Talk about taking the bull by the horns. 31-year-old civil servant, Toban Morrison, always knew he wanted a family. But at age 28 that just wasn't happening. He wasn't in a serious relationship. Then his grandfather died suddenly, spurring Morrison into action.
"I'm not the kind of person that sits around and waits for destiny," he said.
Morrison had considered adoption until he saw a website offering surrogacy services. Although surrogacy is legal in Canada, it's not legal if any cash is exchanged. In fact, paying for a woman to carry a baby that isn't hers carries a hefty "reproductive material" fine of $500,000 or 10 years imprisonment.
Having donated sperm and paid for a surrogate in Mumbai, India with a $25,000 inheritance from his beloved grandfather, Toban finally welcomed a baby boy, Orion Preet Morrison, into his life on July 26.
An astronomy buff, Morrison named his son after the Hunter constellation which translates, aptly, as 'the coming light'.
"When I look at Orion, I just see a lot of myself in him," said Morrison. "I've been waiting for this for three years. I feel like I've known him forever."
According to Star reports, single men actually form a very small proportion of surrogacy clientele in India, at around 0.4 per cent. The surrogates themselves are all married mothers under the age of 32, who earn around $7,500 or $1,000 for egg donors. Clients must also meet certain criteria, such as financial stability and a decent support network, including female caretakers.
It's an unconventional route to parenthood, for sure, but is what's known as 'medical tourism' wrong, morally and ethically speaking? To Juliet Guichon, a bioethicist from Calgary, it's exploitation, plain and simple.
"This is not employment," says Guichon, "because no employment goes 24 hours a day... It's the use of a woman's body by wealthier people."
If Morrison -- who eventually plans to take Orion to India to learn about his heritage -- proves to be a caring and committed father, does it really matter about the baby's origins? Does the baby have a right to have a mother in his life?
Image Credit: thestar.com
30 Rock star, Tina Fey and composer husband, 51-year-old, Jeffrey Richmond, welcomed a new addition: a healthy baby girl named Penelope Athena, on Wednesday, Aug. 10. the couple already has a 5½-year-old, Alice Zenobia.
The 41-year-old Bossypants author, who revealed her pregnancy on Oprah Winfrey back in April, apparently "agonized" over having a second kid but decided it was time to expand their family.
“My husband and I really decided that we felt rather than risk having 30 Rock end in several years and feeling like part of our family is missing that we were going to prioritize our family,” said Fey.
Good call, and congrats. From one Yummy to another.
It didn't take jurors long -- 40 minutes, to be precise -- to reach a guilty verdict for the sect leader. 55-year-old Warren Jeffs got life in prison after having sex with underage girls.
In addition to a life sentence for aggravated sexual assault of a child, Jeffs received another 20-year sentence for sexual assault of a child, and a fine for $10,000.
Sensational doesn't even begin to describe the trial that dissected the polygamist's life and times. Of his reported 78 marriages, two were with minors: a 12-year-old and 15-year-old respectively. In fact, nearly one third of Jeffs' brides were under 16 at the time of their marriage.
Apparently when police raided his compound in 2008, they discovered mounds of journals and recordings which charted every detail of his sicko marriages.
As if more evidence was needed to put him away, Jeffs' own grown niece and nephew testified against him, describing the abuse they'd suffered as children, with his nephew Brent allegedly raped at the age of five.
"He began to tell me that we were going to do God's will. This is between me, you and God," said Brent Jeffs, now 28.
Ironic, coming from a man who accused prosecutors of "attacking" his religion.
Now, before you go thinking this was just one more wacky cult, and that we can all sleep soundly knowing he's in the slammer, consider that Jeffs' sect (which is a branch of the Mormon church) has something like 10,000 devoted followers.
Shudder to think.
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