Licence to become pregnant not on

Labelled as discriminatory and unfair

Dr David Molloy, Medical Director of the Queensland Fertility Group, described a media article published in today’s Courier Mail calling for criminal and child protection background checks into IVF patients as drastic, discriminatory and offensive.

Infertility is a common medical condition that affects 1 in 6 Australian couples. “To target this group while the ‘average’ couple can conceive without this extraordinary intrusion is highly offensive and discriminatory” said Dr Molloy.

“There is no data to suggest that patients suffering from infertility are more likely to abuse their children. In fact, ironically, most patients with infertility have never had a child, making a history of child abuse most unlikely. There is data to show that children of infertile couples who have struggled to have their one precious child, have high quality parenting,” he said.

“Most cases of child abuse unfortunately occur in the family home, more often in cases where there has been no history of infertility.

“If the community is calling for police checks then it should be across all Australians of reproductive age preparing to conceive - not simply those carrying the burden of medical infertility” said Dr Molloy.

“Targeting IVF patients is illogical. IVF is only one tool of many to help infertility. It makes no more sense to submit IVF patients to police checks than a woman going to her GP for fertility tablets, a man going to a surgeon for a vasectomy reversal or an infertile couple going to a naturopath for herbs and acupuncture.”

IVF patients face a great deal of stress, emotionally, physically and financially and often feel a loss of control. Dr Molloy encourages the wider community to be more considerate and sensitive towards those among us who are faced with such a difficult journey to parenthood. Discrimination of minorities is not tolerated in Australia. Such consideration should extend to IVF patients.

“I find it extraordinary that the community would call for these police checks, as enforced in Victoria, just for infertile Australians – if this needs to be considered in today’s world it needs to be universal. The targeting of Australians seeking IVF is simply unacceptable” said Dr Molloy.

“Australian Governments have a long and tolerant history of staying out of peoples bedrooms. A police licence to conceive is the start of a long and slippery slope in restricting privacy and freedom,” he concluded.

For further information or interviews with Dr David Molloy, Medical Director at Queensland Fertility Group, please Contact Us.