An MP has warned that women undergoing IVF treatment face workplace discrimination due to a lack of legal protections.
Nicki Aiken, Conservative Party MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, has launched a new campaign calling on the government to establish a legal right to time off for medical appointments during the early stages of IVF.
Women do not have pregnancy rights under current UK law until the embryo transfer, the final stage of the IVF process in which the fertilised egg is transferred to the woman’s uterus.
According to ACAS, most employers should treat IVF appointments like any other medical appointment or illness, but many workplaces do not because there is no legal requirement.
According to the most recent Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority data, approximately 53,000 people underwent IVF in 2019.
IVF is a lengthy and multi-step process. This entails suppressing a woman’s natural menstrual cycle and receiving hormone treatment to stimulate egg release, egg collection, and embryo transfer. They will also be subjected to blood tests and ultrasound scans.
Medicines used during IVF can have side effects such as hot flushes, headaches, and depression.
“It is very personal, and it is not always successful. And so [women] want to be able to go on the journey with their partner, but they need support to do so.
“If they’ve got a particular career, they don’t want it to be held against them. Or if they are going for a promotion, they want to keep [the IVF] to themselves because they know they have got no rights.”
The legislation will also help to break down barriers to IVF and emphasise that it is an “important part of reproduction.”
In 2019, 32% of IVF treatments that resulted in a baby were performed on women under the age of 35. “People think it’s a lifestyle choice, that it’s women who have worked hard for their careers…and then they get to 40 and their biological clock stops, and they want to go for IVF,” says one.
The legislation will also assist in breaking down barriers to IVF and emphasising its importance as an “important part of reproduction.”
“We understand that going through fertility treatment can be a very stressful experience, and employers should support anyone who is going through this difficult and often lengthy process.”
“We urge ministers to listen to fertility patients’ concerns carefully. We ask the government to ensure that MPs have enough time to consider Nickie Aiken’s important private member’s bill during the next parliamentary session.”
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