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The ugly face of the IVF industry has shown itself again. A recent BBC story reveals that a number of commercial companies which act as middlemen between the would-be parents, doctors and donors have gone bust.
There is heartache and outcry that women and couples have lost thousands of pounds, and the chance of having a baby, when these IVF brokers have collapsed. Policing these pop-up online companies does not come within the remit of the HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority) ‘the UK’s independent regulator of fertility treatment’. So couples desperate to have a baby are in the wild west.
‘Jonathon’ told the BBC that he and his wife underwent five failed rounds of IVF before going to a company named Apricity. They paid £10,000 for treatment with ‘no realistic chance’ of getting their money back.
Pain of infertility
SPUC has never dismissed the emotional pain of infertility and of failed IVF attempts. However, back in 1978 when the first IVF baby was born, we predicted that IVF would exploit the vulnerability of infertile couples. Sadly, our predictions have proved right. A 2024 editorial in The Lancet highlights the way in which the IVF industry exploits and profits from infertility. The Lancet considers that ‘the fertility sector has now spawned an entire industry that risks exacerbating rather than alleviating the psychological toll of infertility’.
With the birth of Louise Brown, the first IVF baby, IVF became a beacon of hope for couples who could not conceive. However, the truth is that IVF is not a very successful procedure. IVF techniques have improved over the years but the birth rate per embryo transferred into the womb is fairly static at around 23%, according to figures given in response to a recent Parliamentary Question.
Unethical
SPUC rejoices at the birth of every baby. But our opposition to IVF is not directed at either the babies born or those suffering with infertility. IVF is a deeply flawed and unethical procedure. Thousands of embryonic human beings are lost during IVF cycles. 160,285 tiny humans perished in 2022, the most recent figure available. IVF does not address the causes of infertility, it simply bypasses the problem. This is a great disservice to infertile couples.
Sadly, IVF highlights the muddled thinking about babies which is the hallmark of our age. On the one hand abortion on demand and up to birth is virtually a woman’s human right. On the other hand, IVF is also her right if and when she does want a baby. In abortion, an unborn baby is a clump of cells or a foetus. In IVF a newly fertilised embryo is a precious baby. Of course not every woman seeking IVF has previously had an abortion. But babies have become a commodity which has spawned global commercial enterprises, either killing them by abortion or creating them by IVF.
SPUC’s position has always been that babies are a gift to be welcomed and cherished. The welfare of women has always been at the heart of our campaign. Men and women deserve better than abortion and men and women deserve better than IVF.
See here for SPUC’s position on IVF.
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