Baby Blinkers

I’d like to introduce the term Baby Blinkers. In horse racing blinkers or blinders are often used to restrict a horse’s view, generally reducing peripheral vision and in some instances creating an artificial form of tunnel vision.

For those people that are deeply distressed and traumatised by infertility, their quest to obtain a child often leads to them having tunnel vision. The obsession with having a child reduces their ability to focus on the bigger picture and surrounding issues, giving them tunnel vision. They have Baby Blinkers on.

Once a couple or person has put the Baby Blinkers on, and it is deemed as the necessary course of action to use donated gametes or embryos for them to get their little piece of joyous property, the welfare and rights of the child take a back seat to their own desires. Anyone, even those such as adult offspring who have lived the experience, who try to convey to them the problems which can potentially arise as a result of their decision are typically dismissed out of hand. Because in their eyes what would we know about infertility???

Apart from the fact we live the consequences of their actions every day of our lives.

It is a shame that Baby Blinkers blind people to learn from the mistakes of the past, such that they will be bound to repeat them.

Note: This is not to say that "everyone" who utilises donor conception has not thought about these wider issues and are blinkered. Some will still choose to put their desires in front of the rights of the child.