onda je glavni izgovor "nisam rođen po sretnom zvjezdom".

World's oldest mother dies of cancer just three years after giving birth to twin boys, sparking new ethical debate

By Beth Hale and Tom Worden
Last updated at 6:59 AM on 16th July 2009


Cradling her twin boys in her arms, the world's oldest mother confidently proclaimed that longevity ran in her family.

But just two and half years on, Maria Carmen del Bousada's boasts have been proved sadly wrong.

The 69-year-old, who admitted lying about her age to receive fertility treatment in the U.S, has died from cancer.

Her death will reopen the debate about whether older women should be allowed to undergo fertility treatment.

It also means that two boys have lost their mother. Orphaned before reaching school, her sons, Christian and Pau, will have to rely on others to find out about her.

Miss Bousada died on Saturday in her home town of Cadiz, south-west Spain, after battling cancer for most of their short lives.

She gave birth in Barcelona in December 2006, days before her 67th birthday.

Earlier this month, Britain's oldest mother Elizabeth Adeney, who had a boy in May, was 67. Like Miss Bousada, she too was childless and single when she underwent fertility treatment using a donor egg and donor sperm.

As for Miss Bousada's cancer, it is understood that the former shop worker had been told that the drugs used during her fertility treatment may have hastened the advance of the disease.

It is known that some types of cancer are sensitive to hormones associated with both pregnancy and fertility treatment. Miss Bousada told doctors in Los Angeles that she was 55 when she travelled there to undergo IVF treatment.

Critics, including her own family, called the pensioner, who went through the menopause 18 years before her £20,000 treatment, 'selfish and irresponsible'.

After the birth she admitted lying about her age and predicted she would live to 101 as her mother had done.

'I have every reason to believe longevity runs in my family,' she said.

But in December 2007 she admitted that she had a 'very serious illness', thought to have been breast cancer.

Asked who would look after the children if she died she said: 'I have a nephew, I have their godfather who is very good with the children.

'They are not going to be alone. The love that these children receive, very few children get that amount of love. That's the truth.'
Defying nature: Looking younger than her 66 years, Elizabeth Munro with her newborn son

Quite what the future holds for her boys was unclear last night. Miss Bousada's brother Ricardo said: 'The twins are doing brilliantly. They are very well.'

He said the twins would be looked after 'in or close to the nucleus of the family'.

Miss Bousada, who has never been married, decided to have children after her mother died in 2005.

Shortly after the birth she said: 'I have wanted to be a mother all my life, but I never had the opportunity, or met the right man.'

But her words did not prevent the criticism that followed. Rafael Bernabeu, of Spain's National Association of Assisted Reproduction Clinics, described the birth as 'outside of all logic'.

He said: 'It is illogical not only because of the risk to the mother but also because the children will inevitably lose there mother at a young age.

'Those children will become orphans during their adolescence.'

Ultimately death came even more quickly for Miss Bousada.

In Britain, as in Spain, there is no absolute age limit for IVF, but the NHS will not fund it for women over 40. In practice, most private fertility clinics will not treat women over 50 - the average age of the menopause when they stop producing eggs.

Last night Miss Bousada's death led to renewed criticism of the availability of fertility treatment to older women.

Josephine Quintavalle, of the Comment on Reproductive Ethics group, said: 'Our first priority should be our duty to the children and we should have the courage to say no.'

Norman Wells, of Family and Youth Concern, said: 'While it is true that even young parents can and do sometimes tragically die and leave their children orphans, there is obviously a far greater risk when a post-menopausal woman deliberately sets out to bring children into the world without a father.

'Nature itself teaches us that there are seasons in a woman's life and that children are meant to have both a mother and a father. When we tamper with the natural order, children will always suffer as a result.'

Adriana Iliescu, a Romanian who gave birth at 66 in 2005, said she was pained to hear of Miss Bousada's death.

'It is a great sadness when kids are orphans but civil society will help these children,' she said.