The only clinic providing in vitro fertilization treatment in Madison is expected to close its doors at the end of June.
The University of Wisconsin Hospital Fertility Clinic, which provides a variety of high-end fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization, decided to discontinue its services following an internal examination of its services, according to UW Hospital spokesperson Lisa Brunette.
The clinic lacks a "continuity of care" because — while it provides fertility treatment for many women and families — it does not provide labor and delivery services, Brunette said.
"We do not offer labor and delivery for women who conceive through the program," Brunette said. "So there's a continuity of care, and we don't have that."
However, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin does not buy UW Hospital's justification.
"It's inexplicable UW Hospital would no longer provide these critical services," Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin Staff Attorney Chris Taylor said. "It's serving a lot of women and families that are in desperate need. … There's no shortage of patients … and it's a clinic that is making a significant profit."
Taylor said Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin especially disagreed with UW Hospital's explanation because, while there are many hospitals and facilities in Dane County that provide labor and delivery services, only the UW Hospital Fertility Clinic provides in vitro fertilization.
"For many women, it's the only option for them," Taylor said.
Brunette, though, said the clinic's closing would not hurt its current patients, and that UW Hospital would help them transition their care to other providers.
"Anytime you close a clinic, it's disruptive, but we're confident we can hook up with other providers," Brunette said. "We're committed to working with [patients] to find the best match for what they're looking for."
Among other possible options for fertility-treatment patients, according to Brunette, is a clinic that opened in Madison in January.
Brunette said the new clinic, which is not affiliated with UW and is based in Rockford, Ill., provides many of the same treatments as the UW clinic, such as providing medication to produce ovulation.
However, the new clinic does not provide in vitro fertilization, Brunette added, which Taylor said would pose a "significant obstacle" for Dane County women and families in need of the treatment.
"They're going to have to drive significant distances [to receive treatment] and, for many people, they cannot do that," Taylor said, citing how many families do not have the means to travel to facilities in Green Bay and Rockford, Ill., to receive in vitro fertilization treatments, which require visits twice a week for six to eight weeks.
Taylor added the UW Hospital Fertility Clinic's sudden closing even surprised its own employees.
"Even their doctors didn't anticipate this closure," Taylor said.
Brunette said current employees of the UW Hospital Fertility Clinic would be placed in other positions in various UW hospitals and clinics.
There are as of yet no plans in the works for a new clinic to be built in Madison that would provide in vitro fertilization treatments, Brunette added.
