[Subfertility in mentally disabled people who desire to have children: how to give balanced advice]

When people with a mental disability fail to conceive naturally, they also like to be considered for fertility treatment. However, the GP, gynaecologist or fertility specialist may question their parenting competence. Physicians may and can refuse fertility treatment if they have reasons to suspect that the child will have a poor quality of life. We are using a case history to outline how a well-considered multidisciplinary recommendation can be made that does justice to the patient's request while causing the least amount of grief. The guiding principle in doing so is the moral consideration that the harm to the future child should not outweigh the harm to the parents.