Families in Saskatchewan are addressing the challenges of seeking infertility treatment, after the Sask. Party announced Monday that if re-elected, they would provide a 50-per cent refundable tax credit for the cost of a first fertility treatment, which equates up to $20,000.
Regina Rochdale candidate Laura Ross said they will also offer Saskatchewan women a self-sampling kit in the mail to screen for HPV as an alternative to the pap test.
Amanda Muller is one of the facilitators of You Are Not Alone Infertility Support, a peer support group for those in Saskatchewan experiencing infertility.
She first joined after her own fertility struggles.
“I was looking for people that were able to understand what it was like to go through this journey and be a listening ear, but also a kind of confidential space where I could share my story and hopefully not be judged.”
The Sask. Party announcement has been met with some debate.
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The Saskatchewan NDP, for example, has been calling for supports like this for women’s health for a number of years. Others online are questioning why women’s health is being used to try and sway voters.
For Muller, she said any financial help is welcome, but the Sask. Party’s promise of a refundable tax credit for a first ‘fertility treatment’ has her wondering what exactly that means.
“When you say first treatment, does that mean that they’re going to cover intrauterine insemination (IUI)? Because a lot of people go through fertility treatments like IUI that are much less costly. Or does it consider just that first in vitro fertilization treatment?”
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And for Muller, she questions whether or not the money will actually help families in the long run.
“It’s uncertain whether or not if you put in $20,000 or $40,000 into these treatments that it is actually going to result in bringing home a baby.”
According to Dr. Adrian Gamelin with Aurora Reproductive Care in Saskatoon, infertility affects one in six individuals.
Aurora is the only clinic in Saskatchewan where families can get infertility treatment.
And with only one clinic, people say they need all the help they can get.
Meagan Weiss has dealt with her own fertility struggles.
“My first experience with having fertility issues was actually 15 years ago when I was initially denied care just due to not having had enough miscarriages,” Weiss explained. She feels there is a large gap in the system and lack of resources overall.
“This needs to be something that is accepted in society. That’s talked about frequently and that is understood so that employers, the government and just generally everyone in Saskatchewan knows what people are facing,” Weiss said.
“Support people you know that are going through this.”