Alice in Wonderland meets Killing Heidi: The Wonder Bub at 13
Alice Kirkman, C/- Dr Maggie Kirkman, Key Centre for Women's Health in Society, The University of Melbourne VIC 3010 Australia Email: m.kirkman@unimelb.edu.au Phone:+613 83 44 4333
When Alice was born on 23 May, 1988, the headlines dubbed her Wonder Bub and Alice in Wonderland because she was conceived using her mother's egg and donor sperm, and gestated by her aunt Linda. The technique was described as IVF surrogacy, and Alice was the first in Australia (the second in the world) to be thus conceived. Alice is now 13. In her paper, she talks about being a normal teenager who loves the Australian group Killing Heidi, and about what it has been like to grow up after a birth surrounded by controversy. Alice says what she thinks about her parents' critics and offers her views on the best way to deal with children who are born in unconventional ways. Alice's paper follows one by her mother, Maggie. They will be joined by Alice's father, Sev, to answer questions after the presentation.