About a year ago, a husband and wife became pregnant with twins from in vitro fertilization. They made many disgusted with their anonymous blogposts about their unhappiness stemming from their new family. Like many couples who decide on in vitro fertilization, they had been trying for years to become pregnant, with no success. During the process, the parents were given the choice between implanting one or two embryos -- two increasing their chances of having a baby. It worked so well that they got pregnant with two babies instead of one. Many would assume that the parents would be thrilled with their successes doubling; however, this wasn't the case. "We were hoping for one girl, instead we got two boys. My initial reaction was full of disappointment, anger, fear, and guilt," the father blogged. The mother wrote that in her mind, "[she] had done nothing more than ruin [their] family". Of course, the parents were made aware by doctors the risks and increased chances of having twins, and the parents were required to sign a consent form. It seems that many couples are so eager to finally have children, they may not completely think out the long-term struggles of having twins.
In some states, it is the parents' decision whether to implant one or two embryos. In states with mandated healthcare coverages for fertility treatments, some insurers are requiring doctors to only implant one embryo at a time because additional IVF treatments typically cost less than medical care for twins.
Aside from insurance companies' influence in certain states, there is little to no government involvement in in vitro fertilization. Should government regulate the process of IVF? Should doctors no longer give patients the option of implanting more than one embryo? Does the cost and payment of IVF cause the government's lack of involvement? It is interesting to consider just what percentage of IVF parents of multiples "regret" having more than one child. Even if the percentage is a very small amount, should the chance of preventing even one unwanted child take precedence? One could argue that this is not the place of government intervention, but what makes in vitro fertilization different than adoption or abortion? The future of a potential life seems to always warrant government involvement -- without completely threatening a person's autonomy.
It is very sad to me that these parents are upset because they are having twins. You mention in the first paragraph that sometimes “many couples are so eager to finally have children, they may not completely think out the long-term struggles of having twins” but in every normal pregnancy there is a chance of having more than one baby at a time so why should IVF be different? Parents should be allowed the option of planting more than one embryo if they understand the potential results. I think preventing an unwanted child should not take precendence. If the parents decide to emplant two embryos then they should be prepared for possibly having twins.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Rachel. Also, there are women out there who have always wanted twins, so by taking away their right to implant two embryos the government might as well not let them use IVF at all. In addition to this, it is not the government's place to tell it's citizens how many children they can or cannot have. We are not a communist society, and by regulating the IVF treatments the government would be taking away the autonomy of thousands of parents. If families don't want more than one child they should not implant more than one embryo.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above comments. But I will add that IVF seem as if it will be different than adoption because it is the parents baby to begin with. IVF does not change who the parents of the child are, so in that case it's the parents decision of the amount of embryos that they want to implant. Also, they should understand their informed consent and know that if they do decide to implant two embryos it's a chance that they will get two babies.
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