Wegan withdraws legal case against Frimley ICB

Fertility equality campaigners have decided to withdraw their application for a judicial review of a policy affecting same-sex female couples against their local NHS commissioners.

Whitney and Megan Bacon-Evans, known online as 'Wegan', are social media influencers and campaigners for fertility equality. They had sought a judicial review in November 2021 (see BioNews 1121) of their local commissioning group for a policy that, they claimed, financial penalised and therefore discriminated against, lesbian couples by requiring them to fund artificial insemination privately before qualifying for NHS-funded IVF. They have now withdrawn the case due to Frimley Integrated Care Board (ICB)'s commitment to an intention to introduce a new fertility policy, along with a consultation expected in November 2023.

'Frimley ICB recognise the need to update their policy to remove the inequality between same-sex female couples and cis heterosexual couples,' said Wegan in an Instagram post. 'This combined with the Government's commitment to removing the barriers to accessing IVF for same-sex female couples in 2023 leaves us feeling very hopeful for the future of LGBTQ+ families.'

Currently, same-sex couples and single women in Frimley ICB must self-fund 12 rounds of artificial insemination, with six of those required to be intrauterine insemination, that should take place in a clinic. This is in contrast to heterosexual couples who qualify for IVF after attempting and failing to conceive for two years.

The Women's Health Strategy published by NHS England in July 2022 promised to remove this requirement for female same-sex couples in the next NICE Fertility Guideline, due to be published in 2024 (see BioNews 1152). Later, Maria Caulfield, Minister for Women at the UK Government, announced earlier this year that the proposed changes should take place this year in 2023. Shortly after the one-year anniversary of the publication of the Strategy, the Government committed to making individual ICB fertility eligibility policies more transparent (see BioNews 1199).

The withdraw of the judicial review by the couple was made after numerous statements from the NHS Board, such as their intention to have a new policy approved in the new year. However, a potential review does not necessarily mean the policy will be changed and consultations could even extend for more years.

'We are reviewing our position on assisted conception and will be sharing information as this process continues,' disclosed Frimley ICB.

Previously, Frimley Clinical Commissioning Group, which preceded the ICB, had discussed the possibility of removing the requirement that artificial insemination had to be carried out in a clinic, thus removing some of the financial burden. However, use of regulated donor sperm is only legal in a licensed fertility clinic in the UK.