HB 1102 on "The Current Word"
(May 2, 2016) Dr J is Kathleen Benfield’s guest on her radio show "The Current Word.", They’re discussing the work of the Ruth Institute and the surrogacy bill currently before the Louisiana legislature.
Experiment on Small Children? Really?
by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published at The Blaze on April 28, 2016. On Wednesday, Dr. Morse testified against the Louisiana surrogacy bill in Baton Rouge. Surrogacy is a social and medical experiment, with great risks to children. This is her prepared text. Thank you for the opportunity to share my concerns about HB1102. I am the founder and president of the Ruth Institute, a global non-profit organization, with offices in San Diego, Pittsburgh, and now, Lake Charles, Louisiana. Our organization is dedicated to creating Christ-like solutions to the agony and injustice of family breakdown. We oppose surrogacy on principle. We consider it a form of family breakdown. Surrogacy breaks down motherhood itself, reducing it to a series of functions. The genetic, gestational, care-giving and even the legally-recognized mothers could all be distinct individuals. The full impact of these divisions cannot be fully known at this time. However, we owe it to future generations to look down the road as far as we can, and try, at least, to anticipate the consequences. We do know that infants attach to their mothers in the womb. Neonatal research has found that newborns can recognize their mothers by sight, by voice and even by odor. Research strongly suggests that prenatal infant attachment is correlated with secure attachment between mother and infant after birth. We have no idea how surrogacy affects this. Does a secure attachment between the gestational carrier and the infant translate into a secure attachment with the genetic mother? Does a disruption of the bond between the gestational carrier harm the child? We just don’t know. The practice of surrogacy amounts to a social experiment using babies as subjects. The adults involved, surrogates, donors and commissioning parents, can give meaningful consent, at least in principle. But children, in the nature of things, cannot consent. We have a responsibility to protect their interests, which they cannot protect themselves. Experimenting on small children i
In An Industry That Makes People, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published April 20, 2016, at The Blaze. Sperm donation, egg donation and surrogacy: Third party reproduction seems to be a “done deal” in Western society. Even ardently pro-life people do not seem to see the problems. Hey, these techniques are making babies, not killing them. So what […]
Long and Winding Road out of the gay lifestyle: a story of forgiveness
The headline over at LifeSiteNews says this is a story out of the gay lifestyle. And so it it. But it is first and foremost an inspiring story of forgiveness and repentance. Any Survivor of the Sexual Revolution, any person seeking peace, can benefit from this article. A sample: I embarked upon an incredible […]
My dad was a sperm donor. My lack of identity reflects his
The film Delivery Man shines a light on the people deprived of roots, extended family and a father figure. It’s a hole that can never be filled by Elizabeth Howard This article was first posted at The Guardian on January 16, 2014. ‘The deprivation I feel as a donor-conceived child, though diluted for my children, […]
Donor IVF baby who says ‘I wish I’d never been born’: It’s the great IVF taboo – how will a child feel about never knowing their biological parents? For this family, the answer was shattering
By Helen Carroll for the Daily Mail This article was first published at the Daily Mail on June 25, 2014. Gracie Crane was one of the first children conceived from donor embryo Born before the 1998 Embryology Act, she has no right to know who her biological parents are Despite her parents unconditional love, Gracie […]
Sperm donor children speak out
by Christine Dhanagom This article was first posted on Life Site News on December 5, 2011. There are only four things Alana Stewart knows about her father: he has blonde hair, blue eyes, a college degree, and his assigned number at the sperm bank where he sold half of Alana’s genetic code is 81. She […]
Caroline was fathered by a sperm donor – so why does she bitterly resent the stranger who gave her life?
