Cryo Kid - Drawing a New Map by Corinne Heather Copnick

A multigenerational take on the emotional/ethical issues surrounding assisted artificial reproduction (www.cryokid.com). Finalist, 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

$18.85

Paperback

At the inaugural Canada California Business Council's classy speednetworking event held in conjunction with Canadians Abroad (www.canadiansabroad.com) last night at the Westin/Bonaventure Hotel in L.A., the energy was high and enthusiastic as lawyers, accountants, real estate specialists, IT specialists, and people from assorted disciplines and age ranges met financial and banking experts and others in the business community. Everybody was trying to make it work, which made it a lot of fun, and most people left feeling newly inspired. Thankfully the number designation (0)I was given (and sported on the name tag on my chest) allowed me to sit on a comfy sofa where I handed out promotional bookmarks on cryokid (www.cryokid.com) to all the number 1s and 2s who visited me for three minutes apiece. It was generally a most enjoyable interchange, but I was surprised when a baby boomer law professor (a number 1) from USC challenged my recollection of the 1950s -- surprising because I had lived through and she had not, so whe was questioning my own experience (maybe she was just used to being lawyerly). According to her, the advent of the birth control pill didn't change anything in the realm of sexual mores because lots of women, she claimed, had pre-marital sex in the 1950s and could easily get abortions. I think should stick to law, because this was certainly not the 1950s I experienced in Quebec, where the Catholic Women's League routinely blacked out the breasts of "sweater girls" on billboards with black paint, and it was criminal for a doctor to perform an abortion. In desperation, some women tried to do it themselves with primitive implements like knitting needles. Even getting a divorce in Canada was difficult. It had to be based on the grounds of adultery and be approved by the Senate, a lengthly procedure.

"Are you for or against assisted artificial reproduction?" the law prof demanded?
"Read my book," I replied. "It's not for or against anything. It's simply describing what I call the "transformational family." New kinds of social units have formed, and one of the questions "Cryo Kid" raises is this: How do we transfer the values our society cherishes to these new kinds of families? And how do we make their members feel loved and valued, every one?

I think one of the problems that our social system has to overcome is that, on all kinds of issues, we tend to divide ourselves into "for" or "against" camps instead of trying to find common ground. I am certainly not a proponent of moral relativism, but neither do I see the world in black and white hues. Nature is full of beautiful colors. That's why I like to take time to look at my garden and smell the jasmine along with the roses.