NEW BOOK: The 2 Boys Who Wanted to Become Daddies

Explaining egg donation and surrogacy to a sophisticated person can be difficult, but explaining it to a child sometimes requires the extra help of a visual aid and a sweet story. That is exactly what the authors of “The 2 Boys Who Wanted to Become Daddies” created when they wanted to explain to their children how they were brought into the world with a little help from some extraordinary friends. You can find their story here!

While Donald Trump Is Golfing, Americans Are Dying In Puerto Rico

The ACLU Sues for LGBT Equality… AGAIN.

The ACLU is suing the Department in federal district court, claiming that the Department allowing such discrimination harms children, and is in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

This suit is about so much more than the discrimination felt by same-sex couples who wish to foster or adopt; this is about the what is right for the children of our country.

Barack Obama Is Everything Donald Trump Is Not

Malia Obama recently began her first year at Harvard. And like a true freshman dad, Barack Obama couldn’t keep his cool. pic.twitter.com/7vBLgPYIzP

— HuffPost (@HuffPost) September 28, 2017

Puerto Rico Desperately Needs Our Assistance — Here Is How You Can Help

Puerto Rico is facing a humanitarian crisis unlike any we have seen in the United States in recent memory. Donald Trump rather focus on NFL players kneeling and mocking John McCain’s physical condition then saving our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico.

While the Trump Administration waived the Jones Act for Texas and Florida after hurricanes Harvey and Irma, no similar waiver was granted for Puerto Rico. Perhaps that has something to do with race given that Puerto Rico is 0.6% white non-Hispanic compared to Florida which is 57% and Texas which is 44%. Regardless, our fellow citizens need our help.

Here is how you can help:

UNICEF

Americares is providing medicine and medical supplies, and responding to recovery needs as they arise.

Catholic Relief Services is partnering with local organizations and working to provide “shelter, water and critical supplies, including tarps, tents, and hygiene and kitchen kits to families affected by these disasters.”

Convoy of Hope, another faith-based organization, provides food, water, and emergency supplies.

GlobalGiving is a global crowdfunding network (with a four-star rating from Charity Navigator). Their fund for hurricane recovery in the Caribbean encompasses emergency supplies and long-term recovery and rebuilding, channeling donations to vetted local organizations.

Hispanic Federation launched Unidos, a disaster-relief fund for Puerto Rico and Mexico.

International Medical Corps provides emergency relief and longer-term training programs to help communities recover from disaster.

The Sato Project is rescuing displaced and homeless dogs and transporting them to shelters outside of Puerto Rico.

Unidos por Puerto Rico was launched by Beatriz Rosselló, the first lady of Puerto Rico, “with the purpose of providing aid and support to those affected in Puerto Rico by the passage of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane María.”

Australian Surrogacy Ruling Leaves Many Children in Legal Limbo

A legal decision issued by the Australian Family Court last week has determined that an Australian couple will not be recognized as the legal parents of a child born under an international surrogacy arrangement. Australia’s commonwealth Family Law Act allows individual Australian states to “determine the status of children born under surrogacy arrangements.” As of 2017, however, commercial surrogacy is a criminal offense in all jurisdictions. Consequently, this ruling, made in the case of a “Mr. and Mrs. Bernieres,” allows the couple to act as the child’s guardian but does not grant them a recognition or declaration of parentage. It now falls upon the Bernieres to adopt their child in order to secure parentage, although some have noted that Australian bureaucracy has made this process increasingly difficult in recent years.

The Family Court judges stated in their decision that “it was not open to the court to fill the ‘legislative vacuum’ that existed for children born via overseas commercial surrogacy arrangements,” and that this “vacuum” must be addressed by legislation instead. Surrogacy Australia president Robert Reith agreed, stating “[t]he law absolutely needs a review and to be brought up to date with modern standards.” The lack of progressive legislation concerning commercial surrogacy in Australia is unsurprising, given the government’s historically unfavorable attitudes toward surrogacy. Altruistic surrogacy was also illegal in Australia until 2004, and in 2010, New South Wales’ Family and Community Services Minister Pru Goward likened surrogate mothers to commercially exploited “cows.” This phrasing, of course, denies surrogates their agency as ethical actors by assuming both that money is their primary motivation and that they have no say in their surrogacy arrangements. Attitudes such as Goward’s highlight Australia’s need for comprehensive surrogacy legislation that clearly establishes the rights of all parties: the rights of the parents who expend considerable time, effort, and energy to bring their child into the world; and the rights of the surrogate, who deserves to be protected by a comprehensive set of laws whether her arrangement is commercial or altruistic.

TrumpCare is Dead, Thanks In Part To Jimmy Kimmel

Thanks to all who stood up and spoke out from this happy guy and his less-fortunate friends #GoodbyeGrahamCassidy pic.twitter.com/8QyavZElxu

— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) September 26, 2017

Under Graham-Cassidy Health Care Bill, Insurers Will Charge Women $17,320 More For Pregnancy

Graham-Cassidy Health Care Bill Does Not Pass The Jimmy Kimmel Test

If you too are disappointed in Sen @BillCassidy #GrahamCassidy let them know it – call (202) 224-3121 pic.twitter.com/eswlh6BaoV

— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) September 20, 2017

New TrumpCare Bill Will Lead To the Deaths Of Patients With Pre-Existing Conditions

This is not healthcare reform. TrumpCare is a death sentence for our fellow citizens, friends and family members. Call your Congressional representative now and voice your objection. You can find the number of your Senator by clicking this link.

Or target these 4 GOP Senators on the fence:

Sen. Susan Collins, ME: (202) 224-2523
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, AK: (202) 224-6665
Sen. John McCain, AZ: (202) 224-2235
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, WV: (202) 224-6472

Featured Post

Life Is Not Sacred: Why Killing Someone is Morally Acceptable But Disabling Them Is Immoral

Not my thesis but the argument of two prominent bioethicists in addressing the issue of organ donation: Is it morally wrong to kill people? Not really, argue two eminent American bioethicists in an early online article in the Journal of Medical Ethics. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, of Duke University, and Franklin G. Miller, of the National Institutes […]

Asides

• We are re-tooling the blog by giving it a complete face lift. So please excuse the mess as we are updating it. #