IVF treatment should be accessible: ethicist
(cz) Health-care systems in Canada should follow the example set by those of other developed countries and fund the cost of in-vitro fertilization for women having difficulty conceiving, a University of Western Ontario medical ethicist argues in a commentary published Thursday.
The added expense would be more than offset by a drop in the number of triplets, quadruplets and other multiple-birth infants who need intensive and expensive care in neonatal intensive care unit because they were born weeks premature, Dr. Jeff Nisker wrote in an article published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Canada.
Canada is a world leader in high-order multiple births, said Nisker, who suggested part of the reason is that women who cannot afford the full cost of IVF are taking fertility drugs in the hopes of enhancing their chances of getting pregnant.
“Women who are denied IVF frequently will take fertility drugs without the protection of IVF and single embryo transfer and they’ll wind up with triplets or quadruplets,” he said from London, Ont., where he is a professor of obstetrics and gynecology and co-ordinator for medical ethics and humanities at the University of Western Ontario.
Many developed countries pay some or all of the cost of IVF treatment, he suggested, noting even American HMOs (Health Management Organizations) pick up these expenses. But in Canada, he said, only Ontario pays for IVF, and only then for women who have complete blockages in both Fallopian tubes. Coverage is limited to three cycles. more…
From: »Times&Transcript«