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Have you heard about the controversy surrounding the impending motherhood of Elizabeth Adeney at age 66? Is she too old to be having a child for the first time? Is it fair to the child? Is it selfish of the mother? Is it fair for us to sit in judgment of her?
At what age is a woman too old to be a first time mother? Would you have a baby at the age of 66?
Is there a double standard here? Would it be o.k. if she was a married 66-year-old? Or if we were talking about a 66-year-old man? Well, there is a lot of opinion surrounding this topic, do you have one? Here is some of what other women are blogging about this controversial topic.
From Feministing - Pregnant at 66 and putting choice in context...
Each individual woman has the right to decide what's best for her when it comes to reproduction. Women have the right to choose abortion, the right to give up a child for adoption, the right to have children without getting married first, the right to sterilization, the right to NOT be sterilized, the right to IVF treatments (regardless of their partner's gender), and the list goes on. Debating a woman's fitness to be a mother or what course of action is "natural" for her is essentially buying in to an anti-choice worldview in which we can define who is and who isn't a fit mother.
Usually when the media and lawmakers weigh in on a woman's personal reproductive choices, they target low-income women, young women, women with disabilities. Adeney's situation is different because she is a woman in a position of relative privilege who has gotten pregnant via very expensive IVF treatments, but judgments about her decision are rooted in the same brand of sexism.
From Lea at Blah, Blah, Blog...
This is ridiculous!
Not that a woman has CHOSEN to have her first child at the age of 66. Nope. That doesn’t bother me a bit.
So, what is ridiculous?
The notion that a woman is too old to be a first time mom.
From The Presute of Harpyness - 66-Year-Old Woman To Give Birth...
Of course, there’s been blowback and censure and hand-wringing about what it all means. Even the Times–usually one of the more reasonable UK papers–got in on the act with a nasty bit of bias journalism that quotes bioethicist Professor Severino Antinori, who is horrified by Munro’s pregnancy. Unfortunately, when asked to elaborate on why Munro’s pregnancy is so wrong, Prof. Antinori’s logic is painfully weak (also, he sounds like a total dick):
“I am shocked by the idea of a 66-year-old woman giving birth,” he said. “I respect the choice medically but I think anything over 63 is risky because you cannot guarantee the child will have a loving mother or family.
“It is possible to give a child to the mother up to the age of 83 but it is medically criminal to do this because the likelihood is that after a year or two the child will lose his mum and suffer from psychological problems.
O RLY? Because children born to young mothers are thus guaranteed “a loving mother or family”? And their mother’s gestational age ensures that those kids never lose their moms and never suffer from psychological problems? Who are you fucking kidding, buddy? A 2-minute conversation with your local social worker or family court judge will blow away that excuse. I also love how he “respects the choice medically” but then rushes to personal judgement as fast as he possibly can.
From Strollerderby - New Mom-to-be Is 66 Years Old...
I'm sorry if any of the older mom readers who frequent our pages will take this as an insult, but news that a mom-to-be setting a new record in England for her age really made me want to go to take a nap.
Elizabeth Adeney is expecting her first child at the ripe old age of sixty-six, making her the oldest pregnant woman in English history.
And making me really, really exhausted on her behalf.
Here are a few comments from a post on momlogic...
Bravo for being a mature mother raising 2 year old twins and all, but I still think it’s wrong. I believe that when you’re at that age and stage in life you should not be bringing babies into the world. It’s unfair to the babies who will become lil people with very
