Should The State Fund Fertility Treatments?

When we talk about funding healthcare, most of us think of hospitals, waiting lists, and limited budgets. But what about fertility — and the question of whether everyone should have the chance, or even the right, to have children?

At a time of intense pressure on public spending, should the state cover the cost of fertility treatment? That question depends on what kind of good we think fertility treatment is. Is it simply another part of healthcare, like cancer treatment, competing for the same limited funds? Or does fertility occupy a different moral space — something unique that society has a special reason to support?

To help us think through these questions, our host Emily McTernan is joined by Dr. Giulia Cavaliere, Lecturer in Engaged Philosophy at UCL.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Guilia Cavaliere "Fertility treatment, valuable life projects and social norms: in defence of defending (reproductive) preferences".