The Voice of Silent Toxic Mothers in Morrison’s A Mercy and Albeshr’s Hend and the Soldiers

This paper analytically compares Morrison’s A Mercy (2008) to Albeshr’s Hend and the Soldiers (2006) to explore the maternal position in Western and Middle Eastern literatures and give the silent mothers voice. These novels depict rudimentary social systems predicated on deep inequalities of class and gender; they highlight the commonality of mothers’ experiences regardless of their class, race, or nationality. In A Mercy, the black mother discards her daughter to protect her from a malevolent master, while in Hend and the Soldiers, the uneducated Arab mother arranges her daughter’s marriage to free her from the domination of the patriarchal society. The daughters consider their mothers as toxic parents and relate all evil in their lives to them. These novels are narrated mainly from a daughter point of view, and they share the themes of the disintegrated mother-daughter relationship and search for identity. This type of narration foregrounds the daughterly perspectives and subordinates the maternal voice (Hirsch, 1989, p. 163). Applying the elements presented in Marianne Hirsch’s Mother/Daughter Plot facilitates the deconstruction of the idea of silent toxic mothers and gives mothers the opportunity to speak for themselves. According to Hirsch, when daughters become mature enough to accept their problems and failures, they become not only real women but also part of their mothers’ stories by listening carefully. Thus, I argue that mothers’ voices are heard when their subjectivity is explored through their stories narrated in their daughters’ memories, in the mothers’ self-vindication, and by surrogate mothers.

A shift from home to the market: The marketization of reproductive labor in India

Commercial surrogacy marketizes life's work. In the era of neo-liberalism, women's work, which is often intimately performed within a heterosexual marriage in exchange of support, now remains a principal avenue to earn money. This form of feminization of labor has led to the emergence of markets for women's reproductive capacities. The present study stems from my ethnographic journey into the lives of the women who work as surrogate mothers in India. The narratives presented in the paper emerge from my prolonged fieldwork in Anand, Gujarat. It engages with the experiences, understandings, and the voices of these women, who I term reproductive laborers, in order to examine the notion of putting one's reproductive capacities in this intimate market for money.

Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser Syndrome (MRKH) Patients Treated with Laparoscopic Neovaginal with The Davydov Procedure with Epidural Anesthesia: A Case Report

Introduction. MRKH syndrome is characterized by incomplete or absent of vaginal and uterine agenesis. Currently there are no official guidelines on the management of MRKH syndrome. This case report is about the operative management in MRKH patients by neovaginal with laparoscopic Davydov procedure. Case presentation. A 26-year-old woman admitted that she had never had a period, the patient admitted that her breasts began to grow at the age of 13, and the patient was planning to get married, and refused to take further planning. The patient then came back to the RSMH urogynecology clinic after marriage, from the examination it was found that the pubic hole was ± 0.5 cm deep, speculum examination could not be done, the uterus could not be palpable from the rectal toucher. From the ultrasound examination, it was found that both ovaries were within normal limits and suspected uterine hypoplasia. Hormone tests were within normal limits, with the following values: LH 27.01 mIU / mL, FSH 57.08 mIU / mL, Estradiol 10 pg / mL, Prolactin 5.94 ng / mL. Patients with a history of atrial septal defect (ASD) and ventricular septal defect (VSD) Conclusion. Treatment of MRKH syndrome patients is usually complex and requires multidisciplinary counseling, therapy, and management, so it is hoped that it can help patients to make a functional vagina. Further research and collaboration from various multidisciplinary make pregnancy in patients with MRKH syndrome, not impossible, along with current technological and scientific developments, the selection of surrogate mothers, and uterine transplantation is an option.

