Subscribe to Canada Free Press for FREE

Gynacology and Health

Infertility, birth rates, government support

Bill C-13 Treats Infertile Couples Treated Like Criminals

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

August 27, 2002

Benjamin Franklin once remarked, "A ship under sail and a big-bellied woman are the handsomest two things that can be seen." Today there are not many ships under sail and fewer and fewer big-bellied women in this country. So with a sinking birth rate what is the least expensive solution to keep our country afloat?

During the Infertility and Andrology Society meeting held at Murray Bay, Quebec, Dr. Arthur Leader Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Ottawa told me that our decreasing fertility rate is a crisis for the infertile couple, but also, more ominously, for the economic future of our country.

Dr. Leader says that in the last 30 years Canadian fertility rates have lagged behind the United States and Europe. For instance, during the baby boom years of the late 50's the fertility rate soared to 3.9 in Canada. (The fertility rate is the number of children that women have during their lifetime).

During the 70's the fertility rate dropped to 2.1. This is the critical threshold for population replacement. If couples don't leave behind two children to replace themselves our ship of state is taking on water.

Today more women in the work force are postponing pregnancy. The delay often means they can't conceive a baby. More common-law partnerships also means fewer babies. And an increasing number of women use contraception. Now the birth rate has dropped to 1.49 and we're shrinking as a nation, prompting frantic calls for more immigration.

But Dr. Leader also stressed an important financial consideration. He says there are 500,000 infertile couples in Canada and it's cheaper to help these couples have children than to increase immigration from other countries.

This highlights another irony. Provincial governments pay for the diagnosis of infertility, but refuse to pick up the tab for treatment. Leader claims it would take 75 million dollars to cover this cost, or $2.50 a year per person, a much less expensive solution than the support of immigration services.

But some health officials claim that treatment of infertility is not a medical necessity and not a disease. This is a lame excuse. We know that many diseases such as infection and endometriosis cause infertility. And that medical treatment of these diseases is not only necessary but can help women to conceive.

There's more potential trouble ahead for infertile couples. Bill-13 currently before the Canadian parliament would eliminate 25 percent of the in-vitro-fertilization centers in this country. Yet 10 years ago the Baird Commission on New Reproductive Technology concluded that a caring society should provide these services through the health care system.

Bill-13 contains another major road block. Couples applying for infertility treatment would be required to undergo professional counselling by someone other than their own doctor! Only criminals convicted of a crime must submit to this kind of scrutiny.

Moreover, if a husband is infertile there's the problem of donor sperm. Bill-13 would prevent any compensation for sperm donors so sperm banks would close. Only couples with stock options could afford to travel to the US for this service. Or obtain it illegally in Canada.

The final nail on the infertility coffin is the fact that if a couple does undergo IVF in Canada they and their children must be registered with a federal agency. That means more millions into a bureaucratic sinkhole.

So what does all this mean to the rest of us? Dr. Leaders suggests that, "If we do not maintain our birth rate we will not be able to maintain the quality of living that we now enjoy."

God only knows we're all paying enough taxes. But if we must send hard-earned cash to government let's make sure these funds are put to the best use. Since it's more frugal to help 500,000 young Canadian couples achieve pregnancy than pay for increased immigration, let's do it.

It is now 25 years since Louise Brown, the first IVF baby was born. Billl-13 is a frightful way to celebrate her birth. Surely, in a democratic nation infertile couples should have the same freedom of reproductive choice as the rest of us. Especially since their babies are desperately wanted.


W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones
Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod