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Contemplate this moral dilemma: You were so desperate to have a baby you underwent IVF to conceive. You were convinced, though, that you only wanted one baby and just before the procedure you requested the clinic only implant one embryo. But the doctor, following your earlier written instructions, went ahead and implanted two embryos. The result was ultimately the birth of two healthy babies. But you found the difficult pregnancy and the arrival of twins a big burden - physically, psychologically and financially. How would you react? Would you consider suing the doctor or the IVF clinic for damages?

Now that you’ve tried to predict your own behaviour, ask yourself how you would view a decision by such a mother and her partner to sue over such circumstances. Does your answer change if you learn they are lesbians?

The ACT Supreme Court continued hearing a case last week in which such a couple is suing Canberra Gynaecologist/Obstetrician, Dr Sydney Armellin, for $400,000 in damages, claiming the birth mother was impregnated with two embryos against her wishes and at significant cost.

I recently lost a baby when I was almost three months pregnant and it was my third consecutive miscarriage, so infertility and motherhood are issues that have weighed heavily on my mind (see my earlier post, ‘Baby Lost’ ). And, I know the issues are complex and individual, but I’m struggling to fathom this action.

Life-made-to-order is a problematic concept at the outset and it always involves risk – multiple births and the inheritance of unknown genetics and traits from anonymous donors are in the mix along with all the usual risks associated with childbirth and parenthood. But these are calculated risks many people are willing to take in order to conceive a longed for child.

Without commenting on the legal merits of this case, my moral problem with this story is a mindset that takes one from longing for a baby to demanding compensation when two instead of one are delivered. My personal reaction is understandably emotional but my concerns are twofold: 1) How will they explain to their children that one of them was so unwanted they went to court to sue for their birth (and I wager it’s inevitable that the children will discover the truth despite attempts to suppress the identity of the parents) and, 2) When so many people are so desperate to have a child and endure such torment to conceive and sustain a pregnancy how could someone in this situation so regret the birth of a healthy child?

My reaction is tempered somewhat by the rather unbalanced and emotive reporting which has characterised the coverage of this case to date. There’s been an unjustified, disproportionate focus on the sexuality of the parents with headlines like this one from the Sydney Morning Herald colouring reports: “Lesbian Sues Over IVF Twins”. Seriously - what difference does it make if they're lesbian, gay or straight?

But bigoted coverage aside and acknowledging my own human weaknesses, I’m struggling to sympathise with these parents. Have motherhood and childbirth been so reduced to controllable commodities?

In reaction to this story, one friend commented to me that he felt he actually owed God or the state for the healthy lives of his children and couldn't fathom wanting to sue for their births. I sympathise with this view. Of course, pre and post-natal depression are factors here which need to be acknowledged. But, while my head can understand the sense of loss associated with a perception of a life-choice being violated, my heart can’t get past the pain I’d feel if I discovered that my mother was so disappointed with my birth that she sued for damages.

But, the bigger question remains: how do we value life?

I've raised more questions than I've tried to answer here - this is partly in response to my acknowledged emotional reaction to this story and the complexity of the issues...which are far from black and white. So, it's over to you - what do you think?    [read more]