Monday, 7 June 2010
"For infertile people, overcoming the problem becomes a goal in itself."
The Daily Telegraph reports that dozens of women are having abortions following fertility treatment:
"Data released under the Freedom of Information Act has shown that an average of 80 abortions are carried out in England and Wales a year on women who have undergone IVF treatment.
Around half of the abortions are carried out for women aged between 18 and 34, who are less likely to suffer complications in their pregnancies or conceive babies with abnormalities, raising the question that they may have had abortions for 'social reasons'.
Four in ten women who undergo IVF are under the age of 35.
Some women said they were pressured into IVF by their partners and others said they aborted their pregnancy after their relationship broke down.
Prof Bill Ledger, a member of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which regulates fertility treatment, said: "I had no idea there were so many post-IVF abortions and each one is a tragedy.
Ann Furedi, head of the BPAS, formerly known as the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said it was likely that every doctor carrying out abortions had treated at least one woman who had IVF treatment only to change her mind when it was successful.
She said: "For infertile people, overcoming the problem becomes a goal in itself."
Did I read that last statement correctly?
Furedi seems to be implying that the state of pregnancy is an end in itself, to which the birth of a baby is not necessarily related.
That would make the goal and rationale of infertility treatment a confirmed pregnancy, which a mother then chooses to continue, or abort.
Then the fertile and the infertile would be equally able to exercise a woman's right to choose, wouldn't they?
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