Gay couples refused access to IVF in NT

GAY couples in the Northern Territory have been refused access to IVF because of their sexuality.

Advocacy group Rainbow Territory said a number of couples were refused access to the service last year, according to ABC News.

The group is calling for anti-discrimination laws to be extended to provide further protections to the LGBTI community.

Rainbow Territory spokesperson Jane Black said couples had been denied access to IVF because they were not “medically infertile” and were unwilling to claim to be.

“[A couple] ended up going interstate,” she said.

“We had another response from a family member of a person who wanted access to the service who said their family member ended up leaving the Territory altogether because they couldn’t access it.”

Repromed, the only IVF clinic in the Territory, said there was no legislation around the service and a result they were bound by South Australian law.

“We treat a lot of same-sex couples already,” said general manager Hamish Hamilton.

“It’s just that many of them do have an infertility status diagnosed.”

Hamilton said Repromed would welcome legal changes that would cover assisted reproductive technologies.

Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Sally Sievers said fertility services were not included in services covered by the Anti-Discrimination Act.

“The discrimination is actually enshrined in the Act because fertility services are exempt,” she said.

Sievers said a discussion paper was being drafted and would be open to public consultation before legislation is drafted.