AJGO
Tuesday 22nd May 2012 12:51pm
London
4,987 posts
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ May 22 2012, 1:31 PM BST
On a totally different note, IVF treatment is proposed to be given to women over 40 -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18143587
It's a bit of tricky one as the success rate for IVF drops considerably with age. On the one hand it's an expensive and time consuming treatment with patchy results, on the other it provides a glimmer of hope to those desperate to have children.
It also raises a number of ethical and philosophical questions - Is this the best way to spend NHS money? Is it the right of every woman to have children? Should there be a maximum age for free IVF? Is this a racist decision, because it's mainly older white women who've waited to get pregnant? If you already have one child, should you still be able to receive free treatment? What about the link between older mothers and disabled children?
Half baked, semi-mysoginistic / contradictary feminist answers on a petri dish please.
There is no 'best way' to spend NHS money. Everyone will have a different view as to what is acceptable depending on what suits them.
It isn't the right of every woman, or man, to have children, because to have a right to something it must be someone's responsibility to provide it.
Therefore if you provide for some you must offer that option to all.
I don't think there should be any maximum age for IVF. I don't think people who consider themselves past a parenting age will be clamouring to demand it just because it's there. If an occasional seventy year old wants to undergo such treatment and is in good enough health to receive it then so be it.
No, it's not racist, as it is available without reference to skin colour or cultural background. This decision reflects the current society that we live in.
Personally I don't think that if one already has a child they should get free IVF treatment. But there will be reasons and experiences that need to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Having IVF is a huge decision and hopefully all participants are informed of the increased risks of disability. But if they want a child and don't consider a disability to mean that a person is less welcome in their life, then that's up to the individual.