One of the winners of a controversial ‘Win a Baby' contest is defending the Ottawa radio station that organized it, saying the event has spotlighted the issue of public funding for in vitro fertilization.
New Hot 89.9 FM received hundreds of entries from those who were hoping to win $35,000 worth of the fertility treatment. On Tuesday, the station announced that five finalists had won the prize, and that each would receive three rounds of in vitro treatment.
Natasha Derouche, one of the winners, said Friday that she doesn't feel she was exploited by the station and is happy about "the attention this cause is getting."
Last year, Quebec began funding IVF treatment and some Ontario residents, like Derouche, have been pushing for Queen's Park to follow suit.
"The conversation has been started and this way, hopefully, it can be continued and we can get the attention of the government," she told CTV News Channel.
The contest has been attacked by critics, including fertility groups, who have called it emotionally exploitative and complained that it wasn't accurately named since IVF treatment isn't always successful.
Jeff Mauler, a host at the station, said he doesn't believe the contest was exploitative.
"Knowing what a good thing that we did in the end, I think it was all worth it," he said.
Regarding the contest name, Mauler said the station wanted to attract attention and thought that "win three fertility treatments" was too "wordy and clunky."
"We knew what we were doing," he added.
The station received 400 applications and wound up garnering headlines in Canada and abroad thanks to the controversy.
The wide range of entrants included single women who hadn't found "Mr. Right," same-sex couples, cancer survivors and at least one quadriplegic.
All were asked to describe -- in 100 words or less -- why they were most deserving of the prize.
