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The article, which has lingered long after it should have quietly retired from the front page of the Times is called: "Meet the Twiblings" (or.. 'How four women (and one man) conspired to make two babies.') It's a lovely story, if you're into narcissism and self-worship. If you add a crapload of cash into the mix (because she married some guy with his own software company) then you get the foundation of the piece.

In a nutshell: "Rich lady wants her 'own' baby so badly she's gonna buy not one but two surrogate moms to have them custom-created for her." Awww, it's so Christmas isn't it? In a Rocky Horror kinda way. (The answer was there all the time. It took a small aciddent to make it happen. AN ACCIDENT! And that is how I discovered the secret. That elusive ingredient, that... spark that is the breath of life... yes I have that knowledge! I hold the key to life... ITSELF!))

Selfish. Egotistical. And yes, I already used narcissistic, but then again that word probably reverberated after the author used it herself...

I found another doctor and persuaded him to let us try a fifth round. All you have to do is not die, I told the embryos once again, but once again they all did. After a failed sixth round [...]

I consulted with a perinatologist, a high-risk pregnancy specialist. “Is your goal to have the experience of being pregnant or is your goal to have the best chance of having a healthy baby?” he asked. “If you really want a healthy baby, get a surrogate and an egg donor.” In that instant, I made up my mind. Of course that was my goal — and compared with that goal, all other desires seemed not only secondary, but also trivial, even narcissistic. (NYT)

Yes narcissistic (I keep typing that word by hand, instead of cutting and pasting it, it gets easier after the first try.) The whole impetus to reproduce our own genes, have our own babies, in a world full of neglected and abandoned children it seems like the ultimate ego-masturbation. But heck if you're going to go to all that trouble why use your own genes? Why not use someone else's? Then you can have the custom baby of your dreams...

As I drank my tea, I had a growing sense of conviction that the donor was the Fairy Goddonor: the one who would give us the right eggs — the magical eggs, the eggs from which our babies would grow. When she flashed a smile, I wondered if I had caught my first hint of my child’s grin.

Kinda neat to have enough money to jet-set about hand picking humans for your needs. Yeah if that bit made you want to barf then don't read this and eat a bagel at the same time.

I was irked by all the people — especially health care professionals — who were unable to master the term “gestational carrier” and referred to Melissa and Fie as “birth mothers” or “biological mothers” even after I explained that the term was inappropriate outside the context of adoption. [...] “I’m the only mother,” I’d correct people brightly, again and again. “Actually, there is no biological mother,” I’d sometimes add, in a tone that I hoped suggested Isn’t this interesting rather than You are an insensitive fool. “You see, both the donor and the carrier contributed biologically to each child, so the term cannot encompass this situation.

Wow. Simply, undeniably and unquestionably the most arrogant person on earth. Now Melanie wants to change the facts to soothe her battered ego. It's hard to fathom that a person would want to diminish the women who provided the genes and the gestation, but clearly with enough pride (and cash) anything is possible.

I guess I'd feel bad for the kids, growing up with a adoptive parent who has such an enormous chip on their shoulder, but I know they'll be at least financially secure. As for the husband? Well I hope everything keeps going well with his company. Because if he runs out of money, well, I guess there won't be any more build-a-baby binges after that.