Rachel Myr, with whom I normally never disagree about anything, writes, in
the last digest I got before setting nomail:

> As far as I can see, unless the mother has been declared mentally
>  incompetent, which would be odd since she is a candidate for IVF, to wean
or
>  not is her decision to make, based on factual information about all the
>  alternatives.
>

That is certainly true -- it didn't sound like the specialist disagreed with
that.  Rather, he is in business providing a health-care related service,
IVF.  The question here is whether he is obligated to enter into a contract
with her to provide those services -- important to her but obviously not
life-saving in the ordinary sense -- under absolutely any conditions, or
whether he can say, "If we can't come to agreement I don't want to work with
you."

If -- as seems likely but not certain to me -- there is no substantial to
wait until after weaning for IVF, fertility specialists need to learn that so
that they don't oppress their patients and potential patients.

But if he believes with any legitimate basis that his services are more
likely to be successful for women who are not lactating, what obligates him
to provide him to women who are lactating?   Most programs have other
conditions, too, and mothers need to decide whether those conditions --
sometimes oppressive -- are worth it to them relative to their own desire to
undergo IVF treatment.   Or any other contract, really.   Think about the
mother who knowingly accepts a job that requires 4-day-a-week travel, and
then says she can't go away because her nursling is at home.  Was it
responsible of her to accept that job at this time in her life?  Nobody is
"forcing" her to wean -- she is making her own decisions.

I think the questions Rachel suggests -- why is this a condition of
treatment, etc -- are the key here, but it's important to remember that the
mother is not only the one who decides whether to wean but also who decides
whether she wants to have IVF, now or ever.

Elisheva
swimming against the lactnet current, but.

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html