Babies In Your Seventies: A Modern Miracle Or Pure Selfishness? Episode 766

Former Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow has revealed that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 78. The announcement has reignited a debate that many people find uncomfortable but increasingly relevant in a world where more people are becoming parents later in life.

Jon Snow and his wife, who is 30 years younger than him, welcomed a baby boy through surrogacy in 2021 when Jon was 73 and his wife was 48. At the time, some people celebrated the news as proof that families can be created at any age. Others questioned whether it was fair to bring a child into the world when one parent was already in their seventies.

On this episode of the podcast, Niall is joined by psychotherapist and author Stella O’Malley to discuss one of the most emotionally charged questions surrounding modern parenthood.

Is there an age at which someone is simply too old to become a parent?

Advances in IVF, surrogacy and fertility treatments mean that parenthood is now possible much later in life than ever before. But just because science makes something possible, does that mean it is always in the best interests of the child?

Some argue that a loving, financially secure home is far more important than the age of the parents. Others believe that children deserve the best chance possible of having their parents present throughout their childhood and into early adulthood.

Should there be an upper age limit for IVF and surrogacy? Is it selfish to have a child in your fifties, sixties or even seventies, or is it nobody else’s business? What responsibilities do prospective parents have to consider their own health, life expectancy and ability to care for a child as they grow older?

Niall and Stella explore the psychological, ethical and practical realities of late-life parenthood and ask whether society has become afraid to discuss the child’s interests when talking about reproductive rights.

If you could become a parent at 50, 60 or even 70, would you? And more importantly, should you?