No Mandatory Standards for In Vitro Fertilization Clinics

Would-be parents who turn to in vitro fertilization to conceive children will find inconsistent oversight of fertility clinics across the country with some facilities free to set their own policies about how to do business.

The relative autonomy of the clinics was highlighted recently when the Regional Fertility Program in Calgary refused to help a woman become impregnated with sperm from a donor who did not share her skin colour.

The clinic said this week that its ban on blending races during in vitro fertilization (IVF) was changed more than a year ago, suggesting the woman had been misinformed by one of its doctors. But Alberta does not directly regulate the clinics, nor do other provinces except Quebec.

With Ontario promising to fund in vitro fertilization, and Alberta giving thought to paying the cost of the procedure, governments and fertility experts are asking whether more regulation is needed.

“I think that people who are seeking this kind of treatment are very vulnerable. They suffer from infertility and they are desperate to get a child and they are going...