Premier Jean Charest announced last Monday that his party's healthcare platform would include full provincial funding for in-vitro fertilization treatments for women unable to become pregnant.
"IVF has certainly become increasingly used and popular today, and I believe that is a reality that the government is adapting to," said Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) spokesperson Alexandra Mandich in an email to the Tribune.
The policy's goal is to raise Quebec's low fertility rate, which is currently around 1.5 children per woman. The issue has plagued Quebec since the Quiet Revolution in the 1960s, when birth-control use skyrocketed and the influence of the Catholic Church began to wane.
In-vitro fertilization involves taking a woman's egg and a man's sperm and achieving conception in a laboratory dish. The fertilized egg is then placed inside the woman's uterus for the duration of the pregnancy.
According to the Liberals, the plan will lead to an additional 1,500 births per year in the province. The fertility rate in Quebec is the lowest in the country, well below the national rate of 1.59 children per woman, as of 2006, according to Statistics Canada. A fertility rate of 2.1 is needed just to replace the population from one generation to the next, excluding the effect of immigration.
Some critics believe, however, that the plan isn't an effective use of public funds.
"Does the public really feel that this is a procedure that should be taking up one fifth of new money into the health system when there is so little access to primary care, physicians, and nurses?" said McGill professor Abby Lippman, who researches reproductive and genetic technologies. "Why are they not spending some of this money towards primary preventive work so that women can have babies at younger ages and in good health, and then they won't have to be treated for infertility?"
Lippman also warned against the medical risks involved in the procedure.
"There is not adequate monitoring of these procedures with regard to the babies who will be born and the women who are treated with hormones in order to go through in-vitro fertilization," Lippman said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Susan Robinson
posted 11/29/08 @ 8:02 PM EST
Dr. Lippman seems to overlook the rather significant point that fertility problems are not all related to women waiting until they are older to have children. (Continued…)
Drug Rehab
posted 1/06/09 @ 9:05 AM EST
Some women really want kids and can't get pregnant the natural way. In-vitro fertilization should be an option that they can afford and that they can feel comfortable with. (Continued…)
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