No

by Leigh Goodwin

Created on: March 01, 2009

Infertility treatments are one of the best medical and scientific treatments available to families who want to procreate. Without it some families could not grow. After all, procreation is one of the major keys to evolution. I am sure we would all agree that evolution is a good thing.

Life is designed to be fair but it doesn't always result in fairness. NOW- National Organization for Women- might say to deny a woman infertility treatments would be a violation of human rights. CA PC- Child Abuse Prevention Council might argue that a single woman lacking financial responsibility who already has 3 kids is a potentially abusive and neglectful mother. A taxpayers advocate might assert that unless you can pay your fair share of taxes and not just drain social service funds, you should stop having babies. The situation has many sides that could be argued. Who is right?

I believe infertility treatments are a gift when used appropriately. Unfortunately, it seems in far too many cases the upside of these treatments does not outweigh the downside.

The upside of infertility treatments:

Women can have children. Some women are unable to get pregnant for a host of reasons. These women can find happiness by being able to access such treatment.

Men can have children. Infertility treatments can save marriages by making it possible for couples to have the children they want.

The gift of life. These special medical treatments give the gift of life in other situations where it might not be possible, such when fiscally responsible gay and lesbian parents decide to build a family.

The downside:

The downside of having access to these treatments can be downright unsightly. Especially if they are used by women or families who lack foresight regarding future consequences, or they are interested in the financial gain that can be attained by living off of social service programs. A person with this kind of mentality defeats the purpose of the gift of life.

Irresponsible parenting. If a parent cares more about a social service dollar than raising the child properly this can lead to irresponsible parenting. The cliche "raising a child is a big job", is not only cliche but its true. The statistics on the success of children raised by less than responsible parents have only gotten higher. One other drawback is that many of these children are not only ill- equipped to manage their own lives, but how sad it is for them to grow up and not be able to help out their elderly parents.

A sure road to poverty. Its not about how much money you make, its about how you manage it and how much you keep, right? Well, mostly. But everyone is aware that most social services funding does not really lend itself to increase the quality of someone's life. It is intended to help out in emergencies until a person can get back on their feet.

Welfare cycles. If a woman or family has children just to get government handouts their children may be likely to develop the same kind of habits. If we check library and Planned Parenthood archives we can see a host of statistics on cycles of women and families having babies under the same traditions decade after decade.

Government deficits. Sure, other incidents cost the government billions of dollars. But why should unplanned childbirths have to be part of this equation? Children born into poverty likely cost taxpayers money in the form of welfare, unemployment, medical bills, living expenses, disability and early social security payouts.

The crime rate. A study proved that during the 1960s and 1970s when abortions were high and childbirths were low the crime rate was at its lowest. The fact cannot be hidden that a higher percentage of children who come from neglectful, single parent and unplanned families have a higher chance of ending up in the criminal justice system, and not always as lawyers, judges or law enforcement officials.

Child Neglect. Lets pretend or hypothesize that a single woman has 4 or more children. How exactly does she have sufficient time for her own mental and physical wellbeing, and time to pay attention to each child? Bare in mind that kids may look alike but they do in fact have different needs. Children are impressionable and the slightest kind of neglect during the formative years of age 0 to 10 can have potentially devastating impacts. Children shattered by these impacts increase Foster Care system numbers. Too many of these childhood victims stay in the system until the age of 18 then transition into the county jail system.

So, if a woman or family cannot demonstrate financial responsibility I believe she ought to be denied infertility treatments.

Learn more about this author, Leigh Goodwin.
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