Why I think IVF treatment should be funded by insurance companies and the health service.
ZIFT costs on average $15,000 - not an amount of money that most people have at the drop of a hat. Unless you're well off you'd have to take out a large loan or re-mortgage your home.
If you needed treatment for any other condition, you could claim on your insurance or if you're in the UK, most things on the NHS are free, aside from, of course, IVF.
In some counties, if you're lucky, they may provide the first cycle of IVF for free, if you're willing to wait years for it. In other countries you don't even get that.
Doctors see fertility as a luxury and the right to have children as a mere lifestyle choice, but in my opinion, if a woman has blocked tubes or a man has a low sperm count, these are medical problems which require medical and/or alternative treatments, like any other medical problem in the body.
The desire for children is not simply a lifestyle choice, but a deep biological need. The majority of people feel this need to create a family and some become depressed when they fail to achieve this, which is another health problem.
In my opinion drug companies and clinics should be less concerned at making vast amounts of money from vulnerable would-be parents and all treatments to assist a couple in conception should be on the NHS or available through insurance. Not having to worry about finances may even increase the conception rate.
