Voluntary sterilisation and access to IVF in Québec

Area of Science:

• Healthcare policy
• Bioethics
• Reproductive medicine

Background:

• Bill 20, enacted in November 2015, aims to reduce healthcare costs in Quebec, particularly for assisted reproduction.
• The law introduced new eligibility criteria for in vitro fertilization (IVF) funding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically evaluate the exclusion criterion of prior voluntary sterilization for IVF funding.
• To analyze the justifications provided for this exclusion and their alignment with Canadian healthcare principles.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of Bill 20 and its legislative provisions.
• Ethical and policy critique of the justifications for excluding sterilized individuals from IVF funding.

Main Results:

• The justifications for excluding voluntary sterilization from IVF funding are deemed unsatisfactory.
• The exclusion contradicts core Canadian healthcare values and current practices.

Conclusions:

• The policy unfairly places the onus of responsibility for infertility on individuals who have undergone voluntary sterilization.
• The exclusion criteria for IVF funding require re-evaluation to align with principles of equitable healthcare access.