The advances in fertility treatments have opened a whole forum of moral and emotional implications. Such as, what should happen to unused embryos? And who makes the decision if the parents split up? What about the feelings of parents who will not have more children? It’s a difficult situation.
Most of the publicity with this topic comes from the celebrity circuit. One such embryo mom is Real Housewives of Orange County alum Heather Dubrow. She and husband Terry Dubrow have two embryos in medical storage, and Heather recently brought up the topic on her social media.
According to Us Weekly, Heather posted a heartfelt post on Instagram when paying the annual storage bill. “It’s that time of the year again when I pay for my 2 frozen embryos,” she wrote. “I cry, sit in it for a bit, take a deep breath, pay the bill and wait until next year. Anyone else have this moment? I will talk about this on the podcast soon … curious what any of you do with your embryos?”
To accompany the post, Heather included a picture of the receipt, which now totals $800. She joked that the “rent has gone up” at the reproductive center. Originally, Heather’s embryos were kept in style for $700 annually.
RELATED: Heather Dubrow Sold Her Orange County Home For $55 Million
Heather and Terry welcomed their twins in 2003, three years after tying the knot. The couple conceived son Nick Dubrow and daughter Max Dubrow with the help of IVF. Another daughter, Kat Dubrow, was born in October 2006. Coco, their youngest daughter, arrived in December 2010.
The family’s tight bond was show-cased on RHOC, including Max coming out as bisexual. Heather and Terry celebrated her moment of self-actualization on Heather Dubrow’s World podcast.
Heather told Us Weekly at the time that she was very careful about getting Max’s approval on social media posts. “She was only worried that my caption was good,” Heather revealed. “I think she was just at the spot where she was ready. She wanted to live out and open and live her truth.”
The family also came together in support of Kat when she came out as a lesbian.
“It’s really important that we provide an environment of unconditional love and acceptance for our children and let them know that humans come in all different colors, genders, sexualities,” Heather wrote on social media as an announcement. “Once we start appreciating this and practicing inclusion, love and acceptance, the better off we will all be.”
Heather explained her parenting philosophy. She said, “With our kids we’ve sort of taken the approach [of], ‘Look we’ve given you all the tools. We trust you,” she said. “And until you prove otherwise, we’re going to just continue to trust you. It has served us.”
As for her embryos, Heather has not announced any change in their status. They will stay in storage.
TELL US- WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THE EMBRYOS IF YOU WERE HEATHER? DO YOU HAVE EMBRYOS STORED? WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN TO UNUSED EMBRYOS?
[Photo Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo]