California women each have two children created from one set of eggs.
Another dispatch
from the frontiers of artificial reproductive technology. This time a lesbian
couple in California has had quadruplets. All four children came from one
woman’s eggs, and one man’s sperm, but the partners shared the load of the
pregnancy with each carrying two of the children.

Here’s how it
happened. Karen Wesolowski and Martha Padgett were 42 and 38 respectively.
After Ms Wesolowski tried unsuccessfully for three years to become pregnant, Ms
Padgett volunteered her own eggs. To maximise the chance of having a child,
their IVF doctor implanted two embryos in each. To their surprise, all four
were born. "We’re so thrilled, knowing they’re all related and can help
each other through life," says Ms Wesolowski. "Now we have four
babies who are all brothers and sisters. Our family is complete."

Complete — and a
bit complicated. Ms Padgett already has a 10-year-old daughter by her former
husband, David, who still visits. The quads’ father is an anonymous sperm
donor. Family reunions could be tense. ~ London
Telegraph, July 30

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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