Igniting again the debate on an age limit for IVF

Jul 16, 2009 19:31 GMT  ·  By

Maria del Carmen Bousada de Lara was 67 when she gave birth to healthy twins in 2007. Holding her boys in her arms, she was saying at the time longevity ran in her family, but a little over two years she passed away from cancer, as El Pais informs. In the aftermath of her death and leaving her children orphans, the debate on whether old women should be allowed to have babies has been ignited again in the medical world.

An age limit for IVF already exists but, it seems, women desperate to have babies can still work their way around it. Bousada, for instance, traveled from Spain to the US to get the fertility treatment at a clinic in Los Angeles, where she lied to the staff saying she was 55 at the time, meaning precisely of the maximum age allowed for IVF. No one from back home knew what she was doing in the States, she said after giving birth, and the few friends she had talked to did not believe her.

Shortly after giving birth, Bousada announced she had been diagnosed with cancer, which immediately prompted speculation that the IVF treatment might have also played a part in the rapid evolution of her condition. Even back then, when asked about the future of the babies, she explained they would not be left all alone in the world, since she had already spoken to one of her nephews and the godfather of the twins about taking them in. Still, her untimely death, and leaving the babies orphans at such an early age, has already brought the topic of motherhood at an advanced age back on the table.

“Our first priority should be our duty to the children and we should have the courage to say no.” Josephine Quintavalle of the Comment on Reproductive Ethics group said upon hearing of Bousada’s death. In Spain, for instance, there is no absolute age limit for IVF, but clinics will generally refuse the treatment to women over 50, while the NHS does not pay for that of women past 40.

The wave of criticism is not restricted to Spain alone, though. According to the Daily Mail, in the UK too the reaction has been very strong, with many rising up to ask for stricter regulations. “While it is true that even young parents can and do sometimes tragically die and leave their children orphans, there is obviously a far greater risk when a post-menopausal woman deliberately sets out to bring children into the world without a father.” Norman Wells of Family and Youth Concern shared. “Nature itself teaches us that there are seasons in a woman’s life and that children are meant to have both a mother and a father. When we tamper with the natural order, children will always suffer as a result.” Wells added.