Dr. Barrett, an expert in multiple births with the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, told the doctors of the suit when he got to the meeting, then launched into a no-holds-barred lecture on the need to restrict in-vitro fertilization (IVF), a major source of multiple pregnancies and the often severe health problems that accompany them.
“What the IVF industry is doing is creating a population of sick babies … that is impacting all society,” he said after his address to the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society conference.
“If it’s so obvious the practice is doing harm, why do people still do it? I haven’t got the answer to that.”
In a medical field fraught with controversy, the creation of countless twins, triplets and beyond is perhaps the most pressing issue. The number of multiple births in Canada surged 45% to almost 12,000 a year between 1991 and 2008, according to Statistics Canada, even as the number of single births dropped. Often born early and at a low weight, multiples are at much greater risk of delivery complications and birth defects.
Statistics released by the society Wednesday indicate that the percentage of the treatment-aided pregnancies that result in multiples has dropped somewhat, to about 25%, but the specialists admitted that much more has to be done.
1 comment:
I would guess there are fewer ethical doctors among IVF practitioners than there are among doctors generally. So, no surprise they just don't care about the ethics of the situation. Sad situation.
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