The NYT continues its photographing of unhappy people at tables.

The photograph is from a story about a girl with epilepsy and how her family copes with it. The piece is quite sympathetic and its major failing, in my view, is that it fails to address the issue that advanced maternal age (the mother in the article is 58-years-old with a 6- and a 12-year-old) appears may have at least some neurological impact. Responsible women limit consumption of alcohol during pregnancy to decrease the chance of birth defects, would the responsible thing to do as an older adult be to avoid procreation entirely?

I’m not only suggesting that women abstain from procreating later in life here, studies have shown that advanced paternal age has risks as well.