Redefining family: should lesbians have access to assisted reproduction?

The recent Federal Court decision in McBain v. Victoria, which rendered inoperative a Victorian law that restricted assisted reproductive technology to married or heterosexual de facto couples, has raised the issue of whether lesbians should have access to such technology. This article provides an overview of State laws currently regulating lesbian access to assisted reproduction in Australia. It then explores the growing body of empirical research indicating that the welfare of children raised in lesbian households does not differ in any significant respect from the welfare of children raised in comparable circumstances by heterosexual parents. This research undermines the view that children suffer social stigma or experience hardship caused by the lack of a 'father figure.' The 'welfare of child' rhetoric has in fact been used to mask marginalisation of 'alternative' family forms, and the reluctance to extend assisted reproductive technology to lesbians is underpinned by a deep-rooted fear of undermining the traditional heterosexual nuclear family.

High glutaraldehyde concentrations mitigate bioprosthetic root calcification in the sheep model.

BACKGROUND: Fixation at high glutaraldehyde (GA) concentrations mitigated bioprosthetic calcification in the rat model. The present study intended to verify this observation in the circulatory sheep model. METHODS: Porcine aortic roots were either fixed in 0.2%, 1.0%, or 3.0% GA. Eight roots per group were implanted in the distal aortic arch of sheep. After six weeks and six months calcification and inflammation were quantitatively and qualitatively assessed. RESULTS: By increasing the GA concentration from 0.2% to 3.0%, aortic wall calcification could be reduced by 38% after 6 weeks and 34% after 6 months of implantation (p < 0.01). Mineralization coincided with the presence of elastin although calcium was predominantly found in cell nuclei and membranes. Leaflet calcification was absent in all groups after 6 weeks but in a few leaflets presented as heterogeneous, nodular spongiosa deposits after 6 months. Overall, differences between 0.2%-, 1.0%-, and 3.0%-fixed tissue were quantitative but not qualitative regarding distribution patterns. There was no significant difference in inflammatory host reaction between all groups. CONCLUSIONS: We have shown in the circulatory sheep model that the anticalcific effect of better cross-linking seems to outweigh the intrinsic pro-calcific effect of GA accumulation in bioprosthetic aortic wall tissue.