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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2021 21:04:55 GMT
Interesting story, any views?
A couple from Windsor who have been in a relationship for more than a decade are demanding equal fertility treatment for same sex couples.
YouTubers Megan Bacon Evans and her wife Whitney were shocked to find they had to spend thousands of pounds on six rounds of artificial insemination, before qualifying for IVF on the NHS.
"We were really shocked to find out to get any help from the NHS we would have to go through six rounds. Even for one round we're already at £6,000," said Megan.
"We've had a lot of our followers message us and say they can't afford to get pregnant," she added.
Megan and Whitney are using their YouTube channel to campaign for equal access for fertility services for LGBT+ couples.
The couple have heard desperate stories from their followers trying to get pregnant.
"They were going to Facebook and finding sperm donors and doing it for free at home. I was shocked! Who knows what their medical backgrounds are?," they added.
Among mixed-sex couples around 40% of IVF cycles are paid for on the NHS
That compares to 14% for female couples
In London that figure drops to less than 6%
"It very much depends on where you are - whether or not you have access to appropriate treatment. Whether you're required to pay privately for donor sperm once you have access to NHS-funded IVF," said Eloise Stonborough from Stonewall.
"The NHS and Department of Health need to review their guidance to make sure it's much clearer for CCGs [Clinical Commissioning Groups] about what they provide and where," she added.
Whitney and Megan have started a petition and as well as more financial help they are asking for changes in care for LGBT+ couples whop are trying for a baby.
"We are asking for formal training with NHS staff on all LGBT+ issues. We've heard stories of some doctors saying 'who's the real mum or where's the dad?'," said Whitney.
The government said it was committed to reviewing IVF equality to ensure all couples get equal access to fertility treatment regardless of sexuality.
Whitney and Megan hope their petition gets enough signatures to get their petition debated in parliament.
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Post by Half Machine Lipschitz on Nov 9, 2021 21:12:55 GMT
Just send Goatboy around to knock one of 'em up.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2021 21:14:44 GMT
Maybe they could get a poodle instead.
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Post by tory on Nov 9, 2021 21:25:54 GMT
Personally I don't think fertility treatment should be made available on the NHS. It doesn't strike me as a critical care issue.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Nov 9, 2021 23:00:57 GMT
Just send Goatboy around to knock one of 'em up. Just the one?
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Post by DarknessFish on Nov 10, 2021 8:09:54 GMT
Personally I don't think fertility treatment should be made available on the NHS. It doesn't strike me as a critical care issue. You think only critical care should be available?
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Post by tory on Nov 10, 2021 8:39:41 GMT
No, but is fertility treatment really a care issue either?
I fully understand that it is a very difficult and emotional topic and that some people would think I'm a bastard for saying such a thing.
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Post by bungo the mungo on Nov 10, 2021 8:55:48 GMT
I fully understand that it is a very difficult and emotional topic and that some people would think I'm a bastard for saying such a thing. not me. the fewer humans brought into this world, the better.
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Post by DarknessFish on Nov 10, 2021 9:05:16 GMT
No, but is fertility treatment really a care issue either? I fully understand that it is a very difficult and emotional topic and that some people would think I'm a bastard for saying such a thing. Well, it's the ultimate life or ... not life situation. As someone who benefited from fertility treatment on the NHS, I'm generally in favour, though I understand the arguments. And it's certainly a care issue from a mental health standpoint. The idea that only those who can afford to pay can have the chance to bring up children is a bit of a moral minefield too, though the cost of continuing IVF does also lead to that quite often.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2021 9:52:51 GMT
I wonder (in their case) why adoption is not considered.
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Post by tory on Nov 10, 2021 11:21:10 GMT
I wonder (in their case) why adoption is not considered. Well, this is true. It is exceptionally complex. My wife has a friend who is 45, single, and feels that she "has to have" a baby. I'm not a woman, so I have no real idea beyond a sort of vague empathy with the physicality of that emotion that must have been with her for god knows how long. When you are surrounded by people that have been "successful" in corresponding to the archetype of "being a mum" that so many women are (I guess it's the female equivalent of the "successful man"), then that can play heavily on you, perhaps forever. She has now had a baby, but is still single and has entered some sort of complex situation with a gay friend who has agreed to be a "sort of father". The conservative in me baulks at this sort of tenuous set up. Is he a father or not? How will the child grow up without the person that is their father? I don't think it is terrible to ask these sorts of questions and worry. Of course that doesn't impinge on the fact that huge numbers of people bring up children single-handedly and successfully too as the stigma of single parenthood lessens, but when you see negative statistics on the outcomes of single parenthood, you worry too.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Nov 10, 2021 11:38:29 GMT
There seems to be a belief that having a child is almost a human right for some people.
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Post by Half Machine Lipschitz on Nov 10, 2021 11:47:27 GMT
Preludin: Come for the rock and roll, stay for the eugenics
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Post by harrylemon on Nov 10, 2021 12:42:34 GMT
Is there any positive statistics for being brought up with two parents?
Asking as someone brought up by a single parent.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2021 12:49:10 GMT
Is there any positive statistics for being brought up with two parents? Asking as someone brought up by a single parent. That's an interesting point. Good and bad parenting is something that can happen whatever the circumstances.
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