Trans men and lesbians get IVF priority ahead of straight couples

by · Mail Online

Family campaigners have criticised as ‘grossly discriminatory’ plans to give trans men and lesbians access to NHS-funded IVF two years ahead of heterosexual couples.

Under the controversial proposals, trans men – those born as women who now identify as men – will be automatically assumed to be unable to conceive, as will lesbians and single women.

This means they will be immediately eligible for IVF on the NHS – costing an estimated £5,000 a cycle – if they meet the other criteria, such as a body mass index between 19 and 30, not smoking, being under 43 and not having a partner with a child from a previous relationship. 

Heterosexual couples, meanwhile, will still have to prove they can’t have a baby naturally within two years.

The proposed changes will cover a vast swathe of England including Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire.

The plans, explained in a document called ‘The Case For Change’, are out for an eight-week public consultation ending in January, meaning the new policy could come into force next year. 

Under the controversial proposals, trans men – those born as women who now identify as men – will be automatically assumed to be unable to conceive, as will lesbians and single women. Picture: Close up of in vitro fertilisation
Under the controversial proposals, trans men – those born as women who now identify as men – will be automatically assumed to be unable to conceive, as will lesbians and single women
Senior Tory MP Sir John Hayes, whose Lincolnshire constituency would be affected, branded the draft proposal ‘grotesquely unfair, utterly bizarre’

Heterosexual couples where one partner already has a biological child or children have also been dismayed to see that no changes are planned to the current rules barring them from NHS-funded fertility treatment.

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Last night, critics questioned why the NHS appeared to be prioritising trans men, single women and lesbians over heterosexual couples and women with stepchildren. Lucy Marsh, from the Family Education Trust, said: ‘At the very least these proposals seem grossly discriminatory towards traditional families.’

Sarah Curtiss, who campaigns for NHS-funded IVF for infertile stepmothers, commented: ‘It seems they want to make [their policy] equal for everyone apart from those who have children from a previous relationship.’

Senior Tory MP Sir John Hayes, whose Lincolnshire constituency would be affected, branded the draft proposal ‘grotesquely unfair, utterly bizarre’ and ‘so nonsensically woke it is off the scale’.

A spokesman for the East Midlands NHS Integrated Care Boards said: ‘We are conscious of the strength of feelings around fertility treatments and this is why we are asking people to complete our survey and share their views, which will feed into the final policy. It is important to emphasise that, whilst we have put forwards a proposal, no decisions have been made.’