A married lesbian couple are taking the NHS to court over what they claim is ' IVF discrimination'.
Megan Bacon-Evans, 34, and wife Whitney, 33, say their NHS fertility clinic discriminates against same-sex couples.
The couple, together for 12 years, said they have to pay tens of thousands of pounds to become eligible for NHS IVF treatment compared with mixed sex couples.
Megan said they were shocked to discover "discrimination" in place after looking into how they could start their journey to parenthood.
Megan and Whitney yesterday said: "We were shocked and devastated to discover the discrimination that lesbian couples and bisexual women face in starting their family. LGBTQ+ couples are not entitled to the same access to fertility treatment as cis heterosexual couples.
"When it comes to creating a child in our relationship, we are in the same position as an infertile man and a fertile woman, or a fertile man and an infertile woman.
"This differential treatment towards female same-sex couples amounts to direct and indirect discrimination contrary to the Equality Act 2010.
"It is time for discrimination to end and for there to be equal treatment with heterosexual couples in the healthcare system."
Under IVF treatment guidelines, patients must prove they are infertile, with heterosexual couples qualifying after trying to conceive naturally for two years.
However, Megan and Whitney's NHS clinical commissioning group (CCG), Frimley, requires female same-sex couples to self-fund 12 intra-uterine insemination treatments – which involve inserting sperm into a woman’s womb – costing around £30,000 or more.
Now Megan and Whitney have launched a £10,000 fundraiser to cover their legal fees.
Their fundraising page continued: "By only providing fertility treatment to couples who are “medically infertile”, our local CCG policy fails to recognise that female same-sex couples like us are “de facto infertile”.
"This is because even if both women in a couple are tested as having normal fertility, they will still be unable to become pregnant without the help of medical intervention."
