Should IVF be available to lesbians?

[TooBigForMyBoots]

And single women? Or should assisted conception only be for infertile women in heterosexual relationships?

Seriously I am not answering until you stop using this catch all.

The difficulty for lesbian couples and straight heterosexual women is that the lack of a man in the equation means a lack of sperm. A woman lacking sperm to conceive with is not a fertility problem.

This, why should the NHS be treating anyone who doesn't have a fertility problem?

There are many reasons for infertility.
Infertility isn't just about the sperm.

Lesbian couples and single women should have the same rights as heterosexual women. However, I'm not fully convinced that NHS-funded IVF should be available to anyone, at least not at present when NHS funds are so stretched.

This, why should the NHS be treating anyone who doesn't have a fertility problem?

I guess this would also apply to a straight couple where the man has the fertility issue and the woman is fertile. Should that woman be treated even though she doesn't personally have a fertility issue? Logically she is in the same position as the fertile lesbian and the fertile single woman. They all need sperm and assistance to conceive.

I would say the man is the one being ‘treated’ in that instance.

In the scenario where the fertile woman is assisted to conceive with another man's sperm it would not be the man that is being treated it would be her. Should that woman be eligible? Why should she be eligible to assistance but the fertile single woman or the fertile lesbian woman not be eligible. They are all fertile women who need assistance to conceive. There is a lack of equality here.

That’s not true.

There’s nothing wrote with her fertility and she doesn’t require treatment. There may be issues with his sperm which need treatment - I think lacklustre sperm can be injected into the egg. The fact that the zygote is implanted in the woman’s body doesn’t mean she is the one that needs the treatment. It’s just the way biology works - she is the one to gestate the baby.

*wrong not wrote ffs

I was talking about a specific scenario where a couple have to use donor sperm from another man.

That would only happen if the man had the fertility problem.

So it would still be his ‘treatment’ if there’s nothing wrong with her fertility

Yes as I said in my post "I guess this would also apply to a straight couple where the man has the fertility issue and the woman is fertile." I should have made it clearer that I meant he would be completely unable to provide sperm.

You said “In the scenario where the fertile woman is assisted to conceive with another man's sperm it would not be the man that is being treated it would be her.”

and I am disagreeing with that. The zygote maybe implanted in her body, but it is a ‘treatment’ for the man’s infertility, since she has no fertility issues.

I don't really understand how this counts as "his" treatment. Another man's sperm would be used to impregnate his partner. She (the fertile partner) is the one undergoing the medical procedure. A woman in this position is no different from any other fertile woman requiring assistance using donor sperm.

The procedure takes place in her body because that the body which gestates. The reason why she is having it is because of the man’s infertility. It is a ‘treatment’ for his infertility. There is no medical problem in the woman which needs ‘treatment’.

Oh I see what you mean now. I don't agree though. I don't think it's possible to treat a person's medical problem by carrying out a procedure on an entirely different person. She is being treated in this scenario not him.

Sexual conception is pretty unique in that it necessarily involves two people. It wouldn’t make sense to inject the donor semen into his testes or something, since it would naturally end up in her anyway.

its not like other ‘treatments’ in that regard

The heterosexual couple are treated as a single unit in terms of the treatment. They both form a part of the whole.

Lesbian couples would also be treated as a whole. In their case both have the potential to carry and I'm assuming they discuss who has the best potential and who wants to most.

I would assume that if there is no female factor and a donor sperm is being used IUI would be used, at least initially. The NHS doesn't jump to the most invasive, risky and expensive possible treatment in other scenarios.

@EndlessTea

"where you done resolve your arguments properly"

@EndlessTea
Sorry, is that another typo, or am I expected to understand half a sentence?

You are homophonic. Do you know any lesbians who've been through trying to have kids?

Well, that was a cheery thread to wake up to as an infertile lesbian 🙄

So does organ donation and you don’t have to rock up with your own donor.

Thank fuck for that.

The last thing we need is another avenue for human exploration.