When I watched Ann Curry's interview with Nadya Suleman, I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I thought, "This is gonna start an uproar in the infertility world." I personally have nothing but good things to say about IVF, based on my own experience. I feel for my sisters in infertility who grieve every time they pass a pregnant woman in the grocery store, who'd rather have a root canal without novocaine than open up a baby shower invitation. I KNOW their pain.

I recently learned that a Republican Senator, Ralph Hudgens, is sponsoring a Georgia bill called The Ethical Treatment of Embryos Act (SB 169) that would limit the number of embryos transferred in an IVF cycle to two for a woman under forty-years-old and three for a woman over forty. Also, the bill would limit the number of embryos created in the cycle to the number transferred. This would, in essence, prevent a woman from freezing unused embryos, thus creating the necessity to "start from scratch" in a future IVF cycle (more headaches, more costs). An IVF cycle costs $10,000 to $15,000 a pop, and currently, only fourteen states in the US offer coverage for infertility treatment.

Imagine a thirty-nine year old woman without fertility coverage plunking down her life's savings (especially in this dismal economy!), turning her thighs into a black-and-blue pin cushion, and watching her personality change to resemble Regan from the Exorcist (because of the use of fertility drugs), for a whopping 20% chance of achieving a pregnancy (odds of success at that age are roughly 10% per embryo transferred, at best). I think not.
I can only question how a sixty-five-year-old male senator can remotely relate to the anguish of a woman with infertility issues.

The current American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) IVF guidelines are as follows:
1. Under 35 yrs. : 1-2 embryos transferred
2. 35-37 yrs.: 2-3 embryos transferred
3. 38-40 yrs.: 3-4 embryos transferred
4. >40 yrs.: Up to 5 embryos transferred
5. Prior failed IVF cycle or a less than favorable prognosis: Additional embryos transferred according to individual circumstances (following appropriate consultation).

At age thirty-nine during the time of my second IVF attempt, a prior pregnancy loss due to severe chromosomal problems in the fetus (Trisomy 13), five early miscarriages, one failed intrauterine insemination (IUI), and a miscarriage resulting from a pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) IVF (where the embryos are screened for the major chromosomal issues before transfer), I would say that I fell into category five of the ASRM guidelines ("less than favorable prognosis"). Thus, I had five embryos transferred after my infertility doctor agreed, "it was not unreasonable given my age and history". Needless to say, my husband Mark's face went as white as the sheet I was wrapped in on the exam table.

I hit the jackpot and got pregnant (with a singleton), and am convinced that had I not put in five embryos, my precious son would not be here today.
Don't get me wrong. I don't agree with what was done in Nadya Suleman's case (as her circumstances were vastly different from mine). I believe the ASRM guidelines should be enforced, but that legislation should not be introduced that could jeopardize a woman's chances of realizing her dream.

Suzanne Rhodes lives in South Riding and is the mother of three children, ages 4, 10, and 20. She has chronicled her four-year pregnancy loss, infertility, and general "hard luck" journey and what she and other women like her can do to increase their odds/deal with the hardship in a book titled The Little Embryo that Could: Conquering Genetic Termination, Secondary Infertility, and Other Injustices. The book is due to be published summer of 2009.

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