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Sir Elton John and David Furnish fear son will face 'stigma'
Sir Elton John and his civil partner David Furnish have sought advice from counsellors amid fears their son Zachary could start feeling “stigmatised” by his upbringing.
Talking about their first year of parenthood, the pair spoke of their pride and joy at becoming parents to Zachary, who was born via a surrogate in America on Christmas Day, 2010.
The couple, who met in the early 1990s, said they had enjoyed a “brilliant” year with their 13 month-old son, whose full name is Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John.
But they admitted he faced “challenges” and potential “double” stigma as he grew up and have consulted counsellors to find out the best way of dealing with any potential problems.
As a result they have created a scrapbook to give to him when he is older in order to explain his “creation” and birth from his unidentified surrogate mother.
“We're going to have challenges, of course we are,” Sir Elton said in a magazine interview. “But we talked about that before we had him.”
Mr Furnish, a Canadian-born film-maker, added: “I think he's going to have a lot of attention thrust upon him.
“He's going to be potentially doubly stigmatised, because one of his parents is extremely famous and because he comes from two dads.
“We've taken advice from counsellors. We've put a whole scrapbook together about his creation, the people who were involved in the process and how the intent was about love.”
Mr Furnish, a former advertising executive, added: “We're going to raise him to be proud of who he is.”
Sir Elton, 64, and Mr Furnish, 49, made the comments in an interview with the British Attitude magazine, Europe’s popular publication for homosexuals.
The pair, who had a civil partnership in December 2005, reportedly spend the majority of their time at their mansion in Windsor, Berks.
They tried to adopt an AIDS-infected orphan in Ukraine in 2009, but were thwarted by government regulations.
Sir Elton, who is due to perform at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee concert in the summer, said the couple had experienced the “most incredible year” with their son as they introduced him to family and friends and took him on holidays.
“I can't tell you how brilliant this year has been and how much love he's brought us and how much we're getting,” Sir Elton said.
“We thought that the civil partnership brought us together, but having a child has been magnificent, and I never thought I would have a kid.
“I don't feel 65, which I will be next year. Now, having a kid there's so much more to do. There's so much more I want to see happen before I die.”
Their son’s middle name “Levon” is thought to be a reference to John’s 1971 song of the same name, whose lyrics were written by his long time collaborator Bernie Taupin and inspired by drummer and singer Levon Helm.
In the interview, reported in the Daily Mail, Sir Elton said he was proud of his sexuality and that he had no problems performing in front of people that found it hard to accept.
Despite being “the world's most acceptable” homosexual man, he insisted he would not be fearful of performing in countries such as Iran, which had known homophobic cultures.
He added: “I'm like the Queen Mother of homosexuality, basically.”
Elton John - Sir Elton Urges U.K. Government To Stop India Health Changes
10 February 2012 08:01
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Sir Elton John is urging British politicians to stop plans to restrict India's pharmaceutical industry, branding the proposals an "attack on the health of the world's poor".
European Union (E.U.) chiefs are set to meet with Indian health bosses on Friday (10Feb12) to discuss how to strengthen the nation's trade, but many experts are worried new guidelines may restrict the country's ability to deliver medicines.
The Rocket Man star, who is a longtime supporter of Aids charities, is unhappy about the situation and he wants government bosses in Britain to intervene.
In a piece for U.K. newspaper The Independent, he writes, "In a high-level summit in Delhi today officials from the E.U. will try to force India into accepting restrictions on its generic medicine industry that would mean delays of up to 10 years in delivery of generic versions of new, improved medicines and up to 15 years in the case of paediatric versions of the same drugs.
"This is an attack on the health of the world's poor motivated by the aggressive demands of profit-hungry multinational pharmaceutical companies. The British Government must step in and stop the E.U. attack. The U.K. has a proud record on international development and access to medicines...
"I've battled for many years to see progress in the Aids response. I don't want to see those achievements thrown away.
"This is a critical moment. The Government must stand up for the rights of people living with Hiv and the health of the world's most vulnerable by stopping this EU attack on the vital Indian supply of essential medicines. We cannot allow Europe's greed to triumph over the needs of Hiv patients around the world."
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