“Do your homework,” says infertility counsellor

The London tabloid The Express has
“revealed” that “thousands” of British women are traveling to Eastern Europe
for cheap IVF. Government-funded fertility treatment is restricted in the UK
and some women miss out and others hope to become pregnant with more cycles of
IVF. Consequently desperate women are seeking out clinics in the Czech
Republic, Romania, the Ukraine and Russia where they can get IVF at a quarter
of the cost of private treatment in the UK. Sperm and egg donors in Eastern
European countries are also anonymous., unlike the UK.

Susan Seenan, of the national fertility
charity Infertility Network UK, said: “It’s very sad that people are forced to
go abroad because they can’t access treatment in the UK but that happens a lot…
We never tell people not to go abroad but we recommend they do their
homework.  People should go abroad
because it is the right option for them, not because it is the cheapest option.
Infertility treatment is stressful enough anyway.” ~ Express, Apr
5

Michael Cook
fertility tourism
IVF
UK

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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