I was at a party on Saturday…

[samvara]

…and I was hiding outside as far away from the Jagerbombs as possible (it’s a sad, sad world when someone you helped raise is old enough to try to peer pressure you) and got to chatting to a gal I went to high school #2 with. A couple we know has found out they are unable to reproduce so they are using his father’s sperm to make a baby. They had a very wide range of reactions to this plan.
[Poll #1255579]

Comments

[shrydar.livejournal.com]

Were it a ticky-box poll I would have checked the first two answers, though with a leaning towards Eww.

[black-samvara.livejournal.com]

I kind of think it went like this:

1. We want to have a baby
2. He's infertile
3. Maybe IVF...
4. We can go closer to home

[missyjack.livejournal.com]

I can understand the Eww reaction, however its interesting that it prob would be different if it was say, her mother offering eggs or to be a surrogate.

While I don't presonally understand the drive for a genetic connection, this cetainly seems a reasonable solution to it. I mean its not as if the woman is having sex with her father-in-law!The nearest personal experience I've had was a lesbain couple I knew who got one women's brother to donate sperm for their pregnancy. In that case everyone I know thought it was pretty sweet.

[japester.livejournal.com]

I think, if you go to anyone you know for donor sperm/eggs, a certain number of people will go ewww!
Simply because it's coming from a known person. I think it's just as icky, or non-icky as asking a friend, or other family member. At least this way they are propogating that family's genes...

I'm with shrydar, I tick all three boxes :P

[black-samvara.livejournal.com]

I thought it was a very generous and loving thing to do and yeah, somehow it seems more OK to people if the woman does it...

[ironed_orchid]

It's both logical and Eww!

It makes sense from a genetic point of view, but father sperm is inherently gross.

[black-samvara.livejournal.com]

It's a powerful taboo!

[ironed_orchid]

Brother sperm and uncle sperm are not nearly as squicky.

Squick being a technical term meaning "there's no logical or ethical problem with it, yet it seems wrong."

[black-samvara.livejournal.com]

Yet in this particular case - the closest genetic match to the partner!

[riverbella.livejournal.com]

I may be weird, but it doesn't squick me ever a little. It just seems like a rational, logical and loving thing to do.

[black-samvara.livejournal.com]

It didn't squick me, I was just impressed they were doing it.

[battblush.livejournal.com]

I was told I was infertile back in the early days of my first marriage. My sister-in-law of the time offered to be a surrogate for us until I pointed out she'd be carrying her brother's baby. We quickly disposed of the idea and fortunately it turned out I was far from infertile.

It really does seem icky because we do have a basic reaction to anything that even looks like incest and carrying the baby of your father-in-law does, on first glance, carry an incestuous connotation. Partly, I think, because it creates the whole "your grandfather is also your biological father" conundrum.

I do remember a case where a woman was given her mother's eggs (fertilised by her own husband) and carried the resultant baby to term. And I did ick out to that too.

[fred-mouse.livejournal.com]

me too! but, I have an intense squick reaction to IVF, but sperm donation doesn't bother me. Having said that, the age of the father might be of concern

[black-samvara.livejournal.com]

from a fertility point of view?