Submission to the Canadian Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies

The position paper, submitted to the Canadian Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies by the Vancouver Women's Health Collective (VWHC), addresses infertility and Canada's policies on the use of New Reproductive Technologies (NRT). The report provides a thorough discussion of infertility, access to treatment, and a discussion of the risks associated with NRT available, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and gamete intra fallopian transfer (GIFT). The report offers 41 recommendations to the Royal Commission, including changes of the definition of infertility, increased community-based research on infertility and treatment options, public education for the awareness of options for infertile couples, accessible and funded counselling services for infertile people, the prevention of infertility and access to free and safe birth control and infertility treatment, quality assurance of NRT and further research into the risks associated with NRT, etc.