And I do think the doctor should be held accountable because he has the benefit of distance from the issue and, one would assume, a hell of a lot of education. Even in that news article, the gynaecologist seemed appalled by the circumstances, so as Lolita commented, I think this is a fringe case. And yes, Karen, I think the doctor likely did it for reasons more selfish than not.

I agree that doctors should be more responsible in these kind of cases, but seeing as (in my opinion of course) a good percentage of them suffer from some sort of God complex, I’m really not surprised that they went through with this.

This is absolutely true, so in this particular case I’m not that worried about the children’s future (except for all the damn debt they’re inheriting).

I would never want our governments making laws in regards to this stuff, because once they start meddling in our private affairs they never fucking stop. However, I really wish the medical community would do a better job at policing themselves in these situations. Do you have any idea how often doctors refuse to perform life-saving surgeries on patients they feel are too old and might die on the table, just because they don’t want to mess up their numbers? But geriatric childbirth is just fine and dandy because, awwww, wook at the cute widdle baaaaaabieeees!!!!

I’m sorry, just because a patient can scrounge up the money for ART doesn’t mean they should get it. I already have some major ethical concerns about that whole business (more with fertility drugs and the possibility of grand-order multiples than with IVF), but the effects of age on health and, therefore, the ability to parent, is not even a debatable point, so that’s one area where it would be reasonable to set a limit. I don’t care about the hows or whys a woman hasn’t had children by the time she reaches 60, it’s too late. And if she DOES have children but she simply decides she needs MORE…well, fuck her. Seriously, that’s bullshit and there’s no reason to even consider catering to her wishes.

I have to agree, this is a serious case of extreme fucktardism for me. I too am a child of older parents (although nowhere near 70), and I’ve spend most of my life taking care of them, since they started having age-related health issues when I was a teen.

Merleon, no one here said to sterilize women. We are simply saying that there comes a time when doctors should really question doing this proceedure on patients. It’s one thing to have children in your teens, 20s,30,40s, and run the risk of dying of unforseen circumstances. But it’s another thing entirely to go out and deliberately get pregnant when you *know* there is a damn good chance that your death is fairly imminent. And at 70, you have to figure dying soon is a strong possiblity. How long do they figure they really have with this kid? And if they are really doing this just to have an heir, well, that’s a buttcrack stupid reason to have kids. You should have kids because you want them, you love them, and you want to see them grow up.

The major issue for me here is selfishness. Doing something like this, and then hoping family will take care of the child when you kick the bucket? And I don’t care what they say, I don’t believe their reason behind this. I understand there are cultures where male children are valued more, but saying you did this to have an heir, but then not being able to leave them anything…well, that’s just bullshit. They would have been told how expensive this was, and they would have known it would drain their money. The did it anyway, putting themselves in debt, so I just don’t believe their excuse.

And more than the parents, I blame the doctors. This is a case of doctors doing something just to prove they can. They could have turned this patient down, saying it’s not medically sound for someone of that age to do this (and doctors turn people down for all kinds of things for this reason, if they don’t have an agenda). They didn’t, and I’m willing to bet they patted themselves on the backs for sucessfully impregnating a 70 year old woman.

So I reiterate, and stand by my opinion. Extreme fucktardism.

Oh, and I too found it rather odd that this couple wanted a son to inherit but then went into debt. That makes absolutely no sense. And, yes, I figure they used sex selection to ensure a male baby.

And I think we have to be careful in defining one’s ability to access ART based on whether a patient would be able to perform as a caretaker. Men and women facing terminal illness choose to use ART to become pregnant knowing that they or their partner probably won’t live to see their child grow.

I think, generally, people don’t care if a patient uses ART so long as the patient falls within the natural childbearing age group. It’s when reproductive endocrinologists push the boundaries of ethics that people have WTF moments like the ones inspired by this mindfuck of a case.

I also suspect that the IVF treatment had some kind of sex selection. I mean, I’m not sure, but if the rationale was to have a boy, that would make sense. I think the mother did exceedingly well to carry the twins for 8+ months.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m quite appalled that they’ve had kids at 70+, but I also think that the babies aren’t necessarily disadvantaged in an emotional and social sense if the culture or family structure is set up such that the parenting role is shared not just by the biological parents, but by an extended family or community that genuinely wants to look out for the children’s interests.