This is a bit of a personal thread for me. I'll be perfectly frank and say that unless you've had issues conceiving, you really don't know what it's like to have to make decisions about fertility procedures, adoption or living childless. It's not just as simple as "well, just adopt" or "it's okay, the world is overpopulated as is". Infertility is a very long journey, full of grieving and you just can't turn a switch on your desire to have a child of your own.
Not everyone who is undergoing IVF were foolish and fancy free and decided to delay their baby-making until their late 30's. Actually, every single one of my friends who have gone through the agonizing and painful IVF procedures were in their mid 20's or early 30's. The issues for going through it were wide ranging- poly-cystic ovarian syndrome, premature ovarian failure, low sperm motility/count and even just simply an unknown reason of why they can't conceive "naturally".
I fall into the "unexplained" category - we're not sure what's wrong, but something is. I'm 33. I think the argument of "well, you should have started trying earlier" is a bit of a hollow argument. How do you try to conceive when you don't have a partner to do it with? Should I have settled down with my loser high-school boyfriend just because people shouldn't wait until their later years to try to conceive? That just doesn't sound right to me. I married at 28, not because I was selfish in my early 20's and needed my career, I did because I found the guy I wanted to spend my life with at this point in time.
It takes about two years to become an IVF candidate in Calgary. The wait list for the fertility clinic itself is about 8 months long. Rarely do couples ever delve into IVF first, there are other procdures attempted before IVF that are cheaper and less invasive. The waitlist at the clinic for IVF is about 6-8 months. Psychological councelling is done and information sessions are mandatory to attend. I think the current age cut-off is 43. Those undergoing IVF are not just doing it for "fun" or going into it lightly. If they had an option to be able to conceive without IVF, they'd be doing it, but this is their one last chance.
Funding IVF would give couples a chance to conceive without putting second mortgages on their homes or depleting RRSP's. I'd be fine with them limiting funding to single-embryo transfers (SET), since risks are higher with multiples (as others have said here). The provincial government has no problem funding abortions, but won't fund IVF, which I find interesting. My husband and I are lucky enough to be able to afford IVF if that is a route we choose to take, but we're one of very few who wouldn't have to make drastic sacrifices in order to get a 50% chance of a successful pregnancy.
For those that mention adoption - it's a separate issue. Maybe more money should be put towards finding homes for children, but it's very complex. Not everyone who is infertile automatically becomes an adoptive parent. Just like not everyone who is fertile automatically becomes a parent.
Okay, stepping off my soapbox now.
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