Mum-Of-Thirteen Pregnant Again With Quadruplets At Age 65 Sparks Fury

The news that a 65-year-old German mother is pregnant again has led to fierce debate in the country. Writer Jan Rübel analyses the issue.

Annegret Raunigk, from Berlin, is the woman who has divided Germany. A teacher of English and Russian, she will soon be retiring. And she is pregnant.

She knows all about having children - she has thirteen already. But her latest pregnancy came about via a method which is banned in Germany – egg donation.

Strident criticism of Raunigk’s decision seems to be the prevailing attitude. Several top government health ministers have waded in and stated that this should not become the norm – i.e. just because something is medically possible does not mean it should be done. Social media is treating her with mockery and contempt.

So how did this all happen? Raunigk, at 65, is past the menopause, hence the need for a donated egg. While this practice is banned in Germany, it is perfectly legal in other countries. In Ukraine, to where Raunigk travelled for the procedure, many hospitals charge up to 5,300 dollars for the privilege.
 
Those procedures can be very risky, since they can endanger the health of the egg donors, the (potentially) pregnant women and the unborn babies. Many things can go wrong. Germany therefore believes that ‘egg trading’ should be prevented at all costs.

Medical innovation is treated with extreme caution

There is a simple reason for this rigid attitude - the Nazis. Under their regime, horrifying medical experiments were carried out on humans and many physically and mentally disabled people were murdered under the guise of charitable euthanasia. This is why Germany today is quick to raise concerns over technological and medical innovations of this kind. Perhaps other countries can take a more impartial view on the topic.

But the debate around the Raunigk case uncovers other issues as well. It has become clear how conservative and unprogressive the prevailing attitude is. In a nutshell, people say she is being selfish, since, at 65, she will not be able to spend enough of her lifetime with her children. They say she is out of touch with reality, underestimating the burden of taking care of quadruplets, especially for a woman who is a grandmother's age. Reports have even emerged that Raunigk’s 10-year-old daughter has been picked on because her mother is so much older.

But would people be as upset about a 65-year-old man becoming a father? No. Children are still considered a woman’s domain in Germany – not just the pregnancy, but the upbringing too. In the workplace, women earn less than their male counterparts for doing the same jobs. Part-time jobs are red flags for employers. Daycare facilities are still lacking in vast swathes of the country. And all the while, women who are in their forties are looked at disapprovingly if they are "not pregnant yet“.

The ‘biological clock’ is still a big deal here, i.e. women shouldn’t have children after a certain age. But this age differs from country to country. In Italy, for example, many more women get pregnant over the age of forty. The idea that women should become mothers at a younger age while the husband is out making money for the family seems to still be deeply rooted in Germany.

Society’s cliches

Raunigk herself has commented on the furore: "Everybody can have his or her opinion on this topic. Everybody can live their lives as they wish to live it. I live my life how I would like to live it."

She continues: "How should one be at the age of 65? Obviously, one is expected to comply with certain clichés.“

Raunigk is not being more selfish than other mothers – after all, her large family would take care of the four children when she is no longer around. Accusing a working mother of thirteen of being out of touch with reality seems in itself to be out of touch with reality, and somewhat naive. Raunigk is experienced enough to know what lies in store for her. And if her youngest daughter is being teased about her mum’s age, this says more about Germany than the family.

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So far, there are no physical complications with Raunigk’s pregnancy. Let’s hope it will stay that way.