Couples who are unable to conceive frequently turn to IVF. This procedure can be extremely expensive to pay for, especially if your health insurance doesn’t happen to cover it. Some doctors have started Facebook contests where the prize is free IVF treatment. This brings up many legal, and ethical questions.

IVF stands for “in vitro fertilization”. This treatment can be used by couples who have not been able to conceive by natural means. Part of the treatment involves collecting the woman’s eggs, and the man’s sperm, and putting them together in a petrie dish. Conception occurs outside of the body. One or more embryos are implanted into the woman’s uterus.

The hope is that at least one embryo will survive, grow, and become a baby. Often, more than one embryo will develop, which can lead to multiple births. The costs increase exponentially if there is more than one baby developing at at time.

The alternative is to only implant one embryo at a time, and wait to see what happens. This could result in the need for additional IVF treatments, if the first embryo didn’t make it. This, too, will increase the cost of the treatment for the couple.

Health insurance can help people be able to afford the cost of the medical treatments that they require. Unfortunately, only around fifteen states require health insurance companies to cover the cost of IVF. This means that there are many couples who really want to have children, who are unable to conceive naturally, and who cannot afford to pay for IVF out of their own pockets.

Some doctors and medical businesses in South Florida, (and across the nation), have started doing something that was previously unheard of. They are holding contests on Facebook where the prize is free medical treatment.

So far, the doctors that are doing Facebook contests are mostly fertility doctors, dentists, and cosmetic beauty centers. The contests all work in a very similar way. The person who brings the most viewers to the doctor’s Facebook page will win free IVF treatment (or other types of free medical care). The winners are not required to have health insurance of any kind.

Are these contests legal? Yes, they actually are. The big question isn’t one of legality, however, but one of ethics. The doctors who do these contests are using them as a way to drum up business. They are hoping that by giving away one “freebie” that they will gain plenty of new, paying, customers. It is a money making venture.

These doctors have very obviously connected their ability to provide health care with a way to make money. It isn’t about helping people, or improving the health of the public. It is about generating a profit. This might be morally acceptable for doctors who are providing elective cosmetic surgery. However, when doctors hold a Facebook contest for IVF, it can appear as though the doctors are not placing much value on human life.

On the other hand, Facebook contests for free medical care might be the only way some people are going to be able to afford to have certain types of medical treatment. This says a lot about the problems with our current health care system.

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