- Should IVF children in the US conceived after a parent’s death receive
benefits?
The US Supreme Court will decide whether children conceived through IVF
after the death of their biological father are entitled to receive survivor
benefits – general welfare benefits designed to replace the lost support of
a deceased wage earner.The case involves the biological twins of Mr Capato, who were born by IVF 18
months after he died of esophageal cancer. His widow, Ms Capato, who
conceived the children using her late husband’s frozen sperm, is seeking the
twins’ entitlement to survivor benefits under US social security laws.The Social Security Administration had originally denied Ms Capato’s claim
on the grounds that eligibility for benefits depended partly on whether the
child could inherit from the biological father’s will. As the twins were not
named in Mr Capato’s will, it followed that they did not qualify for the
benefits.The Supreme Court will hear an appeal by the US Government of a ruling by a
US appeals court which held that a posthumously conceived child did fall
within Philadelphia’ s legal definition of a child for the purpose of
receiving survivor benefits.The crux of the case will centre on the status of the posthumously conceived
children and whether, even though they cannot inherit personal property from
their biological father under applicable state intestacy law, they are
eligible for child survivor benefits.The case is further complicated by the fact that advancements in
reproductive technologies were not in the imagination or contemplation of
Congress when the 1935 law came to be. So the Court will have to consider
what is required to qualify for child survivor benefits under the Act, in
light of the developments in new reproductive technologies.As the Court of Appeals in a similar case put it: ‘Developing reproductive
technology has outpaced federal and state laws, which currently do not
address directly the legal issues created by posthumous conception’.The ruling, which is not expected until June next year, may have an impact
on the more than 100 applications received by the Social Security
Administration for survivor benefits on behalf of posthumously conceived
children. A number which, lawyers for the appellants argued, has increased
significantly in recent years.
For the first time in North America, the child of a donor has won the right for future donor offspring to know their biological parents.
Alison Motluk
An egg surrounded by human sperm.D. PHILLIPS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARYOlivia Pratten may never find out who donated the sperm that made her conception possible, but a case won by the 29-year-old journalist in the Supreme Court of British Columbia now means fewer people will face the same situation. In a 19 May ruling, the first of its kind in North America, the court sided with Pratten, who argued that the Canadian province’s laws discriminate against the offspring of anonymous sperm and egg donors because, unlike adopted people, they have no right to know their origins or prevent the destruction of records that would help identify their biological parents.
IVF: ‘When the state funds IVF, the cost is too high for everyone’
When the state funds IVF, the cost is too high for everyone
(By Andre Picard. Globe & Mail. May 11/11)
http://tinyurl. com/Picard- 2011-05-11
OR
<http://www.theglobe andmail.com/ life/health/ new-health/ andre-picard/ when-the- state-funds- ivf-the-cost- is-too-high- for-everyone/ article2018895/>
It¹s been nine months since Quebec became the first jurisdiction in North
America to fully fund in vitro fertilization. The first state-funded test
tube babies will soon be born, so it¹s as good a time as any to take stock
of a plan that was supposed to bring joy (and children) to wannabe parents
and save the health system money to boot.
Since last August, when the province launched the much-anticipated program
for infertile couples, 2,830 cycles have been performed, according to new
data from the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services. Quebec¹s health
insurance covers the cost of drugs and medical treatments for 3
medically-induced cycles or 6 natural cycles. The province is on track to
meet its target of 3,500 cycles performed in the first year at a cost of
$32-million which is not surprising given there was a waiting list of
thousands of women before the official announcement.
IVF:
Lower IVF success in women of African origin linked to autoimmunity,
suggests study
(May 9/11. BioNews)
http://www.bionews. org.uk/page_ 94239.asp
A genetic predisposition towards autoimmune disease may be associated
with lower pregnancy rates in IVF, a US study suggests. The findings offer a
possible explanation for differences in IVF treatment outcomes between
different ethnic groups.
African patients have higher rates of FMR1 (Fragile X mental retardation)
genotype, which is in turn associated with autoimmune disease and also lower
IVF pregnancy success. African women also statistically have higher rates of
infertility and are less likely to respond successfully to IVF treatment
when compared to women of Asian or Caucasian descent – an observation that
has puzzled scientists for many years.
Abnormalities in FMR1 are associated with autoimmune diseases and polycystic
ovary-like syndromes. FMR1 naturally differs from one individual to the next
but one particular sub-genotype has been previously linked to infertility.
Conversely, the lowest frequency of the sub-genotype was found in Asian
women that in turn demonstrated the highest success rate for IVF treatment.
The researchers said additional association studies on a large number of
patients are required before FMR1 could become ‘a clinically useful tool in
accurately predicting odds of pregnancy in association with the IVF
process’. ‘Changes in treatment protocols would, however, appear
inappropriate, except in clinical trials, and with appropriate informed
consents’.
IVF funding: Germany – May pay for IVF to increase population
Germany to start paying families to use IVF to reverse shrinking birthrate
(May 14/11. BioEdge)
http://www.bioedge. org/index. php/bioethics/ bioethics_ article/9523/
Germany is on the verge of providing a curious solution for its sharply
declining birthrate: paying couples to have IVF treatment. Family minister
Kristina Schröder also promised to cut red tape for people seeking to adopt.
Pregnant herself and expecting a child in June, Mrs Schröder said it was
³intolerable² that couples sought to have children but couldn¹t afford
medical treatment.
