Future families
DANIELLE MUSTARDE INVESTIGATES
COULD SAMESEX COUPLES ONE DAY HAVE THEIR OWN BIOLOGICAL CHILDREN?
“Sperm cells created from female embryo,” declares one headline. “Eggs fertilised without sperm,” shouts another. We’ve probably all seen news like this over the last 10 years, but what’s really possible? What can the most recent fertility technology offer LBT women? Could a cisgender, lesbian couple, for example, have their own biological children? We spoke to CARE Fertility CEO, and embryology and IVF specialist, Simon Fishel to separate fact from fiction.
A SOCIETAL SHIFT
“When we started treating single women – the first big move away from married couples – it was pretty serious stuff,” says Fishel. “At that time, which was around the mid-80s, you were allowed to be a ‘conscientious objector’. So we used to have situations where we had to be sure we would have a team available to treat a single woman or a lesbian couple, otherwise staff had the right not to be available for treatment. It’s amazing to think of that now. I think the future will be all about technology, rather than discrimination of any kind.”