英伦广角 2014-05-03 单身女性人工授精生育不断上升

 Lenie and Bebe have the same father, but he's not part of their lives. That might not be so unusual, but what is is the way mom Lisa got pregnant. 

 

With no husband or partner, and time ticking, she opted¹ for donor² insemination as the route to motherhood. 

 

I don't think any one has gone about it deliberately³ because they don't want a man around and a lot of women are hoping that that nice man would turn up now the children are there but the pressure is off, you know, trying to find that person in the time that you've got in order to become a mom.

 

A growing number of women are certainly choosing a similar path. In 2007, 259 single women had IVF treatments, by 2012, the number had more than doubled to 632, and donor insemination for women without a partner also increased from 330 to 468 over the same period. 

 

It became easier for single women to pursue motherhood with the introduction of the 2008 human fertilization and embryology acts. What that did was remove reference to the need for a father when going for fertility treatments; instead replacing it with the requirement to provide supportive parenting.

 

And before it gets to the stage of laboratories, plenty of checks should be carried out. 

 

It's not taken very lightly by the woman or by the clinic. There are very responsible rules; we make sure that there is support from family and friend and most of the time there is and also we offer them counseling before they have treatment. 

 

there are nearly 2 million single parents in the UK, and the vast majority have been through a separation. But critics say that's different, the opting⁴ to go it alone from the outset.

 

I am quite horrified⁵. I think it's very offensive and undesirable⁶ to reduce the role of fatherhood to a donation from an anonymous⁷ sperm⁸ donor. There's much more to fatherhood than that. 

 

It's an idea that would never sit comfortably for those who don't disagree. But having a baby is a woman's right. But for Lisa and others like her, only by becoming a mother could life be made complete.

1 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

2 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

3 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

4 opting   

v.选择，挑选( opt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• What courses are most students opting for? 多数学生选什么课程？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Wells doesn't rule out opting out and then re-signing with Houston. 威尔斯没有排除跳出合同再与火箭重签的可能。 来自互联网

5 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

6 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。

7 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

8 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。