SOME ISSUES OF GRANTING A SUSPENDED SENTENCE

В настоящее время одним из приоритетных направлений развития государства является улучшение демографической ситуации в стране, а также поддержка материнства, детства и семьи. Для реализации указанных целей российская правовая политика предусматривает различные механизмы, одним из которых является предоставление отсрочки отбывания наказания беременным женщинам, женщинам и мужчинам, являющимися единственным родителем, до достижения ребенком четырнадцатилетнего возраста. Социальное назначение данного вида отсрочки заключается в обеспечении прав детей на развитие и воспитание в родной семье. В последнее время набирает популярность суррогатное материнство, которое предусматривает вынашивание и рождение женщиной ребенка для другого лица или лиц, которые станут родителями ребенка после его рождения. При этом в российском законодательстве остаются неурегулированными некоторые вопросы, связанные с реализацией требований отсрочки отбывания наказания суррогатным матерям. В статье рассмотрены проблемы правовых последствий для суррогатных матерей, которым предоставлена отсрочка отбывания наказания, в случае передачи ребенка в соответствии с требованиями договора потенциальным родителям и предложены пути их решения. Currently, one of the priorities of the state's development is to improve the demographic situation in the country, as well as support for motherhood, childhood and family. In order to achieve these goals, the Russian legal policy provides for various mechanisms, one of which is the provision of deferred sentence for pregnant women, women and men who are the only parent, until the child reaches the age of fourteen. The social purpose of this type of deferral is to ensure the rights of children to development and upbringing in their native family. Surrogacy, which involves the carrying and giving birth of a child by a woman for another person or persons who will become parents of the child after its birth, has recently gained popularity. At the same time, some issues related to the implementation of the requirements for postponing the serving of sentences for surrogate mothers remain unresolved in Russian legislation. In particular, this article discusses the problems of legal consequences for surrogate mothers who are granted a suspended sentence in the case of the transfer of the child in accordance with the requirements of the contract to potential parents and suggests ways to solve them.

The Effects of Sperm and Seminal Fluid of Immunized Male Mice on In Vitro Fertilization and Surrogate Mother–Embryo Interaction

The latest vaccination campaign has actualized the potential impact of antigenic stimuli on reproductive functions. To address this, we mimicked vaccination’s effects by administering keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH ) to CD1 male mice and used their sperm for in vitro fertilization (IVF). Two-cell embryos after IVF with spermatozoa from control (C) or KLH-treated (Im) male mice were transferred to surrogate mothers mated with vasectomized control (C) or KLH-treated (Im) male mice, resulting in four experimental groups: C–C, Im–C, C–Im, and Im–Im. The pre-implantation losses were significantly lower in the Im–C group than in the C–Im group. At the same time, the resorption rates reduced markedly in the C–Im compared to the Im–C group. Embryo and placenta weights were significantly higher in the Im–Im group. Although the GM-CSF levels were lower in the amniotic fluid of the gestating surrogate mothers in the Im–Im group, they were strongly correlated with embryo mass. The number–size trade-off was only significant in the Im–Im group. This suggests a positive, cooperative effect of spermatozoa and seminal fluid from immune-primed males on embryo growth and the optimal distribution of surrogate mother maternal resources despite the negative impact of males’ antigenic challenge on the IVF success rate.

Surrogacy Program State Regulation Experiment

In the pursuit of family happiness, married couples, faced with family infertility, often turn to surrogate mothers either directly or through intermediaries. Having experienced a large number of negative factors on the part of the participants in this process, the author concludes that it is necessary to create a platform for the effective implementation of the surrogacy program under state control using new (experimental) legal mechanisms within the framework of a pilot state experiment within a certain medical organization. The use of private legal means aims at creating comfortable and safe conditions for the implementation of the surrogacy program. The introduction of special credit conditions (new types of loans issued on special conditions, with additional guarantees), with the possibility of early repayment at the expense of maternal (family) capital will help to stabilize the financial side and protect potential parents.The goals and objectives of the study are to highlight problematic issues related to the implementation of the surrogacy program, as well as to model an experimental platform that will create a favorable legal climate of openness and security for potential parents, surrogate mothers and medical organizations. The paper also analyzes the advantages of the participants of this platform.Research methods are analysis, synthesis, modeling, comparative legal, system analysis, as well as deductive and inductive methods.The result of the conducted research is the author’s reasoned conclusion that the implementation of the experiment on state regulation of the surrogacy program in Russia will not only create favorable legal conditions aimed at the effective implementation of the surrogacy program, but also solve a number of important social, including demographic, tasks.

