Ethicist claims IVF clinics are misleading couples

A leading Catholic ethicist says some of Australia’s major IVF clinics have been misleading couples with information about success rates.

Queensland priest Fr Kevin McGovern, emeritus director at the Caroline Chisholm Centre for Health Ethics, Melbourne, described as “deceitful” how some IVF clinics presented figures on their websites “to create the impression that the chance of having a child is much greater than it actually is.”

Fr McGovern’s concerns are backed by a recent investigation by the consumer watchdog – the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission – which revealed several major IVF clinics had made misleading claims, which could confuse couples about their chances of success.

“The ACCC is correct to say some advertising is meant to entice rather than inform,” Fr McGovern said.

He said some clinics were offering false hope to couples who “in order to have a child are prepared to grasp at straws.”

“It is still a minority of people who go to an IVF clinic who end up with a baby at the end of it,” he said.

The ACCC found some IVF clinics used “clinical pregnancy rate” data to compare their success rates where that data reflected the clinic’s success in creating an embryo, rather than live birth rates.