News

By Patrick B. Craine

TORONTO, Ontario, September 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Ontario government is not yet prepared to fund in vitro fertilization (IVF), as recommended in August 2009 by a government-appointed panel, because it would be too expensive, reports the Ottawa Citizen.

“There are some pretty compelling reasons why we should [do it],” Health Minister Deb Matthews told reporters.  “But at this time in our economy, we have to weigh all the pros and cons very carefully.”

Yet Premier Dalton McGuinty indicated that the proposal is still on the table.  “I know that, for young families in particular, this is a very important issue and it’s something we’ll continue to look at,” he said.  “We have 12 months between now and the election. We’ll see how things develop. There is time for us to carefully consider the requests that are before us.”

In a report last August, a panel on infertility and adoption appointed by the McGuinty government in June 2008 called on them to begin funding up to three rounds of in vitro fertilization for women up to 42 years old, estimated at $10,000 per cycle.

Currently, Ontario only covers IVF for women with both fallopian tubes either blocked or missing.

The panel, led by incoming Governor General of Canada David Johnston, also called on the government to fund the freezing of embryos created during the process of ‘assisted reproduction,’ on the basis that it would “reduce costs.”

The process of IVF has been heavily criticized by pro-life advocates in large part because in each round, while numerous children are conceived to improve the chances of implantation, those remaining are simply “discarded” or frozen.

Critics of assisted reproduction maintain that children are meant to be conceived through the mutual love of husband and wife in the conjugal act, saying that it violates the child’s dignity for him or her to be conceived in a laboratory.

Further, they warn that it reduces newly-formed human life to the status of a commodity.  Interestingly, the panel’s report criticized the federal Assisted Human Reproduction Act because it restricts the commercialization of human sperm, eggs, and embryos.

Additionally, research has shown that babies born from IVF have a much higher chance of birth defects, including heart valve defects, cleft lip and palate, and digestive system abnormalities.  In 2009, the British government's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority warned that IVF babies have a 30% higher risk of genetic abnormality. 

In the meantime, the Ontario government pays the full cost for many thousands of Ontario women to abort their unwanted babies each year. Consequently, the number of babies available for adoption is very low and it is very difficult, if not impossible, for childless Ontario couples to find a child to adopt.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Ontario Gov't Panel Urges Funding In Vitro Fertilization for all, Including Singles  
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/aug/09082708.html