#MyFertilityMatters: IVF policy being reviewed across Lincolnshire
Hundreds of women are being refused support just because they're a stepmum
Last updated 7th Apr 2022
Health bosses across Lincolnshire and the East Midlands have announced they’re reviewing their IVF policy, after our campaign asked why stepmums were being refused treatment on the NHS.
We’ve been working alongside Sarah Curtiss from Lincoln for the last year, after she was told she’d have to go private because her partner already had a daughter from a previous relationship.
Thousands of people backed our My Fertility Matters campaign calling for a change in the rules, and now it seems it’s having a huge impact.
Sarah says it's an outdated policy that needs to be looked at
"I’m already being betrayed by my own body, why should I be betrayed by the local CCGs that are basically enforcing this?"
"To think that in less than a year, that we've come this far already, it just goes to show that if you believe in something so much that we do, then that really shows and it can make a difference.
"The thought that we are one step closer for our family, and other families across Lincolnshire and the East Midlands is just unbelievable.
"I can't put it into words how happy it makes me feel to know that we could be changing, not only the lives within our own family, but the lives of so many other families in the county."
MP Dr Caroline Johnson arranged a meeting with local health bosses after we raised the issue with her
"I think it's important that we ensure that people get the healthcare that they're entitled to.
"When it's pointed out to people it's clearly unfair that a woman is unable to access treatment on the basis of the status of her partner.
"If she'd fallen in love with somebody else we'd provide her with treatment, that's completely wrong and I think that's clear to everybody.
"I can't imagine how painful it must be to find oneself unable to conceive, or unable to carry to term, so I think it's important that we ensure that people get the healthcare that they're entitled to."
What do Lincolnshire health bosses say?
"The CCG’s IVF policy is part of an East Midlands-wide policy and, as previously confirmed, a private meeting did take place between the CCG and Dr Caroline Johnson MP, to discuss an individual patient in the context of the CCG’s current IVF policy.
"As previously stated we are unable to comment publicly on individual patients but we agreed that we would look into reviewing the IVF policy during 2022."