Should healthy Lesbian women be given IVF on the NHS?

Question

And if so, should healthy gay men be offered surrogacy on the NHS?

Answer 1

The trouble is that the British Fertility Society (the body that made the recent recommendations) is basically a group of gynaecologists (almost all fertility experts in the country started out in gynaecology).

Firstly: because they are gynaecologists, their principal focus is on the woman. That is the reason that although in 50% of couples with subfertility the problem is with the man, they tend to be very bad at diagnosing and treating men's problems (such as varicoceles causing overheating and hindering sperm production). It also means that they tend to focus on treating the woman - and for that, it's almost irrelevant to them what her sexuality is.

Secondly: they are looking at it as a medical rather than an ethical issue. As doctors, their primary concern is whether the treatment they can provide is lilely to solve the primary problem (by giving the woman a child), not what the social consequences of that might be. You could be cynical and say that their success rates will be higher on women with no barrier to fertility (other than their sexuality) than women who have been trying unsuccessfully to conceive by conventional means - or you could just put it down to a more benign natural competitiveness, wanting to "beat the problem".

Note, though, that most lesbians will initially be offered IUI (insemination) rather than IVF. IUI is much cheaper and should work in the large majority of cases. It's only where three cycles of IUI have failed that a woman with unexplained infertility would normally move on to IVF.

Answer 2

IVF is a solution for those who have medical problems or abnormalities that stop them from conceiving. If a lesbian has a healthy reproductive system they don't need it- they just need artifical insemination.

And I don't think artifical insemination or surrogacy should be provided on the NHS for gay couples- not having a desire for heterosexual sex is fine, but the natural consequence of that is not having babies. It's not a medical problem. I fully support gay couples having their own children, I just don't think it should be on the national health plan when their bodies are still capable of having sex and conceiving in the natural way.

If they have problems conceiving then they should have the same rights as everyone else, but I think there ought to be a medical reason before it's provided on the NHS.

Answer 3

Well, I don't really think that IVF should be offered at all. It's an incredibly expensive and rarely effective procedure that is used all too often.

IVF is offered to straight, married women because of medical difficulty in conceiving. If lesbians or single women have the same medical difficulties, than they should be offered the same treatment.

However, if they do not have any medical problem and simply want to get pregnant without a male partner, it is difficult to rationalize such an expensive treatment. So I guess it depends on what alternatives there are and what the medical situation is.

I don't think that there is an equivalent to offering gay men surrogacy. In the case of a lesbian woman receiving IVF, she is the patient receiving treatment. A gay man seeking a surrogate would not be a medical patient. Same goes for single straight women and single straight men.

Answer 4

I'll preface this by saying that I'm biased - my wife and I are hoping to have kids within the next few years, so this topic is pretty close to my heart.

"Healthy" implies that there's really no need for IVF. I think that women should try to inseminate using IVI/ICI or IUI first. If a woman has health problems preventing her from conceiving that way, I think that IVF should be an option for her, regardless of sexual orientation. IVF is prohibitively expensive for most couples, gay or straight, who have to pay all the costs out of pocket, so I think that insurance should assist all couples who are unable to conceive otherwise.

The whole "just go sleep with a man" isn't a viable option. How many straight, married women conceive after the first try? It's very rare that it's a one-shot thing, and can take months if not years even for those who have unlimited sperm on tap. Not to mention, sleeping with someone outside of a monogamous relationship always carries with it the risk of contracting a huge number of diseases. There's also the issue of paternity - if a woman sleeps with a man and becomes pregnant, she can sue him for child support and he can sue her for custody, even if she doesn't tell him that she is sleeping with him just to conceive.

As for adoption, it is a good option for many same-sex couples. However, it's HARD. In some states we are barred from adopting, and in most it isn't allowed without a nasty legal battle.

Surrogacy is a bit trickier, because it necessarily involves a third party's involvement (more than just donating at the sperm bank). I don't know how to answer this part of the question.

Answer 5

No they should not. Children are little people who are created naturally between man and woman, not love symbols and certainly not a right.

Too much abnormal behaviour in the world these days. Its fine to live life the way you wish as adults, but you don't have to force your sexuality on children.

If lesbians are offered ivf, then the doors are opened for too many others. There are many who feel that ivf is unnatural and nobody should have it

The NHS should be for things that are necessary only, then resources would not be so stretched.

Answer 6

I would honestly like to say YES, just I gay men should have the right for surrogate, because my son is gay and I feel "selfish" that he will not be able to give me much wanted grandchildren, but in my heart, I do not think this is the best way to bring up children. I know that there are an awful lot of single families out there and children are brought up mainly by one parent, but I suppose I am old fashioned and would like to think that at least children are born into a family with both parents. Saying this, I am sure that we will all accept it in a few years time jut as we now accept lesbian and gay relationships and committals.

I suppose at the end of the day children must have a loving and caring relationship inthe homes, whether with two differnt sex parents, one parent, or two same same sex parents.

Answer 7

No.

I have been thinking about all this with it being on the news yesterday and have came to the conclusion that having children isn't a RIGHT that every woman has no matter what, its a PRIVILAGE and those who can have children are very lucky.

I have nothing against gay or lesbian couples but I think expecting to be helped to have children when you are in a relationship that makes it biologically impossible is wrong. IVF is costly and the money could be better spent in the NHS.

I also think people who are overwieght and know that that is what is preventing them from conciving, people who smoke and drink a lot too, don't deserve to get it on the NHS either until they make some effort to change.

Answer 8

You should start by not wanting to get pregnant, just have sex everyday or every other day and don't think about getting pregnant, just have fun with your partner. Get more useful information and guides to get pregnant herehttps://tr.im/iUaTv
after sex-put a pillow under your butt or prop your feet up on the wall so your pelvis is tilted
eat healthy
back off caffiene
workout, even if its just a 20 minute walk a day, be active.

Answer 9

Look I was ok with you guys existing. Getting married? Sure why not. But to bring a child into it? Thats just wrong. For a child to have to momys or even two daddys? How do they explain to the child how that happened and why? Think of the children!

Answer 10

I wonder why they don't just adopt the poor kids that are already needing of a good family. Is it because they at least want one of the parents to have a kid that has their own genes? Is that important? Does it really matter? For this reason, I say no, because the kids won't ever know who what other person they came from. Where as if they are adopted, they have some chance to find out their roots. I think thats important.

But what do I know, I'm a jerk.