I agree with, and love, this answer.
All icky.
Go for someone anonymous with great DNA, some brains and brawn and looks.
I say brother, because aside from the ‘eww’ factor of using the father’s sperm, the brother carries genes from both of the baby’s grandparents. Theoretically his DNA is closer to his sister than anyone else’s is.
That’s assuming there’s nothing wrong with his DNA or his mother’s family’s.
Same problem with lawyers marrying, but there’s still no law against it.
Not really. The father is a guaranteed half of the one mother’s chromosomes, but the brother could be anywhere from nearly all to nearly none. Each of the siblings have half their parents’ genes, but they aren’t guaranteed to get the same half.
I’d still go with the brother for social reasons, though.
Aw shucks. I accept. Where is the fertile wench?
There can be custody issues up until the birth of the child when they are presumably adopted by the second parent.
Depending on your relationship with your brother, he could make things quite hairy.
I don’t think there are custody issues with unborn children.
The brother could make things hairy, but that’s the same with any known donor. It’s something lesbian couples have to weigh up when considering anonymous (till 18) sperm donation vs. having a child who has some contact with their biological father and, in this case, biological connections to both families.
I’ve got a great idea for a new sitcom.
Unfortunately, it’ll probably end up as a reality show. :rolleyes:
I thought the line was “Bring on that girl with the abscessed tooth!”
Regards,
Shodan
Brother, for reasons **Heart of Dorkness **has already said.
The overwhelming choice of the brother to father the child is not really a big surprise. It’s a version of Levirate marriage.
There are also a few cultures where a woman’s consanguineal brother performs the roles that in most Western cultures are function of the father. Most of the time, the roles are determined by lineage and inheritance. Matrilineal descent systems are more likely to have an uncle performing “father” roles. In some kinship terminologies, there isn’t a separate word for father and uncle; all male relations of ego’s mother are called by the same word. Hawaiian kinship is an example. (Western societies generally use Eskimo kinship terms).
The fact that so few people chose the cousin as a possibility I think shows how particularly strong the cultural feelings against cousin marriage are in North America. In some kinship systems, cross-cousin marriages are preferred due to some degree of kinship ties, but very low chance of significant consanguinity.
In the hypothetical, I chose brother. But practically speaking, I think it would be better to use donor sperm from an unrelated person with physical characteristics like the partner who isn’t carrying the child. Otherwise it can lead to an awkward three-parent situation.
Is it possible that the brother could be held legally responsible for child support if the lesbians broke up later on? Seems risky.