Single women are denied IVF on the NHS because officials say it would ‘place a greater burden on society’ and that only couples ‘in a stable relationship’ should qualify for treatment
- Single women are denied IVF treatment on NHS as it is a ‘burden on society’
- Health chiefs will only fund treatment for couples in ‘stable relationships
- The policy used by NHS South East London follows guidance from 2011
Single women are being denied IVF treatment on the NHS because officials say if they had children it would ‘place a greater burden on society’.
Health chiefs will only fund fertility treatments for couples ‘living in a stable relationship’.
The policy used by NHS South East London – which has provoked fury among critics – follows guidance from an internal document written in 2011 that says providing assisted conception to a single woman would cause a ‘known disadvantage’ to ‘both the child and the mother’.
Single women are being denied IVF treatment on the NHS because officials say their children would place a ‘greater burden on society’. (Stock image)
It means that if a single woman suffers from fertility issues in the area, which covers two million patients, she would have to fund treatment privately, at the cost of thousands of pounds.
In other parts of Britain single women are eligible for IVF on the NHS if artificial insemination from a sperm donor has failed.
The internal document, seen by the Sunday Times, claims: ‘Single mothers are generally poorer; they are likely to have greater support needs compared to two-parent couples, thereby placing a greater burden on society in general. A sole woman is unable to bring out the best outcomes for the child.’
It also claimed that ‘denial of fertility treatment has a limited impact on a woman’s life satisfaction’. The number of women undergoing IVF without a partner has almost quadrupled in the last decade.
In 2007, there were only 351 treatment cycles in Britain for single women. The latest statistics show this had risen to 1,290 in 2017 – accounting for about 3 per cent of all cycles.
Health chiefs have said they will only fund IVF treatment for couples in ‘stable relationships’. (Stock image)
Labour MP Matthew Pennycook, who handled a complaint by a south-east London constituent, said the ban was based on ‘subjective and obsolete views of single mothers’.
He told NHS officials: ‘I am shocked to see such outdated sentiments in a document explicitly referenced as supporting evidence.’
A South East London spokesman said it was ‘committed to ensuring access to NHS fertility services is provided fairly and consistently within the limited resources we have available’.