Tag Archives: The Independent

Study Highlights Dangers of IVF Treatment Overseas

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photo of women getting ivf treatments abroad overseas in foreign countries pictures

A global survey of fertility treatment covering more than 100 countries has revealed wide variations in international laws governing IVF treatment which, it claims, are fuelling the growth of ‘fertility tourism.’ At least 10,000 people go abroad each year to seek help with having a baby – often because laws in their home country are too restrictive of the cost of treatment is too high.

Yesterday’s Independent covered this story, with Jeremy Laurence discussing how in the field of IVF, wide differences in clinical practice exist – and that such differences are often driven by social and religious attitudes rather than scientific evidence. We’ve touched upon this before here at Zelda Lily, with the story of questionable IVF practices in India leading to some of the world’s oldest mothers.  Or, you know, the Octomom.  [Ed. Note: And where the hell has she been lately, anyway?]

Experts at the World Congress on Fertility in Munich were yesterday set to announce a code of practice on cross-border care, to be published later this year. Professor Ian Cooke, Education Director of the International Federation of Fertility Societies, said:

‘What is considered acceptable varies from country to country. How carefully do they screen donors? How do they screen for multiple pregnancies? Do you want to come back with quadruplets? That’s madness.’

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Does Porn in the IVF Clinic Promote “Adultery of the Mind”?

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photo of a man wearing a sperm donor shirtAccording to Britain’s The Independent,  a think tank called 2020health.org feels that offering sperm donors pornography in the IVF Clinic is not only adulterous, but sexist. Enough people believe in the corrupting power of porn — just ask Ted Bundy.

Julia Manning investigated 93 different NHS trusts which provided fertility services and discovered that 33 of them offered pornography to their clients in an effort to “hurry the process along.” But why should you, as a woman/wife/mother care? Well, here is a sample of some of Manning’s arguments based on the evidence from her findings.

First, that pornography allowed men to treat women like sex objects (a general claim, which we’ve discussed before,that seems to have more to do with the porn than the clinic itself):

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Women On Top in This Year’s Forbes Celebrity 100

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gorgeous picture of oprah winfrey, at the top of forbes list for 2010 again

Forbes magazine this week published its annual ‘Celebrity 100’ list, ranking celebrities by their ability to successfully make money, generate headlines and beef up internet traffic on search engines and social networking sites.

This year, for the first time, women dominate the top ten of the list, holding six of the top ten slots. Oprah Winfrey, who earned an estimated £209m [$315m] in the last twelve months alone, was named as the world’s most influential personality. Beyonce Knowles, Lady Gaga, Sandra Bullock, Madonna and Miley Cyrus also all feature in the top twenty of this year’s list.

Taking a cursory glance at this year’s list, it would perhaps appear that women hold more sway than their male counterparts in the entertainment business. It could also be said that the list suggests that women may at last be starting to gain the levels of influence (and indeed wealth) that they deserve in this industry.

Many opinion pieces have of course emerged following the publication of this year’s Celebrity 100 and many, such as Guy Adams’ piece in today’s Independent, focus (not unreasonably) on whether the Forbes Celebrity 100 list really signals success for women.

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Women in the Music Industy – A Rare Breed?

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photo of british singer amy winehouse in black outfit
One of the biggest talking points in the British media over the past few years has been how well young female artists are doing in music charts and sales. Women like Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse are most certainly on top when it comes to making clever and popular music, and Fiona Sturges writes about this in today’s Independent.

Sturges questions whether these incredibly successful women artists, who are topping the charts and enjoying a new level of success on their own terms, point to a new equality in the music business. She doesn’t think so, and argues that if we look behind the success of these women, we find a different story. Beyond writing and performing music, there are myriad employees that reply on the music industry to keep them afloat – agents, managers, record label employees, PRs, radio station employees, music magazine writers … and most of them are men.

Sturges, an established music journalist, says that:

‘In my 13 years writing about music I have found myself overwhelmingly outnumbered by men in both print and at music events, from gigs and showcases to music conferences. Although the male-female ratio has improved among music writers in recent years, the most cursory glance at almost any music publication… reveals that male writers still significantly outnumber female ones. The implication seems to be that the serious business of rock and pop appreciation is still a male obsession even though the female audience [for music] very clearly illustrates otherwise.’

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