Reading a blog elsewhere that was dealing with donor
conception and the posts on a particular thread, the debate really got out of
hand. Personally I am all for free speech and people expressing their opinions
so long as they don’t become personal attacks which is what started happening
in that debate. Instead of debating or arguing the “argument”, some took it
upon themselves to become personal. When this happens no-one listen to the
others point of view and it ends up pretty much becoming a waste of time. I don’t
think the adversarial approach is the best way to get people to come around to
your way of thinking but that is just me.
That said it did appear that there were many who were
reading that blog and posting who were only after pats on the back and
reassurances that their decision about using donated gametes was the correct
one. There are plenty of forums specifically set-up for that sort of thing, so
if you don’t want to hear any potential negatives then those people were
perhaps visiting the wrong website. Many were complaining that the thread would
create undue harm to those visiting the site who were looking to use donor gametes,
I would perhaps argue that it might hopefully get some of them to think about
some of the other complexities that can be involved and question their reasons
for doing it (even if the thread did end up being a bit of a slanging match). For
myself I would like people to think about the choices they are making and to
view these choices through the eyes of the child they are about to create and
the outcomes that can produce (remembering that love may not conquer all –
Hollywood myth) because that can change the perspective a hell of a lot.
Debate and civil discourse on this topic is good, arguing
with abuse not so.
