The anonymous donation
“Who is your father?” Nescio.
“Hello, children, I’m your rational teacher.”
I was vaguely hoping that I might be able to surpass the number of posts I made here in 2007, but because I can’t do that without spamming the place to death, you’ll just have to out up with another ethical dilemma.
Dilemma 30 is about anonymous sperm donorage. Women now have the choice of being inseminated anonymously the old-fashioned way at DIYBabies (fertilisation guaranteed; high-quality donors) or the in vitro clinic which has problems with misconceptions and the destruction of embryos.
DIYBabies sounds like the sort of place where eventually a story will emerge about a woman who went there to get pregnant and realised that the donor was actually her husband.
This seems to be another matter of natural vs. unnatural means of conception, the choice being determined by the circumstances. The latter might be used where other means have failed or are not possible or are undesirable for the woman in question. But that’s the point: it depends on the circumstances, hence this doesn’t strike me as being one of the more interesting ethical dilemmas.
Dilemma 30 is about anonymous sperm donorage. Women now have the choice of being inseminated anonymously the old-fashioned way at DIYBabies (fertilisation guaranteed; high-quality donors) or the in vitro clinic which has problems with misconceptions and the destruction of embryos.
DIYBabies sounds like the sort of place where eventually a story will emerge about a woman who went there to get pregnant and realised that the donor was actually her husband.
This seems to be another matter of natural vs. unnatural means of conception, the choice being determined by the circumstances. The latter might be used where other means have failed or are not possible or are undesirable for the woman in question. But that’s the point: it depends on the circumstances, hence this doesn’t strike me as being one of the more interesting ethical dilemmas.
“Hello, children, I’m your rational teacher.”
Modern parents are a bunch of morons. Actually, they’ve been morons for about twenty years now and, to my perpetual embarrassment, seem to include my generation. Modern schools also seem to foster moronism as this story about a supply teacher in Oldham being sacked for telling a class of seven-year-olds that Santa Claus wasn’t real. It’s not clear whether there was a mass protest from outraged, duplicitous parents, or whether the whole incident stems from a single, whining member of this species. The head teacher was even writing a letter of apology which, if she was truthful about the incident would’ve said
Father Christmas/Santa Claus was part of the mythos of Christmas when I was young, but I don’t remember ever thinking that he really was real because I was never that credulous. No one told me that Father Christmas didn’t exist and I didn’t need to be told. I would certainly have been under the age of 10 when I realised all this, and my scepticism about Father Christmas was generally part of my atheist outlook even then.
My parents sent my sister and me to Sunday School, but I don’t know why. They didn’t attend church themselves and they didn’t lard their speech with religious references. In other words, I have a purely secular background and parents who wanted my sister and me out of the house once a week; and certainly not really for our moral or spiritual good.
Dear Parents,
I would like to apologise to all of you following the recent incident in which a teacher told your children the truth. I can assure you that the truth has no place in my school where gods and demons, elves and goblins, fairies and imps are all very real and tangible.
Fortunately, the gullibility of youth appears to have been unimpaired by some mere supply teacher telling the truth. I would also like to assure you that in future, supply teachers will be vetted to ensure that they come up to the required standards of mendacity for our school.
Merry Christmas, and may Satan Claws Santa Claus bring you all the presents you wished for.
Father Christmas/Santa Claus was part of the mythos of Christmas when I was young, but I don’t remember ever thinking that he really was real because I was never that credulous. No one told me that Father Christmas didn’t exist and I didn’t need to be told. I would certainly have been under the age of 10 when I realised all this, and my scepticism about Father Christmas was generally part of my atheist outlook even then.
My parents sent my sister and me to Sunday School, but I don’t know why. They didn’t attend church themselves and they didn’t lard their speech with religious references. In other words, I have a purely secular background and parents who wanted my sister and me out of the house once a week; and certainly not really for our moral or spiritual good.
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