By Frances Hardy for the Daily Mail and Diana Appleyard This article was first published at dailymail.co.uk on June 24, 2010. The act will have been brief, impersonal and utterly bereft of emotion – but 25 years on, the moment that Caroline Halstead was conceived is causing her lasting heartache. For she was fathered by […]
The Sperm-Donor Kids Are Not Really All Right
A new study shows they suffer. By Karen Clark and Elizabeth Marquardt This article was first published at Slate, June 14, 2010. The Kids Are All Right, due out in July, is being praised for its honest portrayal of a lesbian couple, played by Julianne Moore and Annette Bening. But what seems most […]
A donor-conceived woman speaks out
There is a hole in the hearts of people whose biological fathers have been erased from their lives. by Stephanie Raeymaekers This article was first published February 3, 2016, at Mercatornet.com. Stephanie Raeymaekers is an advocate for donor-conceived children in Belgium. MercatorNet spoke with her recently about her work. The Belgian advertising industry […]
Donor conception: a modern day slavery
An adult speaks out about the anguish caused by her lack of a biological father. by Elizabeth Howard This article was first published at Mercatornet.com on February 22, 2016. Hernan Pinera/Flickr The anguish of infertility is well known. Most people know someone who has struggled to have children, and no one would deny […]
It’s Legal To Buy And Sell Children, As Long As They’re Small
Children created during in vitro fertilization can be disposed of for potential flaws, evaluated for ‘desirable’ characteristics, experimented upon, and bought and sold. This article was first published at thefederalist.com on January 25, 2016. By Katie Schuermann, with extensive quotes by Dr. Morse Abortion is not the only legalized medical procedure that hurts […]
Assessing Damage and Restoring Family Values
(October 29, 2015) Dr J is in Utah! She traveled there to be part of the 9th annual World Congress of Families. She’s speaking at their plenary panel "Assessing Damage and Restoring Family Values", on all of the different types of people who have been harmed by the sexual revolution.
The Vatican’s Synod on the Family
(October 14, 2015) Dr J is once again Todd Wilkin’s guest on Issues, Etc. They’re discussing the Catholic church’s worldwide Synod on the Family and the educational conference immediately beforehand in which Dr J participated.
Dr J at the Angelicum
(October 12, 2015) Dr J is in Rome! She traveled there to be part of the Courage Conference at the Angelicum. Courage put on the conference in anticipation of the upcoming Synod on the Family. She’s speaking on the injustice of alternative family structures to the children growing up in them. She takes questions afterward, too–those will be available on the Ruth Refuge.
Teaser: October Synod on the Family
(September 30, 2015) Dr J is once again Molly Smith’s guest on From the Median to discuss her upcoming trip to the Vatican for the October Synod on the Family.
Single Mothers by Choice
Are any of you single mothers, raised by a single mother, or have friends or family members who are single mothers? Are any of you Donor Conceived? Many Danish women have given up on finding the right man and are opting to raise children on their own through donor conception. What do you think of […]
The Impact of Re-Defining Marrriage on Children and Society
(March 7, 2015) This is Dr. Morse’s talk from the 2015 "Bringing America Back to Life", convention in Cleveland, Ohio. It’s entitled "The Impact of Redefining Marriage on Children and Society.", Special thanks to Molly Smith and From the Median for this audio.
How Does Divorce and Family Breakdown Affect Our Children?
(September 30, 2015) Jennifer Johnson is Molly Smith’s guest on "From the Median", to discuss how divorce and family breakdown affect our children.
Powerful moving speech by a *sperm donor child* of two lesbians
A powerful moving speech by a *sperm donor child* of two lesbians who talks about her upbringing (starting at 2:12 in this video).
Dr J at CANFP
(August 21, 2015) Dr J is one of the keynote speakers at the California Association of Natural Family Planning, where she talks about "The Sexual Revolution and its Victims.", She takes questions afterward, too–check out the podcast stream over at the Ruth Refuge for all of her Q&A sessions.
The Courage Conference and the Sexual Revolution
(August 17, 2015) Dr J is once again Molly Smith’s guest on From the Median to discuss how we got to where we are culturally on sex, marriage, and family–and how we can move forward to a kinder, more Godly understanding that promotes healing from all the damage that’s been done.
Summit Ministries: Contracts vs. Kinship
(July 14, 2015) Dr J was invited to speak at Summit Ministries’ conference in Dayton, Tennessee, to a group of high school students. Here she’s giving a talk on the difference between kinship and contracts. Incidentally, this is her first talk after the Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges mandating genderless marriage in all 50 states. This is the second part of her talk–if you missed the first one, check out the previous podcast–and she also took questions, which are available for download over at the Ruth Refuge.
Jeb Bush’s Recent Statement on Same-Sex Unions
(January 9, 2015) Dr J is once again Todd Wilkin’s guest on Issues, Etc. They’re discussing GOP presidential hopeful Jeb Bush’s recent statement about same-sex unions.