Either partner should be allowed to reverse decision on IVF, says Fertility Society

EITHER partner in a couple undergoing fertility treatment should have the right to back out of the arrangement if they change their mind, a group representing fertility practitioners said.

The Irish Fertility Society (IFS) also stressed the importance of clinics securing the clear, informed consent of both parties at every stage of their treatment, and said it was essential that couples receive comprehensive counselling prior to beginning treatment to minimise the chances of subsequent disputes.

The IFS represents doctors, scientists, nurses, counsellors and administrative staff working in infertility treatment in Ireland but has no legal standing as there is, as yet, no specific legislation governing the work of fertility practitioners.

IFS spokesman Dr Edgar Mocanu is head consultant at the HARI Unit (Human Assisted Reproduction Ireland) in the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin which runs the hospital’s IVF service.

He said the IFS felt compelled to speak out following yesterday’s High Court ruling which found that the father of three frozen embryos stuck in a legal limbo did not give, and was not asked for, his consent for their use prior to the break-up of his marriage to their mother.

“We feel very strongly that fertility treatment should only be carried out with the valid and informed consent of all parties involved,” said Dr Mocanu.

“Each episode of treatment requires the consent of all parties involved and this consent may be revoked by any party should their circumstances change.

“This is the current practice in Irish clinics and in other European, Australian and North American jurisdictions. It has been well tested in law internationally.”

Dr Mocanu added, however, that a minority of members might disagree with some of his points.

The consent procedures used by the Sims International Fertility Clinic in Dublin, where the couple at the centre of the case received their treatment, were criticised in yesterday’s court ruling.

The clinic claims to be Ireland’s largest fertility unit outside maternity hospitals, carrying out more than 700 assisted reproduction treatment cycles each year. It is not affiliated to the IFS.

Its chairman and medical director, Dr Anthony Walsh, was out of the country yesterday and had not received a copy of the judgment.

The clinic said he would not be in a position to respond to it until he had read it.