Five couples will begin free fertility treatment as winners in an Ottawa radio station contest dismissed as "tacky" by an infertility awareness group, but praised as "amazing" by one of the women who will undergo the procedure.
"If you've never been through it you don't know," said Carly Perkins, 23, while dismissing criticism of the controversial Hot 89.9 Win a Baby contest.
"The chance to just have a baby is incredible. What they're doing is absolutely amazing, and there's nothing negative in my head at all about it," she said.
Carly and her husband, Benjamin, have been together nine years and are coming up on their first wedding anniversary. The Athens, Ont., couple was stunned by the news.
"I was shocked, amazed and happy for everyone. I'm so thrilled that we all got an opportunity," said Carly. "It's a chance to have a child, you can't put words to that," she said.
Benjamin, 25, who is in a wheelchair, said a car accident in January 2007 resulted in him breaking his neck. But the fact that he is a quadriplegic hasn't deterred him from trying to start a family.
"It took a long time to recover but I definitely wouldn't be able to do it without my wife. We were quite informed as to what to do and which way to go. The way that science is now there are ways around everything pretty much," said Benjamin, adding that they consulted with other people who are quadriplegics.
But a Canadian infertility awareness group has branded the contest as "tacky." Beverly Hanck, executive director of the Infertility Awareness Association of Canada, acknowledged the contest generated plenty of publicity for the station, but caused undue pain for the five couples who were contest finalists.
"Pain is personal and having to expose that in order to have a chance of getting treatment ... is a sad state of affairs," said Hanck, who heads the Montreal-based group. "I found it (contest) really tacky, I mean it's like you're trying to give a human being. I just don't find it nice at all," she said.
About 400 couples applied for the contest which was marked by controversy over ethical questions after it began in early September. The five couples will receive up to three rounds of invitro fertility treatments which could cost up to $35,000 per couple. Hanck said she feels for the plight of the couples, but added there could be grave emotional ramifications for any new offspring if the treatments are successful.
"My thought was 'what's the kid going to think? He's going to think he was won in a contest like a stuffed teddy bear. Did anybody think about that? Did anybody think about how the pain would be exacerbated for the ones that didn't have an opportunity to win the contest,'" she said. Hanck said she lobbied the Ontario government for about seven years to pay for fertility treatments for couples but to no avail.
To read more go to http://bit.ly/oRP8jA
Showing posts with label win ivf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label win ivf. Show all posts
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Sunday, 9 October 2011
Win a baby competition in Canada, receives criticism from fertility groups
Fertility groups have branded a Canadian radio station "tacky and distasteful" after it launched a competition to "win a baby".
Ottawa music station Hot 89.9 unveiled the contest on its breakfast show last month, offering three rounds of fertility treatment worth $35,000 (£21,700) to the contestant who convinced listeners and a panel of judges, including fertility specialists, they were most deserving of the prize. Those entering were asked to write 100 words on why they should win.
Advertisements featuring photographs of babies beside the slogan "she could be yours" and "are you my mommy?" were splashed around the city. The station in Ontario, where fertility treatment is not publicly funded, has received 400 applications from a diverse range of people including same-sex couples, single women and cancer patients. The winner will be announced on 10 October.
The contest was described as "an excellent idea" by one applicant, Kristy Middleton Leduc, who saw the posters and wondered if the station was "giving away babies". She and her husband have tried unsuccessfully to conceive for the last two and a half years. She said: "I would have liked [the competition] a little less in your face. Seeing the baby and wanting it so bad, something doesn't fit with it."
Gillian Wood entered in the hope of winning fertility treatment to conceive her second child but did not reach the final. She said: "When people reach the end of the rope, what are [they] going to do?". Her first child was conceived through IVF after six years of medical problems and treatment costing $38,000.
The competition and its marketing campaign were widely criticised after messages such as "see who you think deserves to win a baby" were broadcast to encourage listeners to vote.
Beverly Hanck, executive director of the Infertility Awareness Association of Canada, dismissed the contest as tacky and distasteful. She said: "The station is clearly capitalising on vulnerable patients who are desperate to have a family. Has anyone stopped to think how the hundreds of patients who do not win are going to feel?"
Toronto fertility counsellor Jan Silverman said she objected to "commodification of babies, turning babies into products" but added that the contest raised awareness about fertility issues and the high cost of treatment faced by one in six Ontario couples.
However, the station defended the competition. Breakfast show presenter Jeff Mauler denied that the competition exploited vulnerable people. "Read the rules and regulations and listen to the radio and then you will understand what the bigger picture is," he said. "We are trying to do a good thing for a family which can't conceive." He said no pressure would be placed on winners to reveal their identities. "We wanted to shock people, get them talking ... capture people's imagination," said Mauler.
Hot 89.9 is the latest Canadian radio station to use shock tactics to win listeners. Other recent prizes have included a Russian bride and breast implants.
Ottawa music station Hot 89.9 unveiled the contest on its breakfast show last month, offering three rounds of fertility treatment worth $35,000 (£21,700) to the contestant who convinced listeners and a panel of judges, including fertility specialists, they were most deserving of the prize. Those entering were asked to write 100 words on why they should win.
Advertisements featuring photographs of babies beside the slogan "she could be yours" and "are you my mommy?" were splashed around the city. The station in Ontario, where fertility treatment is not publicly funded, has received 400 applications from a diverse range of people including same-sex couples, single women and cancer patients. The winner will be announced on 10 October.
The contest was described as "an excellent idea" by one applicant, Kristy Middleton Leduc, who saw the posters and wondered if the station was "giving away babies". She and her husband have tried unsuccessfully to conceive for the last two and a half years. She said: "I would have liked [the competition] a little less in your face. Seeing the baby and wanting it so bad, something doesn't fit with it."
Gillian Wood entered in the hope of winning fertility treatment to conceive her second child but did not reach the final. She said: "When people reach the end of the rope, what are [they] going to do?". Her first child was conceived through IVF after six years of medical problems and treatment costing $38,000.
The competition and its marketing campaign were widely criticised after messages such as "see who you think deserves to win a baby" were broadcast to encourage listeners to vote.
Beverly Hanck, executive director of the Infertility Awareness Association of Canada, dismissed the contest as tacky and distasteful. She said: "The station is clearly capitalising on vulnerable patients who are desperate to have a family. Has anyone stopped to think how the hundreds of patients who do not win are going to feel?"
Toronto fertility counsellor Jan Silverman said she objected to "commodification of babies, turning babies into products" but added that the contest raised awareness about fertility issues and the high cost of treatment faced by one in six Ontario couples.
However, the station defended the competition. Breakfast show presenter Jeff Mauler denied that the competition exploited vulnerable people. "Read the rules and regulations and listen to the radio and then you will understand what the bigger picture is," he said. "We are trying to do a good thing for a family which can't conceive." He said no pressure would be placed on winners to reveal their identities. "We wanted to shock people, get them talking ... capture people's imagination," said Mauler.
Hot 89.9 is the latest Canadian radio station to use shock tactics to win listeners. Other recent prizes have included a Russian bride and breast implants.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
