IVF - How Old is Too Old?
IVF & Age - Britain's oldest woman to undergo fertility treatments is now 59 years old. She herself thinks that there should be an age limit, but she believes that it should be in the 60's.
"Mrs Tollefsen, who turns 60 in October, said: "I agree there should be a cut-off point. Perhaps 65 is too old, but I'm full of life and healthy.
'I know other people are looking forward to retirement while I'm looking forward to kindergarten and infant school.'
'"But if the circumstances are right I'd encourage other women my age to do this.' She had her first baby aged 57 after travelling to Russia for the fertility treatment that had been refused in Britain.
The decision to help her has sparked an angry response from people who think it is unnatural for OAPs to have families using IVF.
Her case could provoke a wave of old mums who can afford the £5,000 to overcome infertility."
Based on this angry response from those opposed to this, legislation is now being considered in Britain in order to set an age limit on IVF. In fact, politicians think that this move by Mrs. Tollefsen may set a "dangerous precedent".
Furthermore. a pro-life group commented as follows: "What's missing from this, apart from consideration of the rights of the child, is that there's no real focus on egg donation and this is very bad news.
"Would women expose themselves to the risks of donation if they knew the eggs were going to a woman of 59? You're exploiting a woman and putting her at risk to fulfil the fantasies of another woman who can't accept that she's gone beyond the menopause."
In fact, the following facts are worth noting - the oldest woman in Britain to give birth is 66-year-old Elizabeth Adeney, a company director from Lidgate, Suffolk, who had a boy last May. The world's oldest new mum, Rajo Devi, 70, from Haryana, India, had a daughter last year. Maria del Carmen Bousada de Lara was 66 when she gave birth to twins in Barcelona, Spain, in 2006. She died in July 2009. the first famous elderly mum was Rosanna della Corte from Canino, Italy, who was 64 when she gave birth to a son in 1994.
What do you think?
