All in the Family

It was back in the 1960’s that satirist Tom Lehrer wrote about the paradigmatic Oedipus Rex in a song by the same name. It included the lyrics: “Yes he loved his mother like no other, his daughter was sister and his son was his brother.” We all laughed at this seemingly inconceivable (excuse the pun) story of accidental incest. Yet consider this item. Unable to have a child of their own through the usual method, Chicago residents Sara and Bill Connell contracted the services of a surrogate to carry their in vitro fertilized egg to term.   This in itself is not unusual in today’s day and age. What is unusual is that the surrogate, Kristine Casey, is Sarah Connell’s own mother!   Apparently, there is no Illinois law that prevents a mother from being the surrogate to her daughter. The resulting family relationships are remarkable. Sarah’s son Finnean Lee is now her brother as well: born to the identical mother. And Kristine’s grandson is also her son. We can all wonder whether Hallmark will carry cards for this category.