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INFERTILITY   ADOPTION   POST-ADOPTION   FAMILY TREE   Adoption Resource Central    Heart of Adoption Articles to inspire   COUNTRY NEWS The latest from specific countries   You can order Family Helper publications   Robin's GLOSSARY of adoption terms		Ontario convenes expert panel on infertility and adoption BY ROBIN HILBORN, Family Helper editor
		(July 11, 2008)    According to a government news release Ontario has appointed an expert panel on fertility treatment and adoption to help find solutions for people trying to start or expand a family. The 12-member panel will recommend ways to help make both fertility treatment and adoption more accessible and affordable. The Ministry of Children and Youth Services is seeking advice on: -- Better access to infertility treatment and making fertility monitoring available to women so they know if they are likely to have problems conceiving. -- Improving Ontario's adoption system so that more children can find permanent families. The panel includes adoptive parents, people with personal experience of infertility, and representatives from the medical and adoption communities. It should report within a year. "I look forward to working with my panel colleagues on this truly inspiring initiative," said panel chair, David Johnston, President of the University of Waterloo. "I believe that together, we can make a difference in the lives of Ontarians wishing to create families." The ministry provided biographies of the 12 panel members. The Adoption Council of Canada (ACC) wrote a letter to the minister on July 21 voicing two objections: -- The committee's purpose is to "to help find solutions for people who are trying to start or expand a family." This suggests that the interests of the child are second to those of adults struggling with infertility. Adoption is a way of finding a home for a child, not a family-building service for those unable to conceive. Any discussion of adoption must focus on children's rights and needs. -- ACC is disappointed that no-one on the panel had "lived experience" with adoption or donor conception. The ACC urged participation by adopted and donor-conceived adults. Minister Deb Matthews replied on Sept. 8 that the expert panel met for the first time in July. The minister will ensure that David Johnston, chair of the expert panel, is aware of the ACC's request to share with the panel the ACC's concerns about children's rights in adoption and the views of adopted and donor-conceived adults. According to the ministry, infertility affects 1 in 10 Ontarians and approximately 1 in 6 women over the age of 30. There were about 850 adoptions completed through Ontario children's aid societies in 2006. For more information: -- Infertility Awareness Association of Canada -- Adoption in Ontario - Ministry of Children and Youth Services ________________________________________ You may reproduce this item with the credit: "From Family Helper, www.familyhelper.net"