I cannot agree with Diarmuid Doyle's analysis of Elton John and David Furnish's new family addition (News, 2 January).

On one hand, he argued that Elton John may be too old to look after his child due to the physically demanding aspects of child rearing.

There are, no doubt, many people with physical disabilities around the country who would not agree with his assertion that decreased mobility (whether due to old age or otherwise) would limit one's ability to parent, never mind their right to do so. Many would argue that the spiritual wellbeing and unconditional love of a child is much more important.

Doyle then seemed to flip his argument to claim that it would, in fact, be John's hectic lifestyle that would limit his ability to parent, his jet-setting lifestyle being somehow at odds with responsible
parenting.

If Beyoncé Knowles or Lady Gaga let it be known of their desire to have a child, would he make the same argument?

If it does happen that Furnish becomes a stay-at-home dad while his husband tours the world for a few months, would that really be the worst thing imaginable? Surely everybody knows of a functioning family where one parent is working away from home for a number of months.

Doyle's comparing of the new parents to Maria del Carmen Bousada de Lara is not entirely appropriate.

She was a lone mother, who had apparently lied about her age to deceive the fertility clinic. One should bear in mind that she died from cancer, not old age, a fate that could befall anyone at any age.

Baby Zachary has been adopted into a loving, financially stable family, by a couple who tried previously to adopt a HIV-positive child but were unable to do so because of a failure to recognise their civil partnership.

Much worse things happened last week.

Paul McCay

Greenfields Road

Galway