Should Canada’s Health Care Fund IVF?

Inside Canada’s universal health coverage, you’re left on your own to pay for services like in vitro fertilization (IVF). But Dr. Renda Bouzayen thinks that should change. She’s the division head of Reproductive Endocrine and Infertility at Dalhousie University. Bouzayen wrote an editorial on the subject for Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Why should Canada pay for IVF?

Bouzayen argues that the cost of care for the babies and mother are the responsibility of the public health system anyway. And with IVF being so expensive, couples are more likely to transfer multiple embryos, possibly resulting in twins or triplets. When it comes to multiple births, there’s more risk to both mother and children.

Bouzayen notes that the mortality rate after birth is higher for multiple births than for single births. For twins, the death rate is four times higher, and for triplets it’s six to nine times higher. Cerebral palsy is three to seven times more common in twins and 10 times more common in triplets.

How do you feel about public health care in Canada or elsewhere covering IVF and other fertility treatments?

(Image via MorgueFile)