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A couple in Scotland are suing the NHS for denying them fertility treatment because they are gay.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde told Caroline Harris and Julie McMullan that they were not eligible for NHS IVF treatment because they are a same sex couple.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Board claim that their expensive ‘assisted conception services’ are only for heterosexual couples who are infertile.

Harris and McMullan are now seeking a judicial review of the Board’s decision, on the grounds that the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations and their European Convention rights have been breached.

Ms Harris tried six intrauterine insemination treatments and one IVF treatment in last year, all of which were unsuccessful.

The couple went to their GP who referred them to the local Assisted Conception Unit. A consultant told them last July they did “not fit the criteria” for IVF. The couple then received a letter which stated “unfortunately as they are a same sex couple they would not be eligible for NHS funded treatment.”

Ms Harris and Ms McMullan claim that the rules, which they saw after a Freedom of Information Act request, make no reference to any requirements that only a heterosexual couple can receive treatment.

The Health Board insisted they had not discriminated on grounds of sexual orientation. The court heard that NHS fertility treatment is decided on ’social and clinical’ criteria, and there should either be a diagnosed medical problem or “failure to conceive after two years during which there has been sexual intercourse and no use of contraception”.

Harris and McMullan are seeking £20,000 to cover the cost of paying for private treatment and in damages for the “substantial degree of distress and anxiety” they say they have incurred.

[via The Herald]

Posted in: Health |