Wow

I knew about human chimeras, but, wow.

'Human chimera': Man fails paternity test because genes in his saliva are different to those in sperm: It is thought cells from a miscarried sibling were absorbed by the man while he was in the womb

A US man has failed a paternity test after doctors revealed his dead twin, whose DNA the man absorbed in the womb, is the genetic father of the child.

The 34-year-old man is the first ever reported case of a paternity test being fooled by a human chimera, someone with extra genes absorbed from a twin lost in early pregnancy.

Approximately one in eight single childbirths are thought to start as multiple pregnancies and occasionally cells from the miscarried siblings are sometimes absorbed in the womb by a surviving twin.

According to my mother, when she was pregnant with me, they didn't do ultrasounds, but there were two distinct foetal heartbeats heard, and she was supposed to be carrying twins. About four months into the pregnancy, my mother started bleeding badly, and after that there was only one foetal heartbeat, and she had to be on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy or possibly lose me, too. For reasons I won't go into, we never had confirmation that she had miscarried my twin, but it is common and it sounds very much like that is what happened. My friend says I 'ate my twin'. I've often wondered if there were any residual effects from that. Did I absorb cells from that twin? And if I did...and say, it was a boy, could that be why I've had odd hormonal issues most of my life? [High androgens, for one.]

Shameful

Abortion debate flares in Ireland after woman denied quick termination dies

Savita Halappanavar was in agony but her doctors remained obstinate.

The 31-year-old dentist was 17 weeks pregnant on Oct. 21 when her husband Praveen rushed her to a hospital in Galway, Ireland. After an examination at the coastal city’s university hospital, Halappanavar was told she was miscarrying.

Over a three-day stretch, Halappanavar and her husband asked repeatedly that her pregnancy be terminated.

Doctors refused, saying that they could still detect a fetal heartbeat. At one point, Halappanavar was told, “This is a Catholic country,” according to The Guardian.

Halappanavar was neither Irish nor Catholic, but died due to a constitutional amendment passed in 1983 that states that one is an Irish citizen from conception. Thousands of Irish women go abroad to end their pregnancies in a country where abortion is not available. She did not have that recourse, as she was undergoing an emergency miscarriage. Now she is dead, her case mishandled by a profession that promises to 'do no harm', who in turn are bound by a backwards property of the constitution that means choosing a dying foetus over the health of the mother.

No one likes the idea of abortion. I certainly don't care for the idea of abortion in place of birth control. [And I stress that birth control is a better option. It amazes me that some people oppose that, as well, even though I understand their reasons. But it does prevent the more invasive abortion.] But I think that's relatively rare that you have women who just abort at the drop of a hat. The two people I have known to have had one made very difficult decisions and were certainly not doing so blithely. But I think women have a fundamental right to safe medical services for abortion, no matter what the situation. And the idea that a woman should carry a pregnancy to term in the case of rape or incest is insulting to women everywhere. Or, in this case, risking the life of a woman, I think it should be criminal.

I hope this case will open up a dialogue in Ireland and other places about providing the medical services needed to save lives despite, and providing abortion services to women who need them.

Please tell me this is just media hype

There is apparently a bill in the Georgia state legislature proposing to make women criminally responsible--on pain of death--if they have a miscarriage, something that is a natural (although obviously distressing) process, fairly common, and usually through no fault of the woman. And yes, it was proposed by a man. Surprised?

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