IVF?

One of the Achroma-Mummies that I know through Facebook mentioned today that they are considering IVF for the conception of a second baby. The embryos would be tested for the Achromatopsia gene before implantation.

M and I have talked about this before and I have always been adamant that I would not go through the rigours of IVF to avoid the 1 in 4 chance of having another Achromat. Am I in denial about the seriousness of living with this disease? If I was really baby-crazy, I wouldn't hesitate to try for another one. The odds aren't that bad and the condition isn't that bad. Plus, the family are already set up to deal with it: your house is already darkened, the sunglasses already researched, and they would grow up with a built-in playmate/buddy/understanding person around. As for medical treatment: in the UK, it is paid for by the NHS.

But am I looking at from the luxurious perspective of already having two children and not being broody?

Two philosophical questions:

1. Is it irresponsible to knowingly concieve a child who may require more medical resources than another child, knowing that these resources are going to be paid for by the taxpayer?

2. Is it bad of me to be more willing to submit our offspring to a possible life with Achromatopsia than to go through IVF and genetic testing of embryos? Am I trading my own convenience and expense for their future happiness?

I would be really weary of creating a designer baby, one of the biggest reasons is that nobody is perfect and trying to create the perfect child is sure to end in dissapointment.

At the heart of it, I feel like it is kind of disloyal to Charlotte and her peers, kind of like saying to them, "What you have is so terrible that I am going to go through all this time, pain, heartache and expense to avoid it ever happening again."