I was actually astonished to learn that a doctor could be expelled from his or her primary professional organization and that it would virtually have no effect.
It felt quite appropriate that they expelled him, since the violation of standards was obviously violated so badly. But I actually had this thought: That women who are desperate to be pregnant may actually now SEEK this doctor out just BECAUSE he will implant more embryos at once, giving them a greater chance of pregnancy. Infertility treatments are such a rollercoaster of emotions and are so expensive that it wouldn't surprise me if this happens. Not because moms want 8 or 14 kids, but because they want one, or two, and would be perfectly happy if they were blessed with more at the same time.
I don't think you can enforce limits, however. I think you have to rely on the profession to set its own standards and police itself. In the same way that cosmetic surgeons must. There will always be surgeons who will participate when someone wants 5, 10, or 15 cosmetic surgeries in pursuit of "perfection," but the vast majority of them won't indulge such a patient. Same with fertility doctors -- during the peak of the stories about the octuplets and their mom, every fertility specialist who was interviewed or quoted was aghast that the whole thing had ever happened, and wanted to distance themselves as far as possible from Dr. Kamrava.
Thought-provoking topic for sure. I'll love reading what others have to say.
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Pat,
I was actually astonished to learn that a doctor could be expelled from his or her primary professional organization and that it would virtually have no effect.
It felt quite appropriate that they expelled him, since the violation of standards was obviously violated so badly. But I actually had this thought: That women who are desperate to be pregnant may actually now SEEK this doctor out just BECAUSE he will implant more embryos at once, giving them a greater chance of pregnancy. Infertility treatments are such a rollercoaster of emotions and are so expensive that it wouldn't surprise me if this happens. Not because moms want 8 or 14 kids, but because they want one, or two, and would be perfectly happy if they were blessed with more at the same time.
I don't think you can enforce limits, however. I think you have to rely on the profession to set its own standards and police itself. In the same way that cosmetic surgeons must. There will always be surgeons who will participate when someone wants 5, 10, or 15 cosmetic surgeries in pursuit of "perfection," but the vast majority of them won't indulge such a patient. Same with fertility doctors -- during the peak of the stories about the octuplets and their mom, every fertility specialist who was interviewed or quoted was aghast that the whole thing had ever happened, and wanted to distance themselves as far as possible from Dr. Kamrava.
Thought-provoking topic for sure. I'll love reading what others have to say.
October 21, 2009 - 10:49amThis Comment
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