Stop denying women fertility treatment because their partner already has a child from a previous relationship! #MyFertilityMatters

Emily* was 23 when she met Paul, who had a 7 year old son from a previous relationship. Six years on, after struggling to conceive for over 2 years, Emily, who has no biological children of her own, was heartbroken to discover that she would not be eligible to receive many of the recommended fertility treatments on the NHS, simply because Paul already had a child. Emily is not alone in this. Every day women are being denied recommended fertility treatments for the same reason. 

We are aiming to collect 100,000 signatures with this petition to urge the NHS and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to update their antiquated policies and allow fair access to fertility treatments where there is an existing child from a previous relationship.

1 in 6 couples in the UK experience the pain and devastation of infertility. However, the most recent data suggests that 8 out of 10 NHS providers do not offer IVF if either partner has a living child. This is despite The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendation that women under 40 should be offered three cycles of IVF on the NHS if they have not conceived after two years. The NICE guidelines also state that “the existence of living children should not be a factor that precludes the provision of fertility treatment”. But, in reality, access to free IVF treatment in the UK varies depending on where you live and the policy of your local CCG which funds the treatment.

We would greatly appreciate it if you could please sign this petition, share it with friends and family, and post across your social media. Every signature moves us one step closer to helping childless women whose partner already has a child from a previous relationship have their maternal voices heard.