First attempt at rehabilitation of Asiatic Black Bear cubs to the wild in Thailand

Returning orphan bear cubs to the wild can benefit bear welfare and conservation but is hindered in Asia by the scarcity of documented experience. We experimented with rehabilitation of two Asiatic Black Bear cubs in Thailand using the assisted method of soft-release. We raised the 5-month old cubs for 11 months with minimal human contact in a remote enclosure in high quality habitat, letting cubs out periodically to walk with caretakers in the forest. The caretakers acted as surrogate mothers, allowing cubs to safely acquire foraging skills and familiarity with the forest. Supplementary feeding resulted in the cubs’ rapid weight gain (average 157g/day), faster than would occur in the wild. Faster growth allowed the cubs to be released sooner, reducing the likelihood of long-term habituation. After three months of rehabilitation, the bear cubs started showing signs of being wary of the caretakers (e.g., cautious when we approached their enclosure) and their focus during walks switched from play to foraging. After seven months they began to spend nights away from their enclosure, thus declining the supplemental food. This sequence and timing of increasing separation and independence from people matched other assisted soft releases in the region. The cubs went missing in month 12, shortly before planned collaring and release. They were seen together 2.5 months later on a fruiting tree and ran away when approached. Assisted soft releases might be a promising option for bear rehabilitation in Asia but more data are needed to evaluate their effectiveness relative to other methods. This method affords direct observations of bears in the wild that can augment our knowledge of bear behavior and ecology.

Foreign experience in protecting human reproductive rights from crime

The purpose of the research is to determine the features of foreign experience in protecting reproductive human rights from crimes. The article analyzes the legislation regulating human reproductive rights, provides various points of view of scientists regarding artificial human reproduction. The scientific novelty of the work consists in the development of various mechanisms to protect the legal status of both surrogate mothers and genetic parents, which helps to reduce crime. As a result, the models of perception of the phenomenon in question are defined, both in Europe and in the Asian region. Various ways to minimize legal conflicts are suggested. In addition, taking into account this kind of reality, we have identified differential approaches to the issue of legal liability for abuse in the field of artificial reproduction to people in the countries of the European and Asian continents. They also identified specific features of the work of Russian clinics as agents of medical and genetic consultations with foreign citizens (In particular, the Netherlands, Thailand, and some USA States).

The Influence of Cross-Fostering on Alcohol Consumption and Depressive-Like Behaviors in HA and LA Mice: The Role of the Endogenous Opioid System

The development of alcohol dependence and depression is determined by various genetic and environmental factors. In the presented study, we used high analgesia (HA) and low analgesia (LA) mouse lines, characterized by different endogenous opioid system activity and divergent blood–brain barrier permeability, to determine the influence of cross-fostering of these lines raised by surrogate mothers on ethanol consumption and development of depressive-like behaviors. We also investigated ethanol drinking by biological parents or surrogate mothers. Furthermore, we investigated whether these parental changes would alter the effect of naloxone on ethanol intake and depressive-like behaviors in offspring. Our results reveal that cross-fostering of HA and LA raised by surrogate mothers has a greater impact on depressive-like behaviors than ethanol consumption. Ethanol intake by biological parents substantially affected depressive-like behaviors and ethanol consumption in offspring. Moreover, ethanol intake by biological parents or an adoptive mother modified the effect of naloxone on ethanol consumption and preference and depressive-like behaviors in the HA offspring only. Together, these results indicate that cross-fostering differentially affects the effect of naloxone on alcohol consumption and the development of depression.