Germany has one of the lowest birthrates in Europe — about 1.46 children
per woman, far lower than the replacement level of 2.1. Parts of the
depressed former Communist areas have the world¹s lowest birthrates. Mrs
Schröder promised more financial assistance for treatments such as IVF and
increased opportunities for adoption. ³I find it intolerable if the hope for
children is dashed because of money,² she went on. ³I get many letters from
couples who tell me how they scrape together the money, then despair when it
doesn¹t work, and start saving again all that with the pressure of the
biological clock ticking.² IVF treatments cost between US$5,000 and $7,500,
with age barriers set in Germany at 40 years for women. Statistics suggest
that on average every fourth attempt is successful.
The Rand population and aging think tank in Europe wrote in 2006, however,
that heavily subsidising IVF boosts the birth rate slightly – but when it is
not subsidised, it actually depresses it. Women in their fertile years
balance the cost of having a child against the additional income they could
earn from their career, and postpone having children. IVF serves as a
seeming safety net. If IVF is heavily subsidised, some lucky few women will
have successful treatments and give birth, but for most, their fertility
disappears as the years tick on and they give up the dream of having
children.
May 11
26
Is this the worst IVF scandal ever?
Brazil’s best-known and most-successful IVF doctor is on the run from police after being convicted of sexually assaulting or raping 39 female patients between 1995 and 2008. Roger Abdelmassih, 67, was sentenced to 278 years in prison, but fled – apparently to Lebanon – while awaiting appeal.Abdelmassih helped the soccer legend Pele father a child and his website describes him as “internationally renowned”. He even claims to have had a 50% success rate in helping women under 35 become pregnant. But now an investigation by the Brazilian news magazine Epoca suggests that the babies that these couples took home may not be their biological children. DNA tests have already proved that three of the children are not related to one of the spouses.
Epoca tells the story of a couple who approached Abdelmassih in 1993. After IVF treatment the wife became pregnant. The husband, however, had misgivings and told the doctor that he wanted a DNA test after birth. Abdelmassih became enraged and gave the woman abortion pills. However, the pregnancy went to term and twins were born. A DNA test confirmed that they were not the children of the father. Abdelmassih made an out-of-court settlement for US$600,000. The couple later split up.
The magazine believes that the use of gametes unrelated to the couple could explain Adbelmassih’s extraordinary success rate, which is about 50% higher than other clinics in South America. Since he has treated 8,000 couples, authorities fear that many of the spouses may not be related to their children
People who might never have known who their biological mother or father was will have that opportunity now that a B.C. Supreme Court judge has declared unconstitutional the legislation that denied donor offspring the same rights as adoptees.
The ruling will make British Columbia the first province in Canada to ban anonymity for sperm and egg donors.
The case was brought forward by Olivia Pratten, a 29-year-old journalist born in B.C. and who now lives in Toronto. When Ms. Pratten was five, her parents told her she was conceived using sperm from an anonymous donor. When she was older, Ms. Pratten went to the doctor who performed her mother’s procedure and asked for information about her biological father. She was rebuffed because the donor had wished to remain anonymous.
Ms. Pratten testified it was discriminatory that she could not obtain the same information adopted children were entitled to under B.C.’s Adoption Act and Adoption Regulations. She said her health and the health of her future children could be compromised by the lack of details.
Barbara Kay: The British Columbia Supreme Court struck down provisions of the Adoption Act and Adoption Regulations on Thursday. They argued that the legislation denies offspring of sperm and egg donors (gamete donors) their Charter rights, which ought to be equal to those of adopted children with regard to knowledge of the identity and medical history of their biological parents.
The court order will only go into effect in 15 months’ time to allow the B.C. legislature leisure to enact appropriate legislation. But effective immediately gamete donor records are prohibited from being destroyed or transferred out of B.C. Thus, like closed adoptions, anonymous gamete donation will no longer be permitted in that province.
IVF: UK – ‘Private clinics charge too much, lie about success rate’
Private IVF clinics charge too much and lie about success rate, says Lord
Winston
(Daily Mail. May 24/11)
http://tinyurl. com/DailyMail- 2011-05-24
Private fertility clinics in Britain are set to come under increased
scrutiny. They have been attacked for exploiting vulnerable couples with
their high fees and exaggerated success story claims.
Fertility expert Lord Winston has slammed ‘many clinics’ for ‘misleading’
their prospective patients by saying their treatments were more successful
than they actually were. The ‘exorbitantly’ high prices they charge, and the
way they offered treatments abroad to bypass stringent UK guidelines, were
also called into question. In particular he singled out The Bridge Clinic,
in London, as somewhere that advertised ‘incredible’ figures. He made his
comments during a House of Lords debate on the future quangos threatened by
government cuts.
Surrogacy: ‘Don’t let market forces govern human procreation
A commentary by Dr Juliet Guichon, Senior Associate, Office of Medical
Bioethics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
(Nov 22/10. BioNews)
<http://www.bionews. org.uk/page_ 81677.asp>
Canada’s National Post reported last month that two British Columbians who
had hired a ‘surrogate’ mother, changed their minds and wanted the woman to
abort (1). The fetus apparently had Down’s syndrome. The pregnant woman
resisted abortion but then acquiesced.
Perhaps this case received so much media attention because it starkly pits
an idealised vision of the practice of commercial ‘surrogacy’ against
reality. This idealised vision is based on the view that technology,
preconception intent and market-based demand for children combine to improve
human procreation and thereby quality of life in society. But this British
Columbia (BC) case reveals how those three notions fail, in practice, to
operate in the best interests of the vulnerable.