Without a Doubt: An Irish Couple’s Journey Through IVF, Adoption and Surrogacy

Description

Without a Doubt is the compelling and heartfelt story of Fiona Whyte and Seán Malone’s quest to have a family together in Ireland. Their sweeping efforts, first with IVF, then adoption, and finally and successfully through surrogacy with a clinic in India, expose the shortcomings of the current Irish legal system relating to these deeply emotional issues and their heart-breaking human consequences.

Written with profound honesty, Fiona and Seán’s personal story follows the couple through their extraordinary journey that led, ultimately, to the successful birth of twins. Their story highlights the dire need for new legislation to provide for and protect Irish parents and their children born through surrogacy, and explores the complex legal, ethical and social issues created in this legal vacuum.

Without a Doubt is the emotional story of one couple’s dream of having a family, a damning indictment of the inadequacies of the Irish adoption system, and the urgent need for surrogacy legislation in Ireland today. In Fiona’s own words: ‘In the eyes of the Irish state I do not exist.’ Only now, after three years, has Fiona been recognised as the legal guardian of her twins in what is a landmark judgement in Irish legal history.

Table of Contents

Me ~ Seán ~ Together ~ IVF ~ Barcelona ~ The Transfer ~ Results ~ Being Pregnant ~ Adoption ~ Surrogacy ~ The Decider ~ Donors and Donation ~ Below the Radar ~ Preparing for India ~ Saturday 26^th January 2013 ~ India ~ The Corion Clinic ~ Shobha ~ The Next Days  ~ Tuesday 29^th January ~ Transfer Day….again ~ Valentine’s Day ~ There will always be Three ~ Preparing ~ An Important Encounter ~ To Visa or not to Visa ~ DNA Testing ~ The Telling ~ And More Preparations ~ Choosing and Deciding ~ The Final Prep ~ Returning to India ~ Sunday 22^nd September  ~ PUNE ~ My Birthday ~ Tuesday 24^th September ~ Wednesday 25^th September ~ The Day ~ Donal and Ruby ~ Friday 27^th September ~ Becoming Acquainted ~ Saturday 28^th September ~ The All Ireland Hurling Final – CLARE V CORK ~ Sunday 29^th September ~ Monday 30^th September ~ Meeting Shobha again ~ Discharged ~ On Our Own ~ DNA ~ Friday 4^th October ~ Returning to Pune ~ What the papers say ~ Legal Wranglings ~ Returning to Mumbai ~ More Legal Wranglings ~ Tuesday 29^th October ~ Wednesday 30^th October ~ Going nowhere ~ What’s Another Week ~ After Diwali ~ Thursday 7^th November ~ Going Home ~ London ~ Home ~ Bombshell ~ First Christmas ~ ‘Her Body Our Babies’ ~ Fallout ~ The Media Experience ~ Help and Hope? ~ The Christening ~ Irish Court Proceedings, Day one ~ Irish Court Proceedings, Day two ~ After the Formalities ~ And what now? ~ May 2015

About the Authors

Fiona Whyte and Seán Malone live in Miltown Malbay, west Clare, with their children. Their efforts to adopt and then travel to India to seek surrogacy were the subject of RTÉ’s ‘Her Body, Our Babies’. They are part-time farmers and are keenly interested in both GAA football and hurling.