A Spanish woman who became the oldest woman in the world to give birth in 2006 when she had twin boys at the age of 67 using in vitro fertilization has died, local media reported Wednesday.
Carmen Bousada, who was single, died Saturday at the age of 69 from a cancer which was diagnosed just one year after she gave birth to Cristian and Pau, daily Diario de Cadiz reported, citing her brother Ricardo Bousada.
He refused to disclose where she died or give details regarding who will now look after the twins, who are now two-and-a-half years old.
Bousada gave birth to the boys on December 26, 2006 at Barcelona hospital after undergoing hormone treatment and being artificially inseminated using donor eggs and sperm at a Los Angeles fertility clinic, sparking a worldwide debate which her death is likely to revive.
She later admitted to having lied to doctors at the clinic about her age, saying she was just 55, in order to get around the institution's age limit for single women.
Spanish law does not set an age limit for fertility treatments but the majority of clinics turn away women who are over 50.
"Everyone should have children at the appropriate moment," Bousada said in an interview published in British tabloid News of the World one month after she gave birth.
She told the paper she had waited until the death in 2005 of her mother, whom she had looked after for several years, to carry out her dream of becoming a mother, 18 years after going through menopause.
Bousada also said she was confident she would live as long as her mother, who died at the age of 101, and become a grandmother.
She told Spanish television in December 2007 shortly after she was diagnosed with cancer that family members could look after the twins if she died.
"I have a nephew, and their godfather is very good with the children. They are not going to be alone," Bousada said.
Copyright 2009 AFP Global Edition
