A Gentleman’s view.

The rate of children being born autistic is good TV.

I usually stay away from issues addressing women’s rights when it comes to their bodies as we men haven’t the foggiest idea what exactly that entails in the least. Sometimes life by way of entertainment coming into our homes 24/7, lends itself to subjects about the impact of conflicting views of how we as citizens in one society make personal choices. The morning shows are entertainment businesses and I understand that bottom line, profit is what they are seeking for themselves. However, as with most experiences in life, nothing happens in a vacuum and the ‘Morning Shows’ expose more than the required amount of information about today’s celebrities personal lives as they are the essence of entertainment. They also have their so-called feel good or feel sorry for medical issue of the week. Depending on whether or not the subject matter is good or bad for the pharmaceutical sponsors presently engaging advertising spots with them the stories will be either propaganda for or an indictment against a medical cause or procedure. There has been of late much debate and opinions about Autism and the increasing amount of women choosing to start their families much later in life after spending sometime as full time professionals. Mothers want to have their cake and eat it too, are actually not ending up living the life of ‘Riley’.

Many Famous celebrities have been making the rounds talking about the subject and even former Governor and Republican Vice Presidential nominee; Sarah Palin of Alaska carried to term a baby she was informed would be born with major developmental issues, Jenny McCarthy is another prominent figure with an opinion of note with a child with Autism. The religious point of view holds for no life should be terminated no matter the quality for the child or parent or consideration of financial burden ultimately to the child, on the immediate family, on society or the future of our country by reproducing less than capable citizens to have the rest of our society be responsible for later. When the mature parents are deceased and those children will still be here and most likely need full time care. The point of view that all life has value, a damaged child with mental deficiencies, children not asking to be born deformed, or one who is autistic or  many other physical, mental or emotional shortcomings may exist to the degree that the child will never grow up to being a productive member of this society in any way ever or know just enough to be sad or regret this experience. This now appears to be a trend supported by the numbers found in a study published in the Boston Globe analyzing 5 million births that there is a 50 percent increase in the chance that a child will be autistic if the mother is over 40 years old. So last week there was a big brouhaha on the medical roundup of all the shows about mothers having babies later in life because of pursuing professional careers and competing more with men in labor period and this is good for equality for women but bodes bad for any American future for a question arises who will be left to leave it too if they can’t run it?

The hypocrisy of these morning shows is that they make a very big deal about finding out about this study and bring in not one, but two or three medical doctors to explain the impact of such a study and what will it mean to mother who thought they had time? How will it affect a society’s perception of a mother’s freedom of choice when it comes to deciding when to have a child? Not to suggest these aren’t legitimate questions to raise, but after spending a few days scaring the heck out of women with that study, the fourth day is a medical heartbreak, one of trials and tribulations of woman like the ‘Octomom in her 40;s who was artificially impregnated with half a dozen kids already living in her mothers house and winds up with several of those kids being born damaged, or seeing Sara Palin’s Trig and countless others and wonder about the kids right not to be born with a level playing field to start or less than a full deck just because its parent insisted that self duplication was mandatory or out of their control at any price no matter the quality of it for the child.

But not for nothing, in the vernacular of my street friends peep this: We have two groups of women taking this action; those who use religion, greed or ignorance to be irresponsible and those with the need to leave something behind or must create, or have it as one more thing on the check list of life or personal failure kind of thing.  So a good follow up to finding out that women over forty years of age who insist on having children are fifty percent more likely to produce a child the rest of this society will like to have to pay for in later, if not sooner as it will not be able to provide for itself or contribute to our forward development as a country. We now want to share with you the story of “Celine Dion”, ultra rich and fabulously famous singer 41, who is married to a man who was 27 years her senior when they got started back there in the tough mid-nineties. They have been blessed with one child, a boy 9, but that is not enough. The study which has been all over the news about women over 40 having an 50 percent increase in the chance of having a child with autism is not enough, that her body has rejected the notion 4 times, (she has had infertility treatments four times and they have not been successful,) she stated on a talk show “ fifth time’s a charm”. I’m hearing this study and wondering ‘Hey Celine ‘I’m going to keep trying until it works!’ Dion; ‘You have been more than fortunate than the average person when it comes to your life and your body said no 4 times since, you are forty-one, your man is damn near 70, don’t you think you should quit before you wind up with a half a dozen children in an extremely poor state of health and the shock kills your husband, the loss crushes your son and you have no help raising all those kids. No amount of money can ease that kind of life for anyone. But for Good Morning America exclusively with Celine’s story, that’s entertainment! Yet no one will suggest that ladies just cut that out after 40.

© 2010, agentleman.