Psychological and ethical issues in third party assisted conception and surrogate motherhood

The continuing increase in babies born via third party assisted conception (AC) and surrogate motherhood across the world shows the success of and medical and social demand for third party interventions in family building. However, with the increasing use of such interventions world-wide, commercialisation and commodification have proliferated. This in turn has led to inequality in access to AC services, in choice of third party input, and in questionable human rights and psychosocial welfare issues. Transitioning to parenthood using third party AC and surrogate motherhood, in addition to requiring equality in access, also demand accuracy of birth and genetic information. In the absence of accurate record keeping, continuing practices of anonymity, and marginalization of the contribution of donors and surrogates, psychological, social, health and ethical questions are raised for donors, recipients and potentially for (genetic, gestational) part, half and full offspring, siblings and others in the extended family such as grandparents

The diversity of Australian Mesozoic bennettitopsid reproductive organs

Several dispersed reproductive organs of bennettitopsid gymnosperms are described and illustrated from Triassic to Cretaceous strata of Australia: Williamsonia eskensis sp. nov. (Middle Triassic), Williamsonia ipsvicensis sp. nov. (Upper Triassic), Williamsonia durikaiensis sp. nov. (Lower Jurassic), Williamsonia sp. (Lower Jurassic), Williamsonia rugosa sp. nov. (Middle Jurassic), Williamsonia gracilis sp. nov. (Lower Cretaceous), Cycadolepis ferrugineus sp. nov. (Lower Jurassic), Cycadolepis sp. (Lower Cretaceous), and Fredlindia moretonensis Shirley 1898 comb. nov. (Upper Triassic). Among these, W. eskensis appears to represent the oldest bennettitalean reproductive structure yet identified. Although global floras expressed less provincialism during the Mesozoic and many genera are cosmopolitan, Australian bennettopsid species appear to have been endemic based on the morphological characters of the reproductive structures. Bennettopsids have a stratigraphic range of around 210 million years in Australia and are widely and abundantly represented by leaf fossils, but only around 20 specimens of reproductive structures, of which half are attributed to Fredlindia, have been recovered from that continent’s geological archive. The extremely low representation of reproductive organs vis-à-vis foliage is interpreted to reflect a combination of physical disintegration of the seed-bearing units while attached to the host axis and, potentially, extensive vegetative reproduction in bennettopsids growing at high southern latitudes during the Mesozoic.Other funding from:National Science Foundation (project #1636625)German Research Council (DFG KR2125/3)Friends of the Swedish Museum of Natural History (Riksmusei Vänner, Stockholm)SYNTHESYS (AT-TAF 467)</p