The folks over at Family Scholars and the Institute for American Values have released their long awaited reported regarding Donor Conception titled "My Daddy's Name is Donor".
I have not read though it completely yet and only have read the Executive Summary. Truthfully I can't argue against too much of what is written as it based on polls of a large sample of donor conceived adults, adoptees, and others. I can't say it is representative of every donor conceived adult as I have met a few that would argue otherwise. I admit freely that I have felt in the past that the positions espoused by Family Scholars have been put there and argued somewhat heavy handedly.
But what reports like these do is they provide information to intended parents which is useful before they decide if donor conception is right for their familes and also how they parent a child who is donor conceived. There are plenty of issues to consider and reports like this highlight many of them quite effectively. Sometime with a hammer, which some would argue is not helpful, but the message is made known.
More later.
3 comments:
It's certainly helpful information to have, although I am naturally suspicious of the survey methodology involved when the people setting up the survey start out with such a clear agenda. It reminds me of a certain episode of "Yes Prime Minister" where they set out to poll the public on a certain issue, and the pollsters first ask the Prime Minister what he'd like the public to say.
In any case, it is helpful to have information - both pros and cons - in order to make a properly informed decision, and there is certainly food for thought for those prepared to look into it.
Bea
Bea -
You said it better than I could. All info is worth having.
Processing it with respect to other factors of concern is always the trick and all info no matter how packaged, and claimed to be raw data, is processed through somebody's filter.
Eric
I would have liked it if this survey had also included a group of people who's fathers had passed away before memory. It would be interesting to see if the reported negative reactions are statistically similar. Is it possible that anyone who wonders where 1/2 their DNA came from could be troubled? My father passed away when I was 10 and my sister was only 3. The step father that "raised" us was not a good parent and no longer lives w/our mom. We have both struggled as a result of my biological father's absence. Because she has no memory of him she has been particularly fragile and lost and has struggled with substance abuse, anxiety and low self-esteem throughout life. I wonder if she would have grown up to be a more stable person if she had been from donor but had been raised by two loving parents who were continuously a part of her life.
This survey seems to have asked many negative questions and few positive ones but it's hard to tell by reading the long report. I'd love to see the actual survey questions with the % of answers to each group so I could draw my own conclusions. It seems they have an agenda.
Thank you for posting the link to the report. Good food for thought.
Anna
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