New discriminatory laws for the small percentage of the Victorian population that are medically deemed as infertile came into effect as of 1st January.

What this means is that would be parents, including those people already undergoing IVF, are required to have child protection order and police record checks to ensure that they will be suitable parents.

People undergoing IVF constitute a small minority of people who wish to pursue the great dream of having children.  Yet they are penalised and need to be approved by bureaucrats before they can attempt conception. Its a case where the laws are targeted at a minority.

IVF patient, Carol Poole, has recently been approved to recommence IVF after running through hoops to get Police Record Checks and Child Protection Order Checks to the clinic in time so she can start another cycle.

While the whole process annoys her, she seriously doubts that the Government would have passed these laws if  they were applied to a larger number of the population.

“Imagine the widespread government backlash if the laws were applied to every person who intended on becoming a parent. I don’t imagine it would be a very popular government policy. If the laws were applied to everyone, I’m tipping their would be massive public outrage and the Victorian government would lose their next election.”

“The laws are a joke. No other country in the world requires this level of regulation in relation to IVF. The laws are clearly discriminatory,” she said.

IVF Laws Discriminate the Minority is a post from: The IVF Club

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With 2009 behind me, maybe this year I can look forward to finally achieving a long awaited pregnancy. My renewed optimism also comes with the double edged sword of knowing that the cost of IVF has increased yet again.  This time however, it is not my clinic that has raised its prices by 15%, this time it is the Government that increased the price to end consumer.

So from the 1st January 2010, changes to the Medicare Safety net in Australia will push the price of IVF up by $1500.  The rebate has also been capped potentially pushing the final cost of  IVF up further. I also have the joy of knowing that if I do become pregnant, the cost to use a private obstetrician will be another $850. Coinciding with this change is new legislation that came into force from 1st January that would be Victorian parents must now provide Police Record and Child Protection Checks to access IVF treatment.

On a positive note, Single Women and Lesbian Couples can now undergo IVF treatment in Victoria – but the catch is that they need to be declared medically infertile before they can be eligible for the Medicare rebate. This could put strain on existing services adding to fears of lengthy delays in accessing IVF. As a consequence, not only are all IVF recipients worse off financially they will be paying for more for poorer service!

Should be an interesting year ahead, if not a more expensive one!

New Year New Beginnings is a post from: The IVF Club

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It’s official – my husband and I have passed our police record check and we can now start IVF.

The words on the National Police Certificate dated 4th September read “At the data of issue there are no disclosable court outcomes recorded.” There are five interesting features about this report:

1. The report arrived within a week of being submitted – not the 10 week delay that I reported in a previous blog.

2. That the word “disclosable” is not even a word since it keeps coming up as an error in my spell checker.

3. That I paid $64 for two certificates that state “At the date of issue there are no disclosable court outcomes recorded.” How insulting is that. The report offers the possibility that maybe in the future, I could be in court.

4. This report really it is only relevant for the past, not the future. I could go out tomorrow, commit a terrible crime and quite possibly continue undertaking IVF. No one would be any the wiser.

5. Any other couple who conceive naturally are not subject to getting checked out. Apart from this being discriminatory, it also is a breach of a normal human right which is to bear children.

Police Checks for Would Be Parents is a post from: The IVF Club

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In an earlier blog, I highlighted that prospective parents planning to do IVF must undergo police records before commencing treatment. I mentioned that I thought the laws were very biased. It seems I am not alone in my views.

What’s worse is that now that the new laws have come into effect, according to my IVF nurse there is apparently a 10 week waiting period before the people who have requested Police Record Checks will get them. Seems that while the government has made these laws they have not accounted for extra people to process higher levels of demand.

Fortunately, because of this backlog myself and other women planning to undergo will still be able to do treatment despite not having a police record check. That is a huge relief as it would mean that I would not be able to start treatment until mid November.

There has been comprehensive news coverage about this. For more information, see the article in The Age on IVF.

Police record checks for IVF patients is a post from: The IVF Club

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