Grrr.

[holly_evolving]

Got too mad reading this article to finish it. I very strongly oppose fertility treatment, for a few reasons. Not gonna start unless a discussion happens in comments, though.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/health/11fertility.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Comments

[alphafemale1.livejournal.com]

Oh, and after reading that article in it's fullness, I'm also compelled to point out that the high cost of care doesn't stop when those babies leave the hospital. Special Education services cost our school districts hundres of thousands dollars a year, and almost every single one of those "premies" will require special services, costing the school extra money, and impacting the quality of education for other students.

Special education law is a pet peeve of mine. I lost my job in part because the school district had ONE special needs child that cost the district $100,000 in services alone. Because if a child needs a program, the school district must provide it- and if your school district doesn't have it, then the school district MUST pay another district for it, including transportation, even if that child is the only one on the bus, for instance.

I think that also needs to be communicated to these parents who chose to continue high-risk pregnancies, that the cost and the emotionally stress don't just end when the baby comes home.

[holly-evolving.livejournal.com]

And that's exactly the sort of thing that the article (and subsequent discussion on fark.com) let me to believe is NOT discussed with the parents beforehand. I worry about the ethics of some IVF doctors. Why would you even accept a prospective parent for treatment if you knew that their income meant that the costs might break their bank and inhibit their child's care for life?