.

Source:

Spanish Rapist’s Sentence Reduced: He Was Drunk. Women’s eNews, December 15, 2001.

Spanish Court Rewards Rapist for Being Drunk is a post from: EquityFeminism

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