“Infertility has robbed me of my life for the last couple of years.”
Lana de Bastiani has spent years trying to become pregnant. She says the cost and stress of dealing with infertility could be greatly reduced if the NWT government chose to do more to help.
In a petition that she hopes will reach the legislature, De Bastiani is urging the GNWT to take an initial step by providing a tax credit for people undergoing fertility treatment. (Manitoba and Nova Scotia already offer such a tax credit.)
The GNWT’s position is that fertility treatments are not medically necessary procedures and do not receive any coverage.
De Bastiani has polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis. Both of her fallopian tubes are blocked. She is going through the process of in vitro fertilization, or IVF.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
“A single round of IVF can cost anywhere between $20,000 and $30,000, depending on your insurance coverage, plus travel and accommodation,” she said.
“Through my private insurance, I would say out of the $30,000, we had about a third of it covered. That’s still over $20,000. For most people that’s a downpayment on a house or buying a new vehicle.
“It’s a massive chunk of change that we are spending on this. That’s not possible for everyone and my heart really aches for the fact that not everyone can equally access this. I would love to see even a baby step toward changing the government stance on the fact that falling pregnant is medically necessary.”
Approached for comment, the Department of Health and Social Services said the territory’s position – that such treatments won’t be covered – had not changed since previous health minister Julie Green’s last comments on the matter in 2023.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
At the time, Green drew a distinction between “specialist services for treatment of an underlying condition,” which might be covered, “and specialist services providing fertility treatments, such as in vitro fertilization,” which would not.
Green said treatments like IVF are “not considered medically necessary procedures in most jurisdictions.” While De Bastiani says multiple provinces do offer some coverage, Green has said only “large jurisdictions with big populations and big revenue bases” could do so.
“Falling pregnant is not a medically necessary intervention provided by our healthcare system, and we have no plans to change that,” Green said in late 2022.
‘Return on investment’
De Bastiani says hers has been a three-year journey of decision-making, naturopathy, acupuncture, appointments with doctors, bloodwork, day surgery, journeys south for treatment and time off work.
“I liken this to having a full-time second job navigating the world of infertility, especially in a world where there are babies everywhere, it feels like,” she said. As a result, she formalized that second job, becoming a certified fertility doula – someone who works with people to help them try to get pregnant.
“I’m trying to use all the tools in my toolbox and different resources available to me. I’ve sought out therapy and I started a virtual support group because it can feel like a very isolating journey, but it’s actually pretty common,” she said, quoting the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society’s statistic that roughly one in six Canadians is affected by this issue.
“It seems like it can be a taboo subject and I’m trying to break down those walls. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” De Bastiani said, adding that becoming a fertility doula represented “my own healing journey, to work with others that are going through similar but completely different journeys through their fertility world.”
She says she will travel to Edmonton in the next few months “and hopefully go through my first embryo transfer,” which may or may not offer a solution.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
“I feel that I will know by the end of this calendar year whether or not this works out for us, or if it means having to look at other options for trying to start a family,” she said.
“After three years of trying all other ways, I have some hope that we will see some sort of results at some point this year.”
If the GNWT changed its mind, she argues, the territory’s funding might one day pay off in the form of an extra resident, and with it the additional federal transfer money that the territory receives for each member of its population.
“This is something that needs to be taken seriously. We have declining population rates. We need more babies. This is a return on investment,” De Bastiani said.
