I recently heard a sad story.
It's right at the intersection of medicine, morality and money.
This is what I learned, I don't know the players.
There is a woman named Elizabeth (not her real name, I don't know her name, where she lives or anything about her, just what I heard) she has been having fertility treatments. She has one child already. She and her husband are middle class, not wealthy, like most youngish couples, struggling. But overall on reasonably solid ground--financially.
Through the miracle of medicine and IVF, she became pregnant.
Not only did she get pregnant, she's pregnant with twins.
Here's where the story gets rough. From what I heard, the couple is about to undergo a medical procedure called selective reduction, where one of the fetuses is destroyed.
And rougher still. Before the procedure, they do a test to see whether both fetuses are viable and healthy. Her tests indcated they were both perfect.
Now, she and her husband have decided to go ahead and reduce the pregnancy to one.
Why, for God's sake you're asking yourself are they going to do this?
For financial reasons. Not for medical reasons. They seem to think they cannot afford to have two more children, remember they already have one. They feel they cannot adequately provide for three children! They can take care of two children but not three. From what I heard, there is no issue here of the health of the mother.
I am so totally pro-choice, I would lie down in front of a moving train to preserve that right. But something about this disturbs me--alot.
Is seems selfish, or worse. They must have known going into the fertility treatments that multiples were a possibility. But this couple only wants one. Yes, it's their right to do this, but both of these fetuses are 100% fine.
Look, I recognize financial hardship is not pleasant, but I'm just having a hard time wrapping my mind around this.
Why have fertility treatments get pregnant with two totally healthy twins then reduce the pregnancy to one? Also fertility treatments aren't cheap and usually aren't covered by insurance.
Maybe doing this is common. It's possible this is far from unique. I don't know. Doing this for a medical reason is totally understandable. But from what I gather, this is not the case in this situation. It's financial.
I'm reluctant to even post this because I don't want to be accused of judging another individual. I'm not doing that, I hope. I believe totally in the maxim don't judge another until you have walked in his shoes.
Does economic survival now trump everything? Has life become so difficult in this country that people are being forced to confront impossible decisions like this?
Honestly, I am troubled.