As I was browsing the internet, I came across an April 14 New York Times article about a couple in Leesburg, Va. and their local fertility clinic. It didn’t seem like anything overwhelmingly important. Modern reproductive technology isn’t new, and I wasn’t expecting to read anything that would shake my world, but I was wrong.
The focus of the story was a couple who, after multiple failures with natural pregnancy, took their doctors up on a steep offer: pay $50,000  for in vitro fertilization with the guarantee that it would work or their money back.
Of course, the couple jumped at the chance. They had been heartbroken multiple times and were convinced that the IVF might fail this time, just like every other time. It seemed like a great bet, but they lost. They now have twins and a baby boy as a result of two of these IVF procedures.
Why am I making a big deal out of this? People know what they’re getting into. They just want to be parents, so they’re obviously thrilled to be on the losing end of the deal. Why am I even bothering with this?
The $50,000 fee is about $20,000 more than a normal IVF procedure. The doctors have a so-called satisfaction or your money back guarantee. They’re exploiting those couples who are tired of being disappointed and squeezing every penny out of people who just want to fulfill a basic human instinct of parenthood.
It seems unethical. Why charge more for a procedure that is already expensive? If you’re really trying to help people with the patient’s best interest in mind, you would think they’d offer their nearly flaw-free plan for a decent price, or at least a price that is competitive with the market.
The Times’ article featured a graphic showing the amount of successful IVF procedures through the program in question. Out of 54 original participants, 30 people succeeded in the transfer 1 after retrieval number one. Six more succeeded in transfer 2 of retrieval number 1.
The retrieval stage is when the doctor removes the egg before fertilizing it with sperm, thus turning it into an embryo. The transfer stages occur when the doctor implants one or more embryos.
According to the graphic, one retrieval cycle yields enough embryos for several transfers, which is why three transfers are done with one retrieval cycle. Overall, out of the 54 participants, 43 were successfully pregnant. Only 11 participants either dropped out of the program or were not pregnant after three retrieval cycles.
Dr. Alan S. Berkeley is a physician and the director of the clinic featured in the Times’ story. He said that a reason for the massive success rate is the improvement of treatment and embryo testing as well as better insurance coverage for infertility, so people are willing to spend more for the latest technology.
But what about taking advantage of those desperate couples just looking for any way to have children?
“What you really have here is a patient self-insurance group,” said Dr. Berkeley. “They band together, and the ones that get pregnant quickly overpay significantly to insure the ones who don’t.”
I am not sold. I still believe the doctors are taking full advantage of desperate people. It may no longer be a question of medical ethics, but rather one of morality. No self-respecting physician can seriously say they’re OK with over-charging people who are just looking for any way possible to be parents.
Myia Hambrick is a 21-year-old mass communication junior from Temple, Georgia.