How Many Is Too Many?

A press release at the time of the Houston births: "By the time Chukwu's tiny children are well enough to be taken home, an estimated $2 million will have been spent on their care, about $250,000 a child, predicts Texas Children's Hospital's chief neonatologist Dr. Leonard Weisman," (Source: Associated Press, 1998). Insurance companies are becoming leery of covering people using fertility treatments, though no decisions have been made yet restricting compensation in such situations. http://www.reporternews.com/texas/1oct12...

Are the risks of multiple births by fertility drugs worth the benefit? The parents of children by these means would likely say yes. The woman (mentioned earlier in this piece) who went forward with fetilization at the time 12 follicles were ripening conceived 8 embryos, then had five of them terminated, two others died due to complications, and the one surviving baby now has Cerebral Palsy among other impairments. She says that her son is the joy of her life and does not regret her decisions. The rest of us can stand on the "outside" and try to rationally dissect the issue, but it's impossible to understand from where the couples come in their desperation and heartbreak. I can see why insurance companies are becoming gun-shy of fertility treatments and covering birth and follow-up costs for parents who are essentially willing to have a complicated birth situation. Rationale might say that infertile couples should leave well enough alone and accept the lot Providence has given them, but empathy reaches out to them for their ache to have children and one can understand the "drastic" measures they take. Clearly, there are no clear answers. http://forums.about.com/n/main.asp?webta... http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9812/22/reprod...

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