I reviewed Mara Hvistendahl’s most excellent book, Unnatural Selection, here. I heartily recommend it. She covers the topic of the world’s disappearing women very thoroughly.

Two stories cropped up today from CBC news, and virtually every commentator to these stories was disgruntled to some degree. One is on funding for Planned Parenthood,

Canada will fund an organization that provides family planning services around the world — but only in countries where abortion is illegal in most cases, CBC News has learned.

International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda has decided to approve a proposal by the International Planned Parenthood Federation to provide sex education and contraception in five developing countries.

…and the other concerns funding for maternal and child health projects.

Canada has selected 28 maternal and child health projects to share $82 million in funding between now and 2016, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Tuesday.

The money was committed in the G-8 Muskoka Initiative, 15 months ago. It brings the total allocated under the fund to almost $740 million for projects in Africa, the Americas and Asia.

What are your views on these proposals?

If you’re in Halifax and are interested in promoting prenatal care for women and families, then this event is for you (anything that is pro-birth is a worthy cause in my book).

On Sunday, October 16th, 2011 the Nova Scotia Doula Association (NSDA) and IWK Health Centre Foundation will be hosting the 1st Annual Walk, Rattle and Stroll for Birth. Our goals are to raise awareness about the importance of prenatal, birth and postpartum support for women and their families and raise funds to benefit the NSDA and the IWK Women’s and Newborn Health Unit.

Welcoming a new life into the world brings a lot of change within a family. Research shows that doula care reduces family stress, improves health outcomes and reduces healthcare spending. This will be a fun-filled family event that helps to create healthier communities in Nova Scotia, right from the start.

Parents shouldn’t have to apologize for giving birth to their children. While this story is one of strength and community, I dislike the apologetic tone of the article (though I’m happy to see adoption mentioned as a positive option for couples). I hope the parents of this baby don’t feel like anyone blames them for not knowing their child would be born without an immune system, because no one should.

With no immune system, your body is completely susceptible to every virus or illness. For four-month-old Brayden Vaters, this is reality. […]

“This whole thing was just such a shock to us,” said Adam Vater, Brayden’s father. “I’ve never even heard of this disorder before.”

Brayden ‘s parents Adam and Megan are both carriers of the genetic disorder and were completely unaware until their first child, Brayden, was born.

“The mutation is on a gene from both of us,” Adam says. “It was a one of four chance of Brayden getting the full blown immune deficiency.” […]

Since learning this, Adam and Megan say they have decided not to have another child, but will consider adoption and other means of growing their family.

“That’s just something we don’t want to put another baby through,” said Adam. “There was no family history of it. So there was no reason to check if Brayden might have it, or even if one of us had it because there’s been no sign of this before.”

…comes legislation for babies with heartbeats. Read more here,

The bill would require a doctor to check for a fetal heartbeat and inform the woman. If there is a detectable heartbeat, an abortion would be prohibited unless there was a risk of death or major injury to the woman’s health. Supporters believe the bill would block tens of thousands of abortions, as a fetal heartbeat can be typically heard around the sixth week of pregnancy, and sometimes as soon as three weeks’ gestation.

I’m not a huge fan of IVF to begin with. So this article outlining the controversy surrounding providing IVF to obese women fails to move me. I don’t think having children is a right and so if there are circumstances under which a woman can’t conceive, we are not obligated to help. Furthermore, some of the doctors sound to be legitimately concerned for the health of the women they’d be helping to get pregnant. I understand that being told no would need to be done gently, and that it would come as a terrible shock. But is that not mostly the same sadness any woman who would like to get pregnant and can’t feels? And obesity is not the only cause of that. I don’t think it’s discrimination to say no, and in fact, as the article points out, upon losing some weight, some of these women would get pregnant without the cost–financial, physical and emotional–of IVF.

…more often than you think, in this case of ectopic pregnancies:

While the reports of such mistakes are uncommon, the authors say there is evidence it is a broader problem. Not only has use of methotrexate boomed, but some research indicates the initial diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy ends up being wrong in 40% of cases.

Ectopic pregnancy is serious business, as this is a true example of a mother’s life being at risk. Still, it is necessary to be reminded of how doctors are not God. They make mistakes.

As it turns out, overpopulation makes about as much sense as flat earth theories. A good read.

A young man with Down’s was on the ferry from the Toronto Island airport this past weekend. He was excited to get off first and had positioned himself accordingly. But then he let me go before him with a smile, in a kind of chivalric gesture. It was one of those nice, if small, moments in a busy city.

I already get choked up when I see people with Down Syndrome, knowing as I do that we don’t see as many of them as we should.

Not going to get any better now.