Funding IVF gives greater benefits

Interviewed by the CBC, Dr Jeff Nisker from UWO argues that the costs of funding IVF cycles for couples having trouble conceiving will be offset by the savings in neonatal care resulting from multiple births caused by fertility drugs. Maybe, but there are more benefits.

I am not aware whether Canada funds IVF for couples carrying potentially debilitating genetic diseases, but it definitely should. The cost of the IVF cycle would be offset by the saving in healthcare provision for a condition that could have been avoided without incurring the ethical contradictions of eugenics. No-one wants Huntingdon's, Tay Sachs, Haemophilia or other conditions that can be reliably detected by genetic screening.

As with many ethical issues, IVF cannot be considered a lifestyle choice (I am against using it as a routine procedure). I would, however, advocate the following:

1. Genetic screening for both parents who want to have a child, in order to check for the possibility of severe genetic disorders being passed on
   
2. IVF and pre-implant screening of the embryo to ensure the baby is healthy for couples identified as at-risk
   
3. Limiting pre-implant test result disclosure solely to the health of the embryo, leaving out any other possible sources of discrimination such as gender
   
4. IVF in all cases of proven difficulty in conceiving

All in all a healthy Canadian-born population is in the national interest, therefore IVF in the aforementioned cases and non-discriminatory genetic screening are justifiable expenses in the healthcare budget. Unlike Ontario's recent decisions on